Rising Temperatures & Moving Water Cue Fish Movement

Warm, moving water from the West Marsh discharging into the relatively cooler Sandusky Bay prompts a predictable but still strangely mesmerizing congregation of fish in our concrete spillway. Most fish near the surface are common carp, but there are also a few solitary gizzard shad, yellow bullheads, bowfin, and goldfish that pass by.

As the video above (taken yesterday) demonstrates, most of the species readily visible are the less “desirable” varieties often referred to as “rough fish.” This designation lumps a good number of species into the same category because they are (a) not commonly considered ideal as table fare, (b) not associated with the more recognizable “sport fish” that traditionally are pursued with hook and line, (c) not the most “attractive” (my wife often reminds me that’s definitely an ‘eye of the beholder’ situation), (d) they are considered “bottom feeders,” or (e) all of the above.

All of these species have value. As I briefly touched on back on April 4th, even carp can have beneficial uses -- not only in the commercial fishing trade but even ecologically -- in helping to curb the proliferation of certain undesirable plants by adding turbidity to the water. 

But our interests, now and in the long-run are to determine how to best promote fish species diversity. Improving connectivity to the open bay is step one. We are actually pursuing a funding tool right now that would replace our aging (and failing) spillway with a completely open-topped culvert. While fish currently have to swim through a pipe to enter or exit the marsh, this new design mimic natural conditions. And it would also allow us to "bar the door" when carp migrations are at their peak. More on this story as it develops.

P.S. To provide some perspective, most of the carp on the clip above are in the 5-15 lb. range. The biggest of the big may have exceeded the 20-lb mark. 

Some of the species we were able to see or hand net but not capture on camera yesterday include: largemouth bass, bluegill, black crappie, golden shiner, and sheephead. I also got a glimpse of what looked like a shorthead redhorse, which would be pretty cool. This particular species is intolerant of pollution and turbid (murky) water and is an indicator of good water quality. We hope to conduct more comprehensive sampling over the coming weeks to get a better handle on what fish are currently utilizing the marsh -- at least by gathering a snapshot in time.