C&O Canal Drained - anyone know if its done for the season?

[Clever Knickname]

I went looking for carp in the C&O Canal near Georgetown yesterday afternoon and was disappointed to find it completely drained. 

Anyone know if this is temporary or if its done for the season?Does NPS ever announce that they are doing this anywhere?

Not too many fish, but at least there were some deer living in the canal!

[Michael Selby]

I hit the section from lock 8 down to below 7 twice in the last week.  Plenty of water in that stretch, but no action.  Saw some carp in the usual places, but very lethargic.  Also, virtually no bottom feeders at all.  This is my first season going for carp, so not sure if this is just the fish settling down for the winter or just a run of bad luck on my part...

[Jeffrey Silvan]

I walked the stretch from Fletchers down to the foot bridge to cross the canal around 34th st on Saturday afternoon. There's a little more water up towards Fletchers, but only a few places that will hold fish. Even then, your success will be limited because any fish that moves stirs up all the silt and they're super spooky to boot. Up higher, there were lots of school of what I think were gizzard shad, a few nice size LMB, and a handful of carp. I actually stuck what very well may have been my biggest carp to date (pics are still on the DSLR at home), but it's very difficult fishing and with how little water there is, I won't be harassing them again until there's more water. There's more water from Fletchers north, but I didn't walk that stretch.

What I've always wondered is where do the fish go when they do this to the canal? I only saw two dead fish and one fish that was actually still breathing on the mud - which makes me think maybe they were still in the process of draining it. But it was around a mile and a half of water too shallow to support anything more than some baitfish. How do the fish possibly escape from that long of a stretch of water as they drain it? Do they all get pushed up into the section north of Fletcher's that I didn't walk? Are they all pushed in the section right under Wisconsin where I didn't walk? How do they get back in the canal? Carp don't grow fast and there's no shortage of big fish in that section of the canal. 

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[TurbineBlade]

Does anyone know where the ducks go when the pond freezes over?  J.D. Salinger?  No?  Okay --

Gene

On Monday, October 26, 2015 at 9:32:21 AM UTC-4, Jeff Silvan wrote:

I walked the stretch from Fletchers down to the foot bridge to cross the canal around 34th st on Saturday afternoon. There's a little more water up towards Fletchers, but only a few places that will hold fish. Even then, your success will be limited because any fish that moves stirs up all the silt and they're super spooky to boot. Up higher, there were lots of school of what I think were gizzard shad, a few nice size LMB, and a handful of carp. I actually stuck what very well may have been my biggest carp to date (pics are still on the DSLR at home), but it's very difficult fishing and with how little water there is, I won't be harassing them again until there's more water. There's more water from Fletchers north, but I didn't walk that stretch.

What I've always wondered is where do the fish go when they do this to the canal? I only saw two dead fish and one fish that was actually still breathing on the mud - which makes me think maybe they were still in the process of draining it. But it was around a mile and a half of water too shallow to support anything more than some baitfish. How do the fish possibly escape from that long of a stretch of water as they drain it? Do they all get pushed up into the section north of Fletcher's that I didn't walk? Are they all pushed in the section right under Wisconsin where I didn't walk? How do they get back in the canal? Carp don't grow fast and there's no shortage of big fish in that section of the canal. 

On Mon, Oct 26, 2015 at 5:51 AM, Clever Knickname <andy.r...@gmail.com> wrote:

I went looking for carp in the C&O Canal near Georgetown yesterday afternoon and was disappointed to find it completely drained. 

Anyone know if this is temporary or if its done for the season?Does NPS ever announce that they are doing this anywhere?

Not too many fish, but at least there were some deer living in the canal!

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[namfos]

NPS regularly "dewaters" the canal in many sections (for the winter, I believe) I've sent some inquiries to the Canal Trust and to the Canal's public affairs office (in Cumberland, I think) to try and get a handle and maybe a schedule on when they drain it and what sections are affected.

Mark

[Rob Snowhite]

Patagonia DC Instagram showed it drained right before that hurricane that moved off shore. Not sure if it was precautionary at that moment to avoid flooding. The store employees get in there and clean it out often too when drained. 

Sent from my iPhone

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[Andrew Caballero-Reynolds]

I was up by Swains Lock this afternoon, and walked for a good half mile or more up from there fishing. Water levels were a bit lower but not by much. Caught a handful of 6"-9" bass and a few pan fish. Lots of leaves falling on the water catching your  streamers, but when you find a break in the leaves, there are fish in the deeper holes for sure. 

On Monday, October 26, 2015 at 4:21:24 PM UTC-4, Rob Snowhite wrote:

Patagonia DC Instagram showed it drained right before that hurricane that moved off shore. Not sure if it was precautionary at that moment to avoid flooding. The store employees get in there and clean it out often too when drained. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 26, 2015, at 5:51 AM, Clever Knickname <andy.r...@gmail.com> wrote:

I went looking for carp in the C&O Canal near Georgetown yesterday afternoon and was disappointed to find it completely drained. 

Anyone know if this is temporary or if its done for the season?Does NPS ever announce that they are doing this anywhere?

Not too many fish, but at least there were some deer living in the canal!

--
http://www.tpfr.org
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[river rat]

i have been fishing this canal for over 50 years now.  they drain the canal pretty much whenever they want, either to clean it out or to prevent damage from heavy rains or, in my opinion, because they have nothing better to do.  most of the fish get swept down stream with the flow and end up in the potomac river.  sometimes, park workers scoop up the excess fish from the locks in georgetown and take them someplace else (?).  draining the canal is very controversial because it disrupts the natural propagation of fish species.  when they refill the canal again, fish will be swept in along with the water through the feeder canal in brookmont, maryland at lock 5.  but how many fish and fish species get swept in is pure luck.  this is the main reason why you don't see more fisherman on the c and o canal.

On Monday, October 26, 2015 at 9:32:21 AM UTC-4, Jeff Silvan wrote:

I walked the stretch from Fletchers down to the foot bridge to cross the canal around 34th st on Saturday afternoon. There's a little more water up towards Fletchers, but only a few places that will hold fish. Even then, your success will be limited because any fish that moves stirs up all the silt and they're super spooky to boot. Up higher, there were lots of school of what I think were gizzard shad, a few nice size LMB, and a handful of carp. I actually stuck what very well may have been my biggest carp to date (pics are still on the DSLR at home), but it's very difficult fishing and with how little water there is, I won't be harassing them again until there's more water. There's more water from Fletchers north, but I didn't walk that stretch.

What I've always wondered is where do the fish go when they do this to the canal? I only saw two dead fish and one fish that was actually still breathing on the mud - which makes me think maybe they were still in the process of draining it. But it was around a mile and a half of water too shallow to support anything more than some baitfish. How do the fish possibly escape from that long of a stretch of water as they drain it? Do they all get pushed up into the section north of Fletcher's that I didn't walk? Are they all pushed in the section right under Wisconsin where I didn't walk? How do they get back in the canal? Carp don't grow fast and there's no shortage of big fish in that section of the canal. 

On Mon, Oct 26, 2015 at 5:51 AM, Clever Knickname <andy.r...@gmail.com> wrote:

I went looking for carp in the C&O Canal near Georgetown yesterday afternoon and was disappointed to find it completely drained. 

Anyone know if this is temporary or if its done for the season?Does NPS ever announce that they are doing this anywhere?

Not too many fish, but at least there were some deer living in the canal!

--
http://www.tpfr.org
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