Cow Runoff

[Missouribassman95]

What would cow runoff do to a fishery?  Would it kill the fish?

[Raul]

Depends on the amount of run off. Yes, it can kill the fish.

[Randall]

Cow runoff can grow giant bass. When looking for  lakes that grow big bass one of the first things I look for is cattle farms on the shoreline or upstream. The lakes I fish that grow the most big bass all have cattle farms both on the shoreline and upstream.

[OneUp]

Cow runoff can grow giant bass. When looking for lakes that grow big bass one of the first things I look for is cattle farms on the shoreline or upstream. The lakes I fish that grow the most big bass all have cattle farms both on the shoreline and upstream.

Never thought of that, but given the amount of hormones, antibiotics, etc that most livestock are injected with, it makes perfect sense...

[Missouribassman95]

Cow runoff can grow giant bass. When looking for lakes that grow big bass one of the first things I look for is cattle farms on the shoreline or upstream. The lakes I fish that grow the most big bass all have cattle farms both on the shoreline and upstream.

Never thought of that, but give the amount of hormones, antibiotics, etc that most livestock are injected with, it makes perfect sense...

Oh ya, I bet it also gives some nutrition, to the lake.

[oteymc]

It would take a lot of run off to kill fish.  To have much affect at all the cattle would have to be in a confined area, like a feedlot, and then not have much surface area between the confinement and the body of water.  If they are just loose in a pasture it would be so scattered, that I wouldn't think there would be much concentration in the run off from a rain.

As far as chemicals, I would think that a Golf Course has as much or more chemicals per acre than a farmer's field and there are multiple posts on here about how good the fishing is at golf course ponds.

Just my opinion.

[burleytog]

Cow runoff can grow giant bass. When looking for lakes that grow big bass one of the first things I look for is cattle farms on the shoreline or upstream. The lakes I fish that grow the most big bass all have cattle farms both on the shoreline and upstream.

Never thought of that, but given the amount of hormones, antibiotics, etc that most livestock are injected with, it makes perfect sense...

:

Really?  Really??

Don't believe everything you read.

[OneUp]

Cow runoff can grow giant bass. When looking for lakes that grow big bass one of the first things I look for is cattle farms on the shoreline or upstream. The lakes I fish that grow the most big bass all have cattle farms both on the shoreline and upstream.

Never thought of that, but given the amount of hormones, antibiotics, etc that most livestock are injected with, it makes perfect sense...

:

Really? Really??

Don't believe everything you read.

So, did you have anything to contribute to the thread, or did you just stop by to be a smartass? 

[RAMBLER]

Too much can kill a stream.  There is a river and a smaller stream running into a lake I grew up near.  On the smaller stream, a farmer fed his cattle, on the ice, all winter.  He knew what he was doing to the river, the wild life people talked to him about it and his attitude was, he didn't give a d--m.  He owned the property and could do what he wanted.  There was no law specifically saying he couldn't do that so he kept it up.  That's a lot of ammonia and nutrients to dump in a small stream.  I haven't been back to fish it in years, but that stream turned to brown mud and there were no more small mouth or musky in it. 

The larger river has turned brown from farm runoff.  Mainly fertilizer but also cattle concentrated on the sides of the river.  The water (when I was a kid a long time ago) had been crystal clear.  The fishing has gone bad along with the water quality. 

There is some education going on that wil some day do some good. 

:-[

[Grey Wolf]

As stated earlier , crap kills and if anyone thinks that's , so be it.

[firefightn15]

As stated earlier , crap kills and if anyone thinks that's , so be it.

X2  My local reservoir, which is small in comparison to most, suffered a huge loss last year due to low water levels and higher than normal nitrates from excessive run off

[grimlin]

Depends on the amount of run off. Yes, it can kill the fish.

This is correct....I seen it first hand when i was a kid.I completely destroy a little river/creek.

[Raul]

It would take a lot of run off to kill fish.

It depends on the size of the body of water.

It 's a matter of proportions, a lot of manure in a small body of water can kill the fish in a matter of days, as it decomposes causes oxygen depravation and the fish die due to the lack of oxygen.

Sure manure ( cow, horse, goat, sheep, swine, chicken ) can and is used as pond fertilizer but there 's certain amount you can use depending on the type of manure ( X lbs per square ft ) and every certain times at every certain schedule.

