So, you're a trout, swimming along, eating bugs, when you receive a shock. You start to swim in a wiggling, sideways motion. Then a net scoops you up. You are dumped into a bucket with your buddies until you are counted and measured. Then you're released back into the water, where you start eating bugs again.

You have just been included in a fish survey in the Gunpowder Falls.

Volunteers joined state fishery biologist Charlie Gougeon at three locations on the river below Prettyboy Dam last week for an annual fish count. The survey has been done since 1987 to keep track of the trout population.

About 20 people showed up Sept. 22 to help count fish on a 300-foot section of the Gunpowder Falls off Falls Road, in Parkton. They included representatives from Baltimore city and county, Maryland's Department of Natural Resources and Montgomery County, as well as volunteers from the Backwater Angler fly fishing store in Monkton, and area residents.

Two Department of Natural Resources workers put on electrofishing backpacks, which looked like ones worn in the movie "Ghostbusters." The large packs had plenty of knobs, switches, gauges and wires, plus a long wooden pole with a metal ring on the end.

The two men entered the river and began walking upstream, sweeping the pole through the water. Each time they pushed a button, a high-pitched squeal sounded as 350 volts at low amperage were sent through the water.

Volunteers with nets and buckets followed in their wake.

"You have to be quick," Gougeon said from the riverbank. "The fish are dark and the river's dark, and we want to get them before they go downstream."

There was chatter on the river as everybody pointed out fish.

"There's one. There's another. Look over there, over there by the rock. Whoa, that's a big one. Oh, that's a nice rainbow. There's a bunch right here. Hey, that's a nice fish."

Norma Kawecki, a Natural Resources specialist in Montgomery County, slipped and fell into the water, yelling "Power off!" as she went down.

"I've done this for years, and I've been shocked before and it hurts," she said. "I've learned to yell."

Behind her, first-time electrofish volunteer Mike Elardo, of Parkton, said he kept praying he wouldn't fall.

"I was carrying a bucket they dumped the fish in, and all I could think is that if I dropped it, all those fish would be gone and I'd wreck the whole survey."

Elardo said he normally fishes in the same area.

"I don't golf, and I needed something for relaxation, so fishing is it."

The crew did three sweeps along the same section of river, catching fewer fish each time. Last year, they collected 305 adult brown trout last year on that stretch of water, Gougeon said. This year's catch was 251. The lower number is no cause for alarm, but simply part of the natural cycle, said department fisheries biologist Todd Heerd.

"I love the Gunpowder. You feel like you're in Montana when you're out here, Kawecki said. "It's very humbling to see how many fish are in the river compared to how many you catch. You can be out here fishing and you'll swear there's no fish."

Before the fish were released, they were anesthetized, weighed, measured and assessed for general health.

"It was nice to see so many fish were thick for their length," said Theaux LeGardeur, owner of Backwater Angler. "The river is such a vital resource that it's important to do the survey each year, so if there's a problem, we know about it right away."

Electrofishing was also done at the Masemore Road and Blue Mount Road areas of the river.

The state began surveying trout populations after Baltimore City agreed in 1986 to allow a steady flow of cold water from Prettyboy Reservoir all year long. Baltimore owns both Prettyboy and Loch Raven reservoirs, which provide drinking water for the metropolitan Baltimore area.

"The agreement was for the city to allow enough flow for fish to live and have it not be above 70 degrees," said Bill Wolf, a member of Trout Unlimited, which helped form the 1986 agreement. Wolf is a licensed fly-fishing guide who has volunteered with the fish survey for a dozen years.

There are now 17.5 miles of ice-cold water that flow from Prettyboy to Loch Raven. The 7.5-mile stretch between Prettyboy and Blue Mount Road is for catch and release only.

The next three miles, from Blue Mount Road to Corbett Road, have a two-fish-a-day limit. The remaining river has a five-fish-a-day limit and is stocked by the state with hatchery trout.

---

user comments (0)