Flooded Rivers?

Type: Nontidal
Region: Western
Location: Potomac River

Many MD rivers are hugely swollen from the rains this past week.

The Potomac Point of Rocks gage is showing 19+ feet as of Saturday morning. I like to wade fish when it's down around 1.5 feet! I won't go near it when it's high and dangerous. Last summer the gage read even below 1.0 feet, and I could walk halfway across the river.

I'm guessing that the current high waters overflow the canal tow path and fill the canal. Many fish will get trapped as the waters recede, won't they?

How often do extremely high levels flow through, and do the fish populations suffer proportionately? Is there a general range of depths that they can hunker down throughout the surges, but higher levels hurt them? Of course the surges when they're trying to spawn would be disruptive. I'm thinking, too, of how the surges flush / scour the vegetation which their feed minnows need. Without forage, the bigger fish would have a tough time.

DNR RESPONSE via John Mullican, Fisheries Biologist - Nearly to the day, one year later, the upper Potomac River endured a flood similar to the March 2010 flood. Once the river crests above the towpath by several feet, fish that moved towards the banks to escape the strong currents can become trapped in the canal as the river recedes below the level of the towpath. Thankfully, flows were slightly lower than last year and the river remained below the C&O Canal towpath for the most part. Over the weekend Inland Fisheries staff checked areas where the river is known to enter the canal under high flows. At this time we do not anticipate that a large number of fish are trapped in the canal. However, flood waters may have been high enough immediately below Dam 4 and Dam 5 to move fish into the canal. We will be monitoring these areas as the water recedes to determine if recovery efforts are warranted. You can assist us by letting us know if you see trapped fish in these, or any other areas of the canal, as they become dewatered. Keep in mind that some areas of the canal hold water yearround and not all areas that currently have water will hold fish. Fish will only be found in the canal near areas where the river topped the towpath by several feet. Fish are well adapted to dealing with floods and have done so for thousands of years. Nevertheless, it can be stressful and does require increased energy expenditures to adjust to the rapidly rising and falling flows. This flood occurred prior to the spawning seasons and is not expected to disrupt this years reproduction. Mount Airy angler Ed Lewandoski provided the following link that really shows the many faces of the Potomac and the conditions during the last flood: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do-OnzVjqFc.