How good is manure as fertilizer, great in the right proportions. You can in certain cases and places see the benefits of that kind of fertilization. For example, a couple of hours drive from my home town there 's this town called Tepatitlán, not far from Tepa there are two lakes about the same size, both have the same species of fish: tilapia, carp, minnows, bluegills and bass; one grows monster size fish the other one doesn 't, the difference between both is not in the gene pool but in the environmental conditions, the one that grows moster fish is surrounded by chicken and swine farms, the other one isn 't, the manure piles are just there outside the farm houses, so when it rains manure runs into the lake fertilizing it ---> lots of plankton = lots of food.

[Wayne P.]

Just remember this: If you have MOO, you will have POO  ;D

[Missouribassman95]

Just remember this: If you have MOO, you will have POO ;D

HAHA very true

[Fishing Rhino]

A friend of mine puts it this way.

BS Little Beaver, BS.

The BS makes the green grass grow.  The green grass makes the BS.

[banned for spamming]

As a rule... most anything un-natural (cows have huge amounts of steriods) introduced into a body of water is a bad thing.

[tyrius.]

Never thought of that, but given the amount of hormones, antibiotics, etc that most livestock are injected with, it makes perfect sense...

That has nothing to do with it.  The benefit is from the nitrogen in the crap.  This "fertilizes" the water which enhances algae growth, which creates more food for the bottom of the food chain.  This allows the water to support more food for the bass so they can grow larger.

However, a severe run off can kill the entire lake. 

[Raul]

Never thought of that, but given the amount of hormones, antibiotics, etc that most livestock are injected with, it makes perfect sense...

That has nothing to do with it. The benefit is from the nitrogen in the crap. This "fertilizes" the water which enhances algae growth, which creates more food for the bottom of the food chain. This allows the water to support more food for the bass so they can grow larger.

However, a severe run off can kill the entire lake.

X2

[oteymc]

It would take a lot of run off to kill fish.

It depends on the size of the body of water.

It 's a matter of proportions, a lot of manure in a small body of water can kill the fish in a matter of days, as it decomposes causes oxygen depravation and the fish die due to the lack of oxygen.

Sure manure ( cow, horse, goat, sheep, swine, chicken ) can and is used as pond fertilizer but there 's certain amount you can use depending on the type of manure ( X lbs per square ft ) and every certain times at every certain schedule.

How good is manure as fertilizer, great in the right proportions. You can in certain cases and places see the benefits of that kind of fertilization. For example, a couple of hours drive from my home town there 's this town called Tepatitlán, not far from Tepa there are two lakes about the same size, both have the same species of fish: tilapia, carp, minnows, bluegills and bass; one grows monster size fish the other one doesn 't, the difference between both is not in the gene pool but in the environmental conditions, the one that grows moster fish is surrounded by chicken and swine farms, the other one isn 't, the manure piles are just there outside the farm houses, so when it rains manure runs into the lake fertilizing it ---> lots of plankton = lots of food.

I agree, that is what I was trying to say.  It would take a high concentration in proportion to the body of water. 

Too much of anything is bad.  Every environment requires balance.

[firefightn15]

That has nothing to do with it. The benefit is from the nitrogen in the crap. This "fertilizes" the water which enhances algae growth, which creates more food for the bottom of the food chain. This allows the water to support more food for the bass so they can grow larger.However, a severe run off can kill the entire lake.

I cited this instance on the first page of this thread and have several very saddening pictures that shows what excessive run of does

[hogrustler]

What would cow runoff do to a fishery? Would it kill the fish?

I believe the answer would be yes it is possible if the conditions were right. However, there are alot of variables to consider so I would not say it would kill fish in every case.

It depends on the size of the body of water.

It 's a matter of proportions, a lot of manure in a small body of water can kill the fish in a matter of days, as it decomposes causes oxygen depravation and the fish die due to the lack of oxygen.

With that I would agree. along with dangerous ammonia levels.

I also assume cow runoff means the cattle have no access to the water. If they do then its not cow runoff but instead a cow jacuzzi and that's a whole different problem.

[firefightn15]

Runoff in my area is the 1000's of gallons of liquid manure farmers pump onto the fields adjacent to waterways without respect to how much the soil can actually absorb and sustain.  It's worse in the winter months when they are spreading on frozen tundra and there is no seeping, just one straight shot to the local water sources.

[tyrius.]

Runoff in my area is the 1000's of gallons of liquid manure farmers pump onto the fields adjacent to waterways without respect to how much the soil can actually absorb and sustain. It's worse in the winter months when they are spreading on frozen tundra and there is no seeping, just one straight shot to the local water sources.

Here's an article from WI (your state) about it.

http://wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=34685

Farmers that do this should be held responsible for their actions.  They know exactly what they're doing and what the risks are before they spread.

[Fishing Cowgirl]

Bear in mind that lawns are fertilized with Cow manure and the drainage systems running from the streets to lakes and ponds.