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Adopt-A-Fish Update: May 20, 2004 trigger fish movements Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Flows in the Yellowstone River came up last week, going from 1,800 cubic-feet-per-second (cfs) to 10,000 cfs. That kind of a strong increase in flows is usually what native species in Missouri River Adopt-A-Fish are looking for to trigger movements upstream. But, then the snow and cold temperatures hit and slowed the down runoff once again. Despite the below average pulse and cold temperatures, the fish still are moving around a little. However, more of our rebellious adopt-a- fish are choosing the Missouri River over the Yellowstone that they usually choose. Why? I’m not sure. Now, three out of four adopt-a- fish pallids are in the Missouri. Pallid sturgeon No. 1 is still in the tailrace below Fort Peck dam, pallid No. 2 made an entry this week and was found above the Bainville slough, and No. 4 is still moving up and was relocated at Poplar. Paddlefish No. 2 moved above the confluence in the Missouri this week, as well. Paddlefish No. 4 is still continuing his migration up the Missouri and is now above Wolf Point. Paddlefish No. 1 has either outsmarted our state of the art equipment the past couple weeks or has dropped down into the reservoir. Lastly, paddlefish No. 3 is the only adopt-a-fish that has not been relocated yet this year. She most likely spawned last year and we’ll probably not see her in the river again, until 2006, since female paddlefish only spawn every three years. Although most of our adopt-a-fish paddlefish are in the Missouri, we are seeing more of the radio-implanted paddlefish in the Yellowstone up to Sidney as of last Friday. On the other hand, there are no implanted pallid sturgeon or blue suckers in the Yellowstone River right now. It should be an interesting week. With the Yellowstone flows now receding, I’m curious to see if the paddlefish move back out of the Yellowstone and turn up the Missouri. A vast majority of our blue suckers are stacked right at the mouth of the Milk River. It will be interesting to see what these guys are going to do. All the fish are waiting, but I think due to the lack of water, it is going to be a tough year for our native species through out the whole state. Our last adopt-a-fish update for schools will be posted on the Internet on May 27. It’s just about the end of the school year and like the kids anxious to get out and play in the summer ahead, we’re getting anxious to do a little fishing. We will continue to post periodic updates throughout the summer. |
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