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[clarki]

Thanks Dave. I can appreciate that perspective.

What has happened that Cultus is no longer a suitable lake for spawning or rearing sockeye?

[RalphH]

I don't think anyone here is advocating that the situation be left as it is. If there is any good news it's that sport fishing provides the immediate response to the arrival of SMBs in Cultus Lake and the lower Fraser watershed.

I'd also like to point out that there are a lot of lakes and waterways just in BC that have SMB populations and there is not a lot of evidence their introduction has had a negative impact on any salmonid population. They have been in the lower Okanagan watershed for at least 50 to 60 years and the recovery of sockeye populations there over the last 30 years has taken place in spite of populations of SMBs and LMBs being present in Osoyoos Lake, Vaseaux Lake, Skaha Lake and the connecting waterways. Sockeye can now pass over the dam at OK Falls into Skaha yet that lake has hosted at least one bass tournament.

I don't know what other remediation have been suggested or is available other than  sport fishing with a mandated kill. Anyone else have any ideas? 

[Dave]

Thanks Dave. I can appreciate that perspective.

What has happened that Cultus is no longer a suitable lake for spawning or rearing sockeye?

Cultus sockeye are unique in that they are all beach spawners, historically at Lindell Beach and a few other shore line beaches. Over the years the up welling groundwater did a great job of incubating sockeye and chum eggs, but this upwelling has been drastically altered and basically doesn't happen now.  On top of that Eurasian Water Milfoil has encroached on spawning beaches, water has warmed considerably, and dissolved oxygen levels have dropped.  Over fishing in past years and a myxosporean parasite that affected the fishes kidneys also played a big part in this stock's decline.

[wildmanyeah]

I don't think anyone here is advocating that the situation be left as it is.

Why not?


It's a ditch now that has the prime ecology for bass not salmon.

I don't think Cultus lake sockeye need another 100 years of study

[clarki]

Cultus sockeye are unique in that they are all beach spawners, historically at Lindell Beach and a few other shore line beaches. Over the years the up welling groundwater did a great job of incubating sockeye and chum eggs, but this upwelling has been drastically altered and basically doesn't happen now.  On top of that Eurasian Water Milfoil has encroached on spawning beaches, water has warmed considerably, and dissolved oxygen levels have dropped.  Over fishing in past years and a myxosporean parasite that affected the fishes kidneys also played a big part in this stock's decline.

"hits thanks button"

[RalphH]

Why not?


It's a ditch now that has the prime ecology for bass not salmon.

I don't think Cultus lake sockeye need another 100 years of study

Politically there is going to be pressure to do something to remove them even if it's too late, won't work  and can't help the Cultus Sockeye. I bet the SMBs got into the lake naturally. Silver Lake just south across the border has them. They have been legally stocked in Washington by the WDFW. Now they are in Cultus they will probably move into the Vedder and Fraser. I think the Harrison will be very favorable habitat for them. It's very similar to some of the rivers I fished for them in Ontario though on a much larger scale. If that happens I don't know how the cutthroat population will fare. Experience in lakes such as St Mary's on Saltspring is the cutts adapt well and both simply move into separate niches. No one talks about getting them out of that lake or Shawnigan or Skaha. They have fit right in.

[Dave]

Ralph, is there a waterway that connects Silver lake with Cultus lake?  I know they were connected eons ago but don't think they are now.

[CohoJake]

Ralph, is there a waterway that connects Silver lake with Cultus lake?  I know they were connected eons ago but don't think they are now.

Silver Lake is relatively high in the hills and drains south through Maple Creek into the North Fork Nooksack River.  I don't see any way it could connect to the north. It is far more likely that the SMB's came up the Vedder and swam up into Cultus, if they weren't introduced. Maple Creek has some cascading waterfalls, so no salmon can make it up to the lake.

[RalphH]

https://elevationmap.net/cultus-lake-british-columbia

the elevation rise north of Silver Lake is 10 feet meters or less before it descends down to the Lindell Valley and Frost Creek. Maybe it's possible the lake could be high enough at times to spill some water off to the north?

I am only saying this because I find it difficult to believe a member of the bucket brigade could transport bass from the Okanagan or the Gulf Islands and keep them alive long enough to move them to Cultus Lake. I remember someone else suggested the same idea for LMBs getting into the Sumas and Vedder from Judson and Laxton Lakes. I was very skeptical but am much less so now.

BTW Silver is a more alkaline lake than most we have in the valley. It had a nice trout fishery at one time.

[RalphH]

Silver Lake is relatively high in the hills and drains south through Maple Creek into the North Fork Nooksack River.  I don't see any way it could connect to the north. It is far more likely that the SMB's came up the Vedder and swam up into Cultus...

sure but from where? Cultus is the first known location of SMBs in the Fraser watershed.

[CohoJake]

sure but from where? Cultus is the first known location of SMBs in the Fraser watershed.

