Electro Shocking Lopatcong Creek today

[Bucksnbows]

I assisted my client, Cole Baldino from Trout Unlimited and his two person summer staff and others on a scientific collection study of fish and macroinvertebrates in Lopatcong Creek ahead of a major restoration my firm will be doing on 1.5 miles of that creek as soon as we obtain all our permits and are out of any timing restrictions.  For the macros, we just use a "D net" and kick up three samples per section of river to be studied.  For the electro fishing, we placed nets at top and bottom of a 100 meter reach and then electro shock the fish in the same stretch - bottom to top - three times to capture hopefully all the fish and eels in that 100 meters.  

   

Edited June 26, 2019 by Bucksnbows

[Bucksnbows]

Macro invertebrate sampling:








The fish is a tessellated darter.


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[Cousin Brown]

Very cool!

[FLDBRED-BDC]

Great Post! 

[Rusty]

Great stuff Brian. 

[Live to Hunt]

22 minutes ago, Rusty said:

Great stuff Brian. 

[MightyOak]

Very interesting thanks for sharing

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[_X7]

I used to live on the Lopat. Truly a gem of a creek.

 

[rackemup]

Very Cool!!

[Gobblengrunt]

Thats so awesome!  Thanks for sharing.  If you electroshok any other waters, i would love to see the results like this

[Bucksnbows]

1 minute ago, Gobblengrunt said:

Thats so awesome!  Thanks for sharing.  If you electroshok any other waters, i would love to see the results like this

I just learned today that we will be shocking the lower Lamington River where the remnant Burnt Mills Dam removal will be done hopefully later this summer.  My firm designed the removal and channel restoration with US Fish & Wildlife's dam removal engineer for anadromous fish passage and habitat.  For the anadromous fish, think American shad, river herring, striped bass, and American eels.  I believe the state stocks trout here as well, although I'm not at all certain about that.   

[Bucksnbows]

In case nobody noticed, we did find an adult brook trout this far downstream which is the furthest downstream that species has been recorded.  Anglers that fish the lower Lopat may know otherwise, but for electro shocking, this is the furthest downstream.  Water temps hit a high of 62F today which is not too bad at all.  Lethality for trout is somewhere between 79.5 and 80F, depending on the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water.  And they go into thermal stress over 70F, so 62 is good for NJ this time of year.  But it is also our only true limestone spring creek, flowing out of Montana Mountain.     

[_X7]

 

Quote

 

 

Edited June 27, 2019 by _X7

[_X7]

12 minutes ago, Bucksnbows said:

Anglers that fish the lower Lopat may know otherwise,

I don't think I ever caught but a few brook trout below the bridge at Harker's Hollow and 519

Edited June 27, 2019 by _X7

[Bucksnbows]

I don't think I ever caught but a few brook trout below the bridge at Harker's Hollow and 519

This is way down below Lock Street


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