By Chuck Frederickson
After a long, hot summer it’s starting to feel a little like fall. The water temperatures in the river are down to the low 80’s as are the air temps. This is better than the 90’s we had all summer. Sweet autumn clamatis is blooming, the yellow flowers are blooming in the marshes, fish are becoming more active and more and more butterflys are crossing the river—a great time to be on the river. A lot of the ospreys have left for the season. I’m always glad to see them come in the late winter and sad to see them go in the fall.
We have numerous Atlantic sturgeon in the river now in the area between Westover and Dutch Gap. Yesterday, eight fish were caught near our spawning reef site and all released in good shape after being measured, weighed and tagged. We also picked up several fish on our hydroacoustic receivers. I counted at least ten fish jumping. If you are out on the water in this area, keep your eyes open for jumping fish. It’s quite a sight to see a six foot long fish come completely out of the water!
