1. East Carry Pond brook trout survey
2. West Carry Pond togue survey.
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EAST CARRY POND
FISH COLLECTIONS
SUMMARY REPORT
REGION D
Water name:
East Carry Pond Watcode: 0044
Township: Carrying Place Twp. County: Somerset
Surface area: 267
acres
Principal fisheries: Brook trout
Current regulations: ALO (S-6); 2 trout bag
limit, 10” min. length, only 1 over 12” (S-17);
Motorboat over 10 hp prohibited; Closed
to ice fishing
Stocking regime: None
_____________________________________________________________________________
Last surveyed: 08/30/2006
Purpose of Collection: General resurvey. Evaluate
wild brook trout population and fishery.
Sampling Needs: 30
brook trout
_____________________________________________________________________________
Date sampled: 08/17/2016
Gear Type:
Gillnet / Minnow trap
Effort expended: GN: 3.0 hours / MT: 4.1 hours
Summary of Catch
Species
|
Number
sampled
|
Percent
Hatchery
|
Mean
Length(in)
+/-
S.E.
|
Mean
Weight(lbs)
+/-
S.E.
|
Condition
(K)
+/-S.E.
|
All
Brook Trout
|
28
|
0
|
11.3
± 0.3
|
0.44
± 0.03
|
0.995
± 0.013
|
Age
1+
|
2
|
7.2
± 0.1
|
0.13
± 0.01
|
0.946
± 0.081
|
|
Age
2+
|
8
|
10.0
± 0.4
|
0.37
± 0.04
|
0.998
± 0.012
|
|
Age
3+
|
14
|
10.7
± 0.1
|
0.45
± 0.02
|
0.992
± 0.019
|
|
Age
4+
|
4
|
12.4
± 0.4
|
0.71
± 0.08
|
1.026
± 0.055
|
|
Smelt
(Age 2+)
|
2
|
0
|
6.3
± 0.2
|
0.05
± 0.01
|
Sampling Needs Met? (Yes/No), if no why, and
proposal to meet needs: Yes
Comments and Recommendations
The brook trout population at East Carry Pond
appears to be doing fine. The overall condition factor is down slightly from
1.036 during the years before the illegal introduction of smelt occurred. Trout
lengths at age were up in comparison with this same period, while weights were generally
down. Only age 4+ fish showed an improvement in condition over previous years
(0.929), a sign that these larger fish may be utilizing smelt as forage.
The water quality in East Carry Pond was only
fair with relatively warm temperatures down to 25’ and then low dissolved
oxygen below that depth. A new deep hole of 41’ was located, a significant
increase from the previous 30’ value.
East Carry Pond is accessible at the south
end via a hand-carry site maintained by the Carry Pond Association. This site
was very difficult to use this season due to the very low water conditions.
This site requires a ~2/3 mile walk for the general public to reach. Numerous
boats and canoes were found stashed on the pond’s NW shore. This appears to be
a popular access point coming in from the Carrying Place Road to the north. It
appears to be ~200 yd walk from the end of the nearest road to the pond.
The current regulations (S-6 & S-17) are working
fine. However, if a “only 1 trout over 14” regulation becomes a standard, it
could be coupled with a 2 fish bag (S-19) to form an effective combination. East
Carry Pond is scheduled for a resurvey in 2031, or sooner if any issues arise.
New depth data of the pond should be collected and a new depth map created as
time allows.
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WEST CARRY POND
FISH COLLECTIONS
SUMMARY REPORT
REGION D
Water name:
West Carry Pond Watcode: 0048
Township: Carrying Place Twp. County: Somerset
Surface area: 675
acres
Principal fisheries: Brook trout & Lake trout (togue)
Current regulations: ALO (S-6); 1 brook trout
bag limit, min. length 18” (S-18);
1 lake trout bag limit (S-25), min.
length 18”; Closed to ice fishing
Stocking regime: None
_____________________________________________________________________________
Last surveyed: 07/16/1992 (gillnet) &
Fall 2014 (trapnet)
Purpose of Collection: Evaluate young lake
trout with small-mesh GN in deep water.
Sampling Needs: 30
young (<18”) lake trout. Brook trout & larger togue as they come.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Date sampled: 08/17-18/2016
Gear Type:
Gillnet / Minnow trap
Effort expended: GN: 47.5 hours / MT: 46.3 hours
Summary of Catch
Species
|
Number
sampled
|
Percent
Hatchery
|
Mean
Length(in)
+/-
S.E.
|
Mean
Weight(lbs)
+/-
S.E.
|
Condition
(K)
+/-S.E.
|
All
Brook Trout
|
3
|
0
|
12.3
± 0.8
|
0.68
± 0.14
|
0.977
± 0.028
|
Age
II+
|
1
|
10.8
|
0.44
|
0.962
|
|
Age
III+
|
2
|
13.1
± 12
|
0.80
± 0.12
|
0.984
± 0.047
|
|
Released
alive
|
5
|
13½”
– 18”
|
|||
All
Lake Trout
|
31
|
0
|
21.5
± 0.7
|
3.53
± 0.37
|
0.907
± 0.021
|
Released
alive
|
6
|
19¼”
– 29¼”
|
|||
Smelt
|
8
|
2.8
– 4.1
|
-
|
||
Chain
Pickerel
|
2
|
4.2
± 0.1
|
-
|
||
White
Sucker
|
28
|
11.4
± 0.3
|
0.54
± 0.04
|
||
Longnose
Sucker
|
7
|
8.1
± 0.4
|
0.17
± 0.02
|
||
Golden
Shiner
|
10
|
2.8
– 4.4
|
-
|
||
Crayfish
|
11
|
Sampling Needs Met? (Yes/No), if no why, and
proposal to meet needs: Yes & No
Yes, a 30 lake
trout sample was collected while avoiding numerous brook trout in the bycatch.
No, lake trout sampled were all large fish and no ages could be discerned via
scale sampling to compare with other Regional waters.
Comments and Recommendations
The lake trout population at West Carry Pond
appears to be doing fine with many large fish in the fishery. Almost a quarter
of the sampled fish (using small mesh nets) were over 25” with the largest
weighing 9½ lbs. Stomachs contained SCL, SLT, CRA, unidentified fish remains,
and a rubber fish.
Nets were set in deep water hoping to avoid
many brook trout. Only 8 were caught with 5 of these being released unharmed.
All trout handled appears to be in good condition. However, bound parasite was
evident in 2 of the 3 BKT examined. This stage of nematode disrupts spawning
success and therefore may be a factor in the West Carry Pond’s low BKT
population. Anglers should be advised not to clean harvested trout in the pond,
as this spreads the parasite’s eggs. The brook trout population in West Carry
Pond is regularly monitored (every 6th year, if time allows) by
trapnetting.
The water quality in West Carry Pond was excellent
for coldwater gamefish with suitable temperatures below 30’ and adequate dissolved
oxygen almost to 95’.
West Carry Pond is accessible to the public
via a ~240 yd walk from a gate near the Boise Road that leads to the pond’s outlet
at the north end. There is a fine gravel launch site, but the gate is usually
locked.
The lake trout current regulations (S-6 &
S-25 with the general law 18” length limit) are working fine. There is no need
for changes at this time. The S-18 brook trout regulation could be modified and
that will be considered after the next population assessment in 2020. A resurvey
of West Carry Pond’s lake trout population will be scheduled again after 2030 or
sooner if any issues arise.
