dead fish problem

[basschamp4]

this weekend i went out fishing at my grandma's electrics only lake with my friend and we caught some fish here and there whatever

but something was really weird we saw like 10+ dead fish (all bass and one tiny little 1lb catfish) floating against the banks i really dont know what this means but there is never this many

does anyone know any reason this might happen

[Rodman_Rob]

has there been any rain lately? lack of rain with the summer heat can cause low oxegen levels killing the fish.

[JB]

it also could have been someones fish in a fishbasket and they decided not to clean them and dumped them in the drink

[bassfisher02]

Could be a lot of different things...

Keep an eye on the pond, if no more fish turn up dead, then it very wel may be what JB suggested. If there are more fish turning up dead, it very well may be depleted oxygen in the water. In any case, if fish continue to turn up dead, you need to report it to the appropriate authories [local Wildlife Commission, and Fish and Game Authorities].

[JB]

the heat and oxygen depletion does make sense, I've seen it happen to ponds at dif. times of the year unfortunately

[basschamp4]

very little rain

we'll have a friggin monsoon but then we'll go a month with nothing

very few people keep or eat the fish around there so i doubt its the other thing

[bassfisher02]

It only takes one time for some newb to go out there and grab up a bunch of bass, then after a long day realize that they dont wanna clean them, and throw them back in. But, I dont believe that only a month without rain will deplete oxygen at such a rate to start killing fish. If that was the case, I'd be seeing a lot of dead fish in the small ponds around here. Its been some time since the last rain.

[Rodman_Rob]

a month will do it, especially during hot weather.

[bassfisher02]

Must have to do with the body of water.

But deffinitely keep an eye on it, if fish keep dying, and the body of water is an actual pond[meaning its pretty small] it could have a devastating effect on the fish and the fishing.

[Rodman_Rob]

Originally Posted by bassfisher02

Must have to do with the body of water.

But deffinitely keep an eye on it, if fish keep dying, and the body of water is an actual pond[meaning its pretty small] it could have a devastating effect on the fish and the fishing.

size, depth, plants, number of organisms, and bottom composition.

[BigBassin144]

Is the water dirt, or clear, if it's dirty, it will heat up faster and warmer water holds less dissolved oxygen in it than colder water. This would be my first guess, becuase since its an electric only lake it shouldn't have any pollution, unless there is another source you know of. Another tihng that could deplete oxygen levels could be if there is a lot of algae, even though it's a plant that makes oxygen in the water, it dies within a couple days to a week. when it does, bacteria feed on the decaying matter and use a lot more energy than the algae they are eating put out. so overall, because of algae's short lifespan, it ultimately causes more oxygen to be lost than it can replace.

hope this helps, BB144

[bassfisher02]

I thought that clearer water warmed up faster.

[Heretic]

Speaking of dead fish, something weird is going on all over canada. I was out fishing a local river with some friends in our usual spot. When we arrived at the river we started walking across to get access to deeper waters. hanging out in the shallow weeds where tons of carp, at least 6-7, and we have never seen them in that shallow there before. So we start fishing and i hook into something that isnt moving and dead weight, start pulling it in to get my lure back and what did i hook? A foot long bass...one problem tho...it was dead. This freaked us out a lot. we fished for a bit longer before heading in, on the way back we start to notice things stuck in the rocks. Dead carp , counted at at least 5 then. I ended up going back a few weeks later and it didnt get any better, the number was reaching up into the 50's. I havnt been back since. Is kinda weird, have read a few articles about it, whatever it is it cant be good.
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/226047

[bassfisher02]

That sure is weird Heretic. Keep us posted on any further information about the problem...

[eyes]

Very good posibility its VHS, new virus. Do a search for it and you should find a lot of info on this, big problem. Its in MI, WI, PA and Canada for sure, probably more states too. Here is a link for info on VHS
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/fish/pages/vhs.html

[Mac10]

Thinking the same a Eyes, in southwestern Michigan the virus hit my son's lake and killed off what was estimated as being two thirds of the bass population.

[stevomac59]

Originally Posted by Mac10

Thinking the same a Eyes, in southwestern Michigan the virus hit my son's lake and killed off what was estimated as being two thirds of the bass population.

Same thing happened to my friends pond some months ago, its very sad to see all the dead fish, but what can we do?

[Rebbasser]

Originally Posted by bassfisher02

I thought that clearer water warmed up faster.

Nope-stained water will. The particles that give it the stain will absorb more heat causing it to warm faster.

eyes, I thought the same thing. Here in Texas, mainly in North Texas, has had to deal with golden algae. Several of the lakes have had fish kills. Hopefully it is just lack of oxygen in the water-this time of year low oxygen can be a problem, especially in a small body of water.

[bassbooger]

i saw something like this happen when I was a kid. My neighbor owned a bunch of land with a couple of farm ponds and one summer it got really hot and didn't rain for over 2 months. I went to one of the ponds one day only to find what I would consider every fish in there dead and floating on top of the water. I just assumed it was due to lack of oxygen because of the heat and the drought. Never figured out why for sure though.

[BigBassin144]

yeah, the warmer water like bassbooger mentioned will cause hypoxic or even anoxic conditions. and like i said before, the dying algal blooms will also cause hypoxic conditions because of the microorganism eating the decaying aglae. still, it is sad to see all the good lunkers and future lunkers die...

bb144

[bassnman30]

Why would it kill just a few fish ? Seems like to me that it would kill most of the fish. (the oxygen,decaying plants etc..)

[bassfisher02]

It would depend on the size of the body of water I guess... One area may be experiencing the lack of oxygen whereas another part may be just fine. I'm still sold on that VHS Virus idea.

[Charles E. White]

They had a fish kill here in Ohio at Buckeye Lake a few years ago due to algae bloom and it caused the oxygen in the lake to deplete. It killed 1000's of fish.