Big Matty L Posted September 21, 2008 Posted September 21, 2008 Hey Guys... Horrible news from my local fishing hole... Couple weeks ago everyone woke up to 300+ dead bass ranging in weights from dinks to multiples in the 15-16lb range... also many big catfish and panfish... 500 fish in total or so and all these fish died at the same time local biologists attribute it to over-population and a lack of oxygen due to high water temps... lake has bubblers on one side... other side is where most of the deaths occured... You guys run into this much? The biologists were suprised that this hasn't happened to our lake before and assures us that there are still pleanty of fish in the lake... however fishing has suffered tremendously since the "turnover".... How long does a lake take to recover from somthing like this? Could this also be attributed to the strict catch and release bass policy? we're hoping that the trout stock in november will help to spur the bass action into action and recovery... any thoughts or comments appreciated Quote
Certified Public Angler Posted September 21, 2008 Posted September 21, 2008 wow...that is terrible. I have never heard of anything like this. To me it sounds like this would take upwards of 5 years to recover from this, but I'm no biologist. Very unfortunate... Quote
Mattlures Posted September 21, 2008 Posted September 21, 2008 What lake, Perris? Oh man that sucks. It would make me sick to se a bunch of big bass dead. Quote
TrippyJai Posted September 21, 2008 Posted September 21, 2008 awwwww man... that is horrible news indeed. it could take a few years for things to go back to normal, but that depends on how much effort is put into the process of recovery. i fish this one lake in southern ottawa, it used to be a hot spot, but someone told me they are going to shut down fishing for a year so that the numbers go back up. i wonder if a year will help. Quote
Low_Budget_Hooker Posted September 21, 2008 Posted September 21, 2008 If the dissolved oxygen level is low enough for a fish kill, don't plan on a trout stocking. Trout need much more oxygenated water than bass. It's a bummer, but it does happen. Quote
fishntime Posted September 21, 2008 Posted September 21, 2008 Hey Matt L, Im in Riverside county. What lake are you reffering to? Did they happen to Blue stone the lake recently? Quote
Joel W Posted September 21, 2008 Posted September 21, 2008 It's always a sad thing to see when there is any major fish kill. This year has been really tough on many lakes and reservoirs here in the North East, especially the NYC reservoirs. It got hot quicker then usual this year, the end result is that even these massive reservoirs have experienced lower then normal oxygen levels and there were some minor fish kills. Fish that normally "live" in the deeper weed beds have on many reservoirs gone even deeper as the weeds just out grew their water habitat. As for how long it will take for any body of water to recover from a fish kill, that depends on whether or not the lake was over populated to start with. over population makes for easier fishing, but the fish become stunted. A fish kill from lack of Oxygen could take a few years to double digit years to come back to normal fish populations, as every body of water is different. Quote
Super User Grey Wolf Posted September 21, 2008 Super User Posted September 21, 2008 Old mother nature strikes again. That's the way it is sometimes. Quote
Big Matty L Posted September 21, 2008 Author Posted September 21, 2008 Hey Matt L, Im in Riverside county. What lake are you reffering to? Did they happen to Blue stone the lake recently? Laguna Niguel Lake... Orange County's little secret... great lake to fish, small trolling motor, boat rental only kinda like.. Quote
mattm Posted September 21, 2008 Posted September 21, 2008 I guess you have to trust in bioliogists, but it seems odd to me that an overpopulated, small lake would have multiple 15-16lb fish. Hope it all works out for you. Quote
joshuaryan Posted September 21, 2008 Posted September 21, 2008 That sucks! :'( I'd like to see some pictures if you have any. Poor fish. Quote
boondocks Posted September 22, 2008 Posted September 22, 2008 A similar thing happened to a lake I fish here in the north country. But there is a bright side to fish die offs as hard as that is to imagine. They allow the system to replenish itself of much needed micro organisms such as freshwater shrimp. Not sure if them are found down in your parts but the result is much healthier(bigger) fish in the long run. Quote
fishntime Posted September 22, 2008 Posted September 22, 2008 Actually Lake laguna nigel and lake mission viejo, hold same serious sized bass.And they are both very small lakes... Quote
Super User Bankbeater Posted September 22, 2008 Super User Posted September 22, 2008 I haven't heard about a kill around here this year, probably due to the cooler summer and all the rain we have been getting. The last two years have been a different story. Last Sept. there was a kill right after a heavy down pour in one of the county lakes that killed about 80% of the fish in the lake. A lot of 6,7,and 8 pound largemouth were found floating on the top. The smaller bass and the cat did better. During Aug. '06 there were two fish kills in the same lake that happened about three weeks apart. The crappie and cat did ok but again the big largemouth in the 5,6, and 7 pound range all died. Quote
Big Matty L Posted September 22, 2008 Author Posted September 22, 2008 Actually Lake laguna nigel and lake mission viejo, hold same serious sized bass.And they are both very small lakes... those are my babies right there really my two main fishing spots... hopefully laguna recovers from this well Quote
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