Or multiple fish dropped by eagles?  There are quite a few aggressive eagles at Silver Lake, and I would imagine a SMB could survive a 5-10 minute flight no problem. 

Is that really the first known location in the whole Fraser watershed? Are there none it the lakes in the Thompson system?

[Dave]

sure but from where? Cultus is the first known location of SMBs in the Fraser watershed.

This is my point.  I believe these bass were transported by people who knew exactly what they were doing. The niche provided by the NPM removals created a pretty good environment for the bass to populate the lake ... now have several year classes that are apparently thriving. When some of these fish reach 4 or 5 pounds this lake will busy with anglers.

[RalphH]

Or multiple fish dropped by eagles?

waterfowl transportation of larva spiny ray fry has been suggested as one method of introduction to nearby watershed the idea being they may be able to survive on the wet feathers.

best info I can find on Fraser Watershed.

The first recorded occurrence of smallmouth bass in the South Thompson River watershed was in Phillips Lake in 1999 (Steve Maricle,BC MOE Regional Biologist, pers. comm.; Ken Tsumura, pers. comm., cited in Hatfield and Pollard 2006).  However, no local or downstream captures have since been recorded for this waterbody, suggesting a failed introduction or erroneous species identification (Steve Maricle,BC MOE Regional Biologist, pers. comm.).  Smallmouth bass have been recently confirmed in Gardom Lake, where a gravel outlet filter was constructed by the BC MOE in 2007 to prevent downstream movement of spiny-rayed fish species during seasonal outflows (Steve Maricle,BC MOE Regional Biologist, pers. comm.).

Following an angler-reported occurrence of smallmouth bass in July 2006, BC MOE staff confirmed this species to be present in four mainstem lakes and the mainstem channel of Beaver Creek, a tributary of the Quesnel River north of Williams Lake, BC (see Table 35 and Figure 9).  Based on the lack of historic stocking of bass species by government agencies in the middle Fraser River watershed and the geographic isolation of these confirmed occurrences from other known smallmouth bass populations in BC, it seems certain that they were established through one or more local, unauthorized introductions (Tom Wilkinson, BC MOE Regional Biologist, pers. comm.).

Smallmouth bass presence was confirmed for 50 waterbodies on Vancouver and the Gulf Islands, including 36 lakes and 14 streams (see Table 18).  Unconfirmed occurrences for smallmouth bass were recorded for three additional lakes.  Based on provincial watershed coding, confirmed and unconfirmed occurrence records for this species are distributed across 20 separate drainages, linked only by marine or estuarine waters.

First observation dates for Salmon River and Kawkawa Lake smallmouth bass are relatively recent, in 2000 and 2003, respectively (Tracy Cone, DFO Area, pers. comm.; Justin Peterson, Angler, pers. comm., cited in Hatfield and Pollard 2006).  Neither population originated through authorized stocking activities (Erin Stoddard, BC MOE Regional Biologist, pers. comm.).  This, together with the lack of direct physical connectivity between these waterbodies, suggests that their smallmouth bass populations originated through independent unauthorized introductions.  Only a single capture of smallmouth bass has been reported for Kawkawa Lake, this individual weighing approximately 1.4 kg (Erin Stoddard, BC MOE Regional Biologist, pers. comm.).  The lack of subsequent captures in this system may indicate a failed introduction attempt (Erin Stoddard, BC MOE Regional Biologist, pers. comm.).

https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/337851.pdf

A Review of Yellow Perch (Perca Flavascens), Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus Dolomieu), Largemouth Bass (Micropterus Salmoides), Pumpkinseed (Lepomis Gibbosus), Walleye (Sander Vitreus) and Northern Pike (Esox Lucius) Distributions in British Columbia. 2009

FWIW I heard  the Kawkawa report which was of a large dead female is now regarded as a hoax. I have heard of LMBs in Salmon but not SMBs. Either way it's though the illegal introduction was thought to have failed.

[RalphH]

Another quote from the paper above re: the spread of LMBs in the Fraser Valley:

 

McPhail (2007) states that largemouth bass dispersal into Lower Mainland Region occurred via the trans-boundary Sumas River system while local advocates for promotion and conservation of bass angling opportunities have advised government biologists of their belief that largemouth bass are naturally recruiting into waterbodies in the lower Fraser River watershed from long-established upstream sources on the Fraser River floodplain

so the Sumas River could offer a pipeline for bass populations introduced in Washington State into the Fraser Valley and subsequent distribution (or illegal local transport & introduction) in the Fraser Valley.

[CohoJake]

Another quote from the paper above re: the spread of LMBs in the Fraser Valley:

 
so the Sumas River could offer a pipeline for bass populations introduced in Washington State into the Fraser Valley and subsequent distribution (or illegal local transport & introduction) in the Fraser Valley.

BTW what is your source for there being SMB in silver lake?  I have never seen them there (I haven't fished it much) and I don't know of any in the Nooksack watershed (there are plenty of LMB though).