River Sizes

Questions about Freshwater Fishing

River Sizes

Postby Susquehannafox » Thu Mar 29, 2012 10:06 am

In many articles I read they classify river by sizes. Small medium and large. I havnt been able to put a finger on what you would classify rivers like the Juniata and Susquehanna. Really to me they are like really big streams. Maybe you would call the Suskie a large shallow river? Anyway I just wanted some input from some fellow anglers.
Susquehannafox
 
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 11:53 am

Re: River Sizes

Postby Questor » Thu Mar 29, 2012 11:18 am

I usually use the size and variety of fish that come out of a river as my guide. I'm not familiar with those specific rivers, but I know the area a bit, and my guess is that I'd think of them as medium size rivers because they have a good diversity of species, and some good size sportfish. I think of large rivers as rivers like the Ohio, and lower Mississippi, and lower Missouri because they are truly large and wide, but also because the fish that live there can attain their maximum known sizes, or at least trophy proportions. And there's a great abundance of fish spread out over a large area. I also go by how far it is between major holes and how big those holes are.

As I think of it more, it reminds me of buying eggs at the store: Small, medium, large, extra large, jumbo, ... gargantuan...and unbelievable. The egg people have exact criteria for size, but I don't think it works that way with rivers, even though river specialists talk about volume per minute, etc. I guess it depends on what you're measuring.

Then there's the question of what part of a river we're talking about. I fish parts of the Mississippi that look like a trout stream, and I also fish parts of the delta, where it's miles wide. Very different character. I also fish some rivers that are tidally influenced for part of their length, and that makes a big difference too. At least to a fisherman.

You may want to check with the department of natural resources there to find out if they have done any netting or electroshocking studies. It could give you some insight into the different stretches of river that have been studied.
Questor
 
Posts: 302
Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 12:51 pm


Return to Freshwater Questions

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests