The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) will be "shock sampling" the trout holding sections of the Smith River starting on Tuesday, August 19th through Thursday August 21st. They nomally arrive in the area about 10:00 am on the first day and work the specific locations and times around the Philpott generation schedule, much like knowledgeable fishermen who either get behind or ahead of the generation surge. They remain in the area for a full day on Wednesday and usually depart early afternoon on Thursday. There are ten or more sample sites. A good way to locate them is ride up and down the easy access points and look for a half dozen or more VDGIF trucks.
The VDGIF Fisheries Biologists encourage participation by volunteers willing to help as they scoop up and process the fish. Don't forget your waders if you want to help with the line of "netters" as they move upstream through each site. If you just want to sit on the bank and watch they don't mind that either. Many of us have participated before and it is definitely an eye opener. It gets pretty humbling when you look at a 100 yard section of stream and think "I could probably catch 2-3 out of there" and then they come up through it with the electro prods and roll up 4-600. There are a couple of sites that normally produce over a 1000.
As the time gets closer and we have a more definitive schedule we will share it with you.
The VDGIF Fisheries Biologists encourage participation by volunteers willing to help as they scoop up and process the fish. Don't forget your waders if you want to help with the line of "netters" as they move upstream through each site. If you just want to sit on the bank and watch they don't mind that either. Many of us have participated before and it is definitely an eye opener. It gets pretty humbling when you look at a 100 yard section of stream and think "I could probably catch 2-3 out of there" and then they come up through it with the electro prods and roll up 4-600. There are a couple of sites that normally produce over a 1000.
As the time gets closer and we have a more definitive schedule we will share it with you.