Hello all, I have a question about a lake that I have been fishing in for quite some time. This lake is a spring and creek fed lake that is mostly rocky bottom. The land was donated some time ago with the requirement that the Fish and Boat Commission turn it into a lake meant for fishing only. So, they built a 330 some acre lake with an earth dam, which really doesn't get a ton of water flow, but the water temp never gets too high as the lake sets at nearly 2,500ft elevation. The lake is restricted to electric motors only as well. Anyways, over the years, I can remember catching tons and tons of Pike. Most of them were in the 16-20 inch range, and I caught a few just over 30 inches. There were also many large smallmouth bass. I caught more than a few at 5lbs+. I had also caught a few largemouth each year, but only a few. They seemed to have a small population holding on, but nothing spectacular. I did, however, catch one about 6 years ago that was over 20 inches, and was pushing 7lbs. The one thing that always seemed to be present at incredibly high levels was weeds. During the summer months, the weeds choked the water from one side of the lake to the other, and you had to wait until fall to be able to even fish again. So, about 3 or 4 years ago, the Fish and Boat Commission decided to do something about the weeds.
Since they had to drop the water levels anyways to do maintenance and repairs on the spillway and dam, they decided to increase the drop to over 10 feet to kill all of the nuisance weeds that were choking the water and according to them, creating an unhealthy situation for some of the fish species. The lake shrunk incredibly, and you had to walk about an extra 80 feet in some places to reach the water. They left the water level down for a couple of summers to kill off the weeds. During I believe the second summer, I decided to give it a try, and the fishing was spectacular. I used up every one of my 2 dozen shiners, and switched to the dead ones, and yet kept catching more and more and more Pike. The only problem is that they looked unhealthy. They were all very thin and gnarly, a real representation of an "axe handle" if I've ever seen one. I must have caught close to 20 fish in just a couple of hours, and had roughly 30 bites in my estimation. They seemed to be uncommonly hungry. But again, they were very thin and malnourished. The water seemed to be kind of stagnant, and it was very very muddy and a little warm due to the water level drop. I returned later that fall, and caught some decent sized largemouth. This was about 2 years ago. Last spring and summer, we tried a few times to catch some fish, but we had very little luck in several trips. It was uncommon to not catch more that a few fish out of this lake in several combined trips. Anyways, fast forward to this spring. We started fishing back in late March, and to say it was cold at 2,500 ft elevation was an understatement. However, on that first trip, something uncommon happened. My uncle caught a nice 3lb largemouth bass. I also caught a smaller largmouth, and only one Pike. I was using a method that had worked in the past for smallmouth and the occasional largemouth here, rarely two in a day, though. So, the next trip, we worked a different area of the lake, but again, it was kinda chilly. That day again produced some nice largemouths. One was around 3lbs. We were perplexed as again, pike was the primary quarry with some nicer smallmouth from time to time, and only occasionally a few largemouth. So, I decided to take a trip to the lake by myself one day about two weeks ago. Again, no pike, but plenty of decent Largemouth. I was again perplexed at what seemed to be a flip in the foodchain on this lake happening right before my eyes.
Fast-forward to yesterday, and my uncle and I got together hopeful to catch not pike, but now, a few lunker largemouth in our new found bass hotspot. Let's just say that it payed off. First cast for my uncle, and his flourescent orange bobber sunk down under the surface with a "plop!". It wasn't a big fish, but it was a largemouth. So, I made my first cast with a large shiner and no weight. I slowly worked it back to shore and felt the line tighten up on what felt like a snag. But, the snag pulled back. It felt like a big big fish. I fought it for about 5 seconds, and it snapped my line at the knot. I was dejected, and after I tied a different type of knot to another hook, it didn't help that the biggest shiner in the bucket slipped out of my hands and found its way to the lake for freedom. I shook my head, pulled another big one out, hooked it through the lips, and cast my line beyond the spot where I last hooked up. As soon as my shiner hit the water, the line took off. I set the hook and realized it was another big fish. I fought it in, and jumped in the still cool water to be sure it couldn't get off before I could at least get my hands on it. It was another big largemouth. It weighed in at nearly 6 pounds and was almost 20 inches! Pretty good for PA. I took a quick picture and checked its mouth for a hook to be sure it was not the fish I had just hooked and snapped off. It was not, so I knew that it was the second big largemouth of the day in under 15 minutes of fishing. We both caught a few more largemouth, and to cap off the evening, my uncle caught another one that was nearly 5 pounds. But again, no pike during the entire day. Something I'm not used to in this lake.
I am just wondering if any of you have had any experiences like this. Have you ever seen a species that has been the primarily dominant species just disappear only to have another native species take over in a lake quite successfully? One thing I should add is that the largemouth we are catching now are incredibly healthy, and much fatter than usual. Do you think that the water level drop created unfavorable conditions for the Pike to eat/feed, and may have killed a large number of them off thus allowing the largemouth to take over in their place? Is it possible for the bass to reproduce in such high numbers in just 3 or 4 years time? I am not complaining about what I consider to be now quite good largemouth fishing for this part of the country, but could the Pike have been eliminated by the changes in the water level during the two and a half year period the water was dropped? To me, in a lake that once held the record for Muskie in the state, which was disected and found to have a 17 inch walleye in its belly, and the lake where I've heard other stories of measured 50+ inch fish, it may have been overpopulated by the mostly smallish Pike, so it may be a good re-start for the lake. What do you think? Any thoughts are appreciated.
Happy fishing
Brian