Urgent!!! Fish Are Dying And I Need Advice Asap!

[jeremysayshi]

I live in Arkansas and we haven't had rain in what seems like ages. Around my house there lives about 9 different small ponds, most of which are drying up at a drastic rate.

One pond in particular used to be about half the size of a football field and teaming with fish...a lot of which are some pretty nice bass. This pond is now reduced to the size of your average swimming pool. I can walk across parts that used to be a few good feet deep.

I haven't seen any dead fish lying in the dry areas yet (probably because wild animals got them) and it appears that most of the fish are cornered up in that little pool. If I walk beside the water, the whole thing pretty much moves from the fish stirring around.

Recently I've been trying to catch as many as I can and transplant them to a larger healthy nearby pond. However, as you can imagine this process is going very slow as I'm (surprisingly) only 2 or 3 per fishing session. I even thought of trying to net them, but there is still enough water for them to shift away from the net, so netting (with a standard net) is out of the question.

I need advice. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can catch these fish and transport them on a slightly larger scale. I'm afraid if we don't get a lot of rain soon, the pond will be almost completely dry and we'll lose all the fish in it. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,

Jeremy

[LgMouthGambler]

Net?

[Nitrofreak]

Do you have a pick-up truck?

[jeremysayshi]

Tried a net, they swim away and I can't get em. Maybe a giant net, but then there is a ton of brush that would get in the way.

No I don't have a pickup, but I have access to one.

[Stasher1]

I know you're trying to do a good thing, but you should check with your state's Dept of Natural Resources or Fish & Game. In many states, it's illegal to transfer fish from one body of water to another unless you own both bodies of water, and it's also illegal in many states to catch "game fish" with a casting net.

[Zoff]

Who owns the ponds? Speak with the owners first and then see if Fish & Game Department will help.

[jeremysayshi]

I'm good friends with the owner. He owns all the ponds on the property. It's a golf course, and I live in a house on the course. I'm just transferring the fish from one pond to another on the same property. He doesn't know what to do either and is also concerned, though not AS concerned as I, because he's not a fisherman...but a lot of his paying golf club members and residents fish these ponds so it does bring up concern for him.

I'm sure he'd be very pleased if I were to find a way to pull it off. We don't have to remove ALL of the fish just yet, but probably a good majority. Most of the greenery in the pond is is no longer in the water...there's hardly any vegetation left to produce fresh oxygen for the fish. With all the fish crammed into that one spot...it's a very threatening situation.

[Nitrofreak]

If you not breaking any laws then I would suggest lining the truck bed with some heavy plastic, filling the bed half full of water from the pond preferably, and loading all the fish at once and transporting to a new location, but if you can stick it out a little longer then I would wait as long as possible before you decide to transfer the fish.

I hope you guy's and gals get the rains you so desperatly need.

Good luck and be safe !!!

[jeremysayshi]

If you not breaking any laws then I would suggest lining the truck bed with some heavy plastic, filling the bed half full of water from the pond preferably, and loading all the fish at once and transporting to a new location, but if you can stick it out a little longer then I would wait as long as possible before you decide to transfer the fish.

I hope you guy's and gals get the rains you so desperatly need.

Good luck and be safe !!!

Yea, I think I may wait a few more days, maybe a week before I do anything major, but there is a major heat wav right now. High's in the lower 100's with no chance of rain forecasted for the next two weeks. I'll keep an eye on it, and if it continues to evaporate, I'll get with the owner and Fish & Game and see what we can do.

I'll try to snap a picture this afternoon so you guys can see how bad it is.

[Nitrofreak]

I hear on the news about your conditions out west and my heart goes out to all of you !!!

Good luck and God bless !!!

[ToddP]

If you haven't already, I would contact Game & Fish ASAP. If they can't physically help, they will provide you with advice on how to legally do it.

[Hyrule Bass]

i wouldnt dump them all in the same pond though if a few of the ponds are fine water wise split them up. and later on when the ponds recover you can catch some from the other ponds and put back in the affected ponds

[Basswhippa]

This may sound counterintuitive, but given the description you have given, I would take all of the smaller fish I could out of there, and maybe a few of the larger sized ones and pray for rain. You have to get some of the biomass out of there. If you don't, and mother nature will and mother nature might anyway, if it stays so dry.

[steelslinger86]

You could try a seine net.

[AK-Jax86]

Get more poles in the water catch more fish

[Lund Explorer]

I'm good friends with the owner. He owns all the ponds on the property. It's a golf course, and I live in a house on the course. I'm just transferring the fish from one pond to another on the same property. He doesn't know what to do either and is also concerned, though not AS concerned as I, because he's not a fisherman...but a lot of his paying golf club members and residents fish these ponds so it does bring up concern for him.

I'm sure he'd be very pleased if I were to find a way to pull it off. We don't have to remove ALL of the fish just yet, but probably a good majority. Most of the greenery in the pond is is no longer in the water...there's hardly any vegetation left to produce fresh oxygen for the fish. With all the fish crammed into that one spot...it's a very threatening situation.

A golf course usually means some type of irrigation system. If the owner has the level of concern that you say he does, he might be open to the suggestion of diverting some of that system's capabilities into restoring the levels of those ponds. He may be even more open to that idea if you can provide a funding source to cover the cost (think electric to run pumps) of filling them.

It could be easier to help sponsor a special golf/fishing tournament on this course to accomplish this. Course owner sees additional revenue from greens fees and food/beverage sales, golfers or fishermen have an extra event to attend, plus you and other fishermen see your ponds saved. I don't see a loser in any of this idea.

Seems like an easier option than transporting fish, two at a time, especially when you consider that this pond will be greatly reduced once mother nature brings you that much needed relief.

[Zoff]

Another suggestion...

Do you have a local college with an Environmental based curriculum... marine biology or the like? FFA might be helpful. Any eco-friendly organizations that would volunteer bodies to help?