'DAILY' INTELLIGENCER Saturday, November 19, 1977 Page '7 Fisherman's delight Walleyes to abound at Lake Nockamixon By ANNE SHULTES work site for long periods, he exIntelligencer Staff Writer plained. boosting the cost from the When man-made Lake Nockamixon was created a few years ago, fishermen reaped the benefits of an unusually plentiful supply of fish during the first season. It was too good to last, and biologists could have told the delighted creelmen that it undoubtedly wouldn't. Newly flooded ground creates conditions that are ideal for growing fish. The high fertility provided by decomposing vegetation starts a rich food chain.
There is plenty of room for the fish. And because all the fish stocked are about the samne size, there are no predators to cut down the population. "You see all the fish, and you ask yourself how can we do this again," said Richard Marshall, a Tinicum Township resident who is area fisheries manager for the Pennsylvania Fish Commission. They can't create a new lake every year, but Marshall and some of his associates are working on a project which they believe will provide a yearly rerun of the new lake conditions, at least when it comes to walleye, a variety of perch. Marshall said walleyes grow well in Lake Nockamixon, but the rate of reproduction is poor.
The Fish Commission has not been able to get the numbers needed nor the size desired out of the state hatcheries system. The solution was to create a nursery for the walleye, one which will mimic the conditions of a new lake every year. The area chosen was a four-acre marsh on the northern shore of the lake, very close to the water's edge. Normally dry, it has been blocked off with a small earthen dam and planted with grasses that will withstand periodic flooding. Marshall said the area will be flooded in March by closing a gatelike structure.
The water will be shallow and sunlight will be able to penetrate to the bottom, creating ideal conditions for the nurturing of small fish. This natural warmth will be preserved by gates which have been designed so that any overflow will be discharged from the bottom of the marsh, rather than having the With Lake Nockamixon in the background, biologist Charles Emery, Quakertown, fisheries technician for the Pennsylvania Fish Commission, inspects the outlet apparatus which is part of a four-acre marsh in which fish will be nurtured under ideal conditions each sPring for the benefit of the lake's fishermen. (Staff photo by Rudy Millarg) large numbers of walleye fry," Marshall said. The recently-hatched fish are expected to thrive under the new-lake conditions and will be "good-size fingerlings" by June or early July. At that point the fish will be flushed out into the lake and the marsh will be allowed to dry out.
It will exist as a fallow field for about eight months, and this is expected to renew a fertile condition for the following year. Marshall said this is only the second time the experiment has been tried in the state. ON THE COVER Louis Burke of Bedminster Township fishes ID Lake "About April 1, we will introduce Nockamixon on a fall dav Two ways to reduce fuel costs. The Ha Tana Cope 195 1. muh-fuel bukt for a cantal but water heant Cans It's a und what alkms to one lom cost wood in addition to dairkuy and oil or ph 4 your sourer of hear her f*cku meth wowed, warms your bume and plundo pictay 01 his tap water as well Should she wood fisc go untended, automata will -wild to anodes luck, and the bunker will 15 supple all your scanne and her walet pecul, 11kc Faso A on cad no notal burenny banker to work with evung onl or pa-fired hi walCT heanng sycon to give 34 muhi f*ck economy Used wah your hanky.
it allows you to hem your whole bows with all the use, ut metely your prewnt luck 3 by offers burning would like the H5 af the boiler. wood the fire law dies A- The HS-Tarm Type Of camenient operation your ent or gar burnet will take user automatically 1lk: 189 lam OF or the Too A 1 wall Enc you relable wrous helping to pretext you The Tasso A-3 from merci fuel fuels shortages Choose and thee the butler hugh sham's sent of ngha com for you' Available at: THE HEAT SHED ROCK RIDGE REVERE, PA. 18953 847-2224 OPEN WEEKDAYS BY APPOINTMENT SATURDAY 9 TO 5 P.M. wiseum, A STA 40 4) estimated $12,000 to $25,000 should have been able to build one twice as big for the money," he said. The funds came out of the Fish A 1 The Fish Commission designed the project, while Nockamixon State Park provided much of the equipment.
The extension service of the Pennsylvania State University was consulted after somebody raised the question of what kind of grass to plant. "It had to be something that could stand three months of inundation," Marshall said. The extension service recommended that four varieties be tested: meadow foxtail, which Marshall said "shows the best reed canary grass; tall fescue; and Kentucky bluegrass, a standard for lawns, as a control. The marsh will serve as a test patch for the most suitable variety, and Marshall this has imoortance beyond the fish-nurturing project. "In many of these housing developments, they are putung in drainage-retention basins.
They have been looking for a grass that can withstand the periodic inundation," said Marshall, who is a member of the Tinicum Township Planning Commiion. Another group that cooperated in the project is the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science, which has cultured a certain species of an invertebrate genus called Daphnia for a food source in the marsh. The Daphnia being provided will be larger than some other species and better able to stand up to cold weather, Marshall said. Marshall said the number of fish that will be provided is not certain, but could be as high as 40,000 per acre. That could mean over 100,000 walleyes cascading into the lake next summer.
It will have the effect of making Nockamixon a "new lake" and should rejuvenate the luck of a lot of fishermen, too. "The Fish Commission tried it once in the central part of the state. They blocked off an arm of a lake. It was less than ideal. It never really became completely dry," he said He said the technique has been used in Minnesota and Wisconsin, usually for the culture of Northern Pike.
So far, the only disappointing feature of the Project has been its cost, according to Charles Emery of Quakertown, fisheries technician, who is heading the project. Delays because of bad weather caused equipment to sit idle at the WANTED: Men of all ages To Be Big Brothers There are many fatherless boys in Bucks County who need your attention and concern. So if you're a man 18 to 80 and you care about young lives, you have a talent we need. CALL BIG BROTHERS NOW 343-9130 TO SHOW YOU CARE BuG BROTHERS OF BUCKS COUNTY Neshaminy Manor Center DOYLESTOWN, PENNA. 16901.
