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Post by anglerxxx on Sept 11, 2012 8:11:11 GMT -5
Howdy all! I've been trying to track the water levels and discharge rates via the USGS Water Information System lately, and was wondering if anyone else ever checks out this site? waterdata.usgs.gov/va/nwis/uv/?site_no=03171000&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060 The discharge(cfs) and water level charts seem to be in perfect harmony, so therefore I assume you could glean the same information from just one set of parameters. I prefer to follow the cfs chart, and I'm trying to formulate some relevance between discharge and fishing. The one thing that seems most relevant is that when the water is on the rise, the fish seem to bite way more frequently. And conversely, when the levels are dropping, the bite almost always seems sluggish. I realize that this may be old news to some, but I was wondering if anyone else uses these charts, and whether or not I might be missing something in my formula? If you haven't seen this site, check it out. You can also set up an alert via cel phone or e-mail here.
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Post by fishinhokie on Sept 11, 2012 10:50:59 GMT -5
I check the gauges often, especially after rain fall. There is also a free app called RiverFlows for Android users (not sure about Apple) that you can get the info on your phone at any time. These gauges are very accurate but not very frequent in some river systems. Make sure you are aware of tributaries and their effect on water level/flow before heading out.
Discharge typically increases dissolved oxygen and/or sediment loading. DO allows fish to be more active with less energy use and sediment can aid in the ability to hunt or grab an easy meal floating by. So I would say your observations are right on Scott.
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Post by anglerxxx on Sept 11, 2012 12:39:22 GMT -5
Hi Tyler, Thanks for the Android link, I'll have to check it out. The gauges show that the river is all the way down to 1420 cfs right now (1:30 pm), so the gambler in me thinks that it can't go any lower, and will be rising this afternoon very soon. The past trends seem to indicate most late afternoons see a general rise, and that serves my memory as well, in that around 4:00 pm the bite always seems to improve. This data also suggests that I'm not just crazy for thinking that the morning bite has never really been very productive on the New River, being that most discharges from Claytor appear to happen in the afternoon. I'm going out to try my luck up at Big Falls this evening. Scott
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Post by uncross on Sept 11, 2012 21:13:27 GMT -5
Scott, I have heard Jeff Little talk in person and several of his videos about when the water is rising is either the best or his favorite time to fish.
I check the guages and have the app on my phone to check the guages. I just have used them to see if the water is up and too high to do a solo paddle up and float back down. I had plans of doing a fishing log this year and recording all weather, water conditions, fish caght, areas they were caught, and patterns that worked and did not work. It hadn't thought about having water rising or falling. That would be a good addition, since it seems to be an important factor. I've not gotten to fish enough to do it this year, maybe next year.
Its turned out for me, to go whenever I get a chance to.
I've always prefered afternoon til dark fishing over morning. I also didn't realize that the discharge from claytor lake was at the same times every day, I have not ever paid much attention.
Great Post Scott, Thanks
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Post by anglerxxx on Sept 14, 2012 17:50:30 GMT -5
Jeff, I've started to write down some real basic info everytime I go out. Discharge(cfs), rising or falling water level, fish caught(size and number), weather, and the succesful bait. I know there are other important factors like water temp, air temp, barometric pressure, etc., but I'm not a scientist, just a fisherman. The water level has been dropping all week. It's real low right now, like 1300cfs. I think the low water(and high pressure) is making the fishing difficult right now. While it's always interesting to amass data and build hypothesis, I try to remind myself that fishing is as much an art, as it is a science. I can sympathize with your sentiment about finding the time to get out,though, I know that I really just fish whenever I can!
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Post by uncross on Sept 18, 2012 7:46:43 GMT -5
I bet the levels are up now!
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Post by anglerxxx on Sept 18, 2012 18:22:48 GMT -5
Haha...nearly 6000 cfs last night! 3080 right now, and I hope it keeps coming for a while. It was down near 1000, and getting pretty thin out there!
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Post by uncross on Sept 18, 2012 20:26:26 GMT -5
Scott,
do you use only the radford guage chart, or do you look at the glen lyn one also. I was wondering, since you usually fish between these two. I have never really studied them to see how similar they are or to look at when they release in radford and the water rises, how long does it take to make the levels rise down stream. Just a thought I got while looking at these tonight.
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Post by anglerxxx on Sept 19, 2012 4:45:52 GMT -5
I've been looking at the Radford site mostly, but I,ve been trying to look at Glen Lyn more. Glen Lyn is below to major creeks, Big Stony, and Walker Creek. You would think that the flows would be alot higher due to this, but I haven't really seen that. But you're right, I usually fish between these gauges, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to decipher the data.
Right now(5:30am) Radford is over 10,500 cfs! If you compare the two side by side using the 'table' output formula, it appears that it takes quite a while for the flow to travel the distance from Radford to Glen Lyn, and that it loses quite a bit of cfs in the journey, regardless of the creeks in between. Hmmm...
Unfortunately, I have to go to work right now, but I wish I could go down to the river to see what 10,550 cfs actually looks like. Scott
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Post by anglerxxx on Sept 23, 2012 10:11:43 GMT -5
Back down to 1570 fps this morning. It was still up around 3500 on Friday evening. With a stiff breeze and the the strong, but falling current, fishing was mediocre at best. I spent far more time paddling than I did fishing, and only caught 2 small fish in 2 hours. I'm hoping to get out this afternoon. It really cooled down today, the air temp is down to 54 right now(11:00am). I'm hoping the cool air might inspire some bass to feel hungry today!
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Post by uncross on Nov 29, 2012 22:33:26 GMT -5
Copied from one of Brad's post on another topic:
"Here is alittle more gauge info for the Radford reading. There is a phone number that you can call and get the radford level in feet. Back before internet this was the only way to get gauge readings for the New. It will give you real time levels. When you dial this number 540 639 3425 you will here a long beep. After it gives the level it will say "inter command" at this point you can hit 7 and that give you what the level was 30 min prier. Hit 7 again and now you are back 1 hr and so on. McCoy is roughly 5 to 7 hours away depending on high or low water. We knew exactly when to show up at ender hole for a perfect level for playboating. For people with Dumb phones now this still works great. Give it a shot!"
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Post by anglerxxx on Nov 30, 2012 8:07:13 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing that. I'm pretty amazed that it takes 5-7 hours for the levels in McCoy to match the Radford gauge. I think it blows up my previous correllations, but armed with this info, maybe I can start to really understand the data. If McCoy is 5-7 hours from Radford, it might be safe to assume that any afternoon release at Claytor won't even really reach Eggleston until well into the evening/night hours, thus making the release data far less pertinent than I thought. My math skills are super-lame. Does that sound correct, or am I missing something in my summation...?
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Post by porter91 on Nov 30, 2012 22:36:14 GMT -5
You are correct with your math. That is one of the topics that has been brought up with AEP. If they need to create hydro power Which they do. Why not pump it out a little earlier so river users can utilize the flow or rise. fishermen have the most to gain from this . Here is what they are dealing with..... Most of the times the push of water to make power needs to happen in the afternoon so that when people come home from work at 5:00 or so and turn on there air or heat and all the other appliances the power is there. This by the way is all going up the Ohio and not staying local
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