Getting close but.....

keithdog · 03-10-11, 07:40 PM

Stopped out at one of the lakes I often fish at and found it's finally starting to open up. It's still about 85% ice covered but it's getting there.

But, I am worried about one thing.

This has been one of our worst and longest winters. The ice was thick and covered with a heavy blanket of snow for the entire winter. That spells trouble in the possability of a bad fish die off. In just the small area I was standing, I saw a couple dozen dead bluegill, some crappie, and a couple small bass. The one thing that really scared me is this. A couple years back goldfish were introduced into the lake by some dumba**. Well, they have multipied and the goldfish are known to survive even the most intense of winters, better than most fish. But tonight I found 6 dead goldfish. Glad they are dead, but what does that mean for the other species? I know of one large body of water that is a very shallow lake of about 600 acres about 45 minutes from my house. The DNR recently announced they believe a total fish die off has occured there this year. Thats a shame too because that lake was recently refurbashed and restocked by the DNR several years ago and the last 3 years, it has been a VERY good fishing lake with better than average growth rates in fish. The lake I wasd at tonight which is close to my home is where I caught my largest bass ever last year, an 8 pounder. When I was 17, we had a winter like this one. I went to the lake shortly after open water and found hundreds of dead bass floating all over the surface of the lake. I sure hope this isn't a repeat of that year!!!

Bassboss · 03-10-11, 07:55 PM

I hope it's not as bad as ya think. You're scaring me with all this talk of dead fish and winter!

bamabassman · 03-10-11, 09:07 PM

sammie, extreme cold weather does this. it is nature bud.

i hope it thaws out soon for you keith. we are getting a light freeze tonight too. but warmng up to 55 tomorrow. then low of 40 tomorrow night and high back up to 68 sat. then a warming trend through out next week.

think i am feeling a little sick......maybe a spring cold? hehehehehee........

Justin2729 · 03-10-11, 09:08 PM

man that would be awful i hope that doesn't happen!

rrw4258 · 03-10-11, 09:33 PM

huh, never heard of anything like that before.... the last couple of winters have not been that bad around here, especially on Lake Erie... but like you said this winter was BRUTAL. I think we will be fine though. We have had much worse winters before, so a couple of dead fish is normal over the winter.

Ryan

bassinbob · 03-10-11, 09:40 PM

The shallow lakes are deprived of oxygen with the longer than normal ice coverage. Hope it's not that bad for you.

WatterBoy · 03-10-11, 10:26 PM

The small local lake here has an aeration system, but it still couldn't keep up with the harsh winter weather a year ago and there was massive winterkill. Basically all the game fish died and only a few of the rough fish survived. They're still trying to figure out whether to restock or not. Hope it doesn't turn out to be like that where you are, Keith.

BigBassin144 · 03-11-11, 08:20 AM

Hope it isn't too bad for you keith. I'm worried about our one reservoir. It's down to only 7-8' deep from its usual 18-20'. I'm really hoping all this rain brings it back up some (not just for fishing, but for those who count on it for drinking water).

BB

smittyman · 03-11-11, 09:55 PM

this is a very sad thread

lol my hopes and wishes are with you keith, theres nothing sadder than a great fishery getting demolished by one harsh winter. but you gotta remember, its nature man. i know its horrible but it does happen. we had a river by me that was notorious for great carp and smallies but some a**hole chemical company started illegally dumping into the river and almost ruined it completely. granted this was a bit before my time, but my uncle told me it ruined about 5 years of fishing for the anglers in the area. the company has since been disbanded, but all i can say is these things do happen. here's to hoping your ice melts and your bass spawn, and you have a great year of fishing!!

keithdog · 03-12-11, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigBassin144

Hope it isn't too bad for you keith. I'm worried about our one reservoir. It's down to only 7-8' deep from its usual 18-20'. I'm really hoping all this rain brings it back up some (not just for fishing, but for those who count on it for drinking water).

BB

Thats the other part of the story I failed to mention. The lake which has an average depth of 12 feet except for three deep holes was about 5 feet low at freezeup due to the severe drought of last summer which lasted untill winter. That only made things worse I'm sure.

03-10-11, 07:40 PM	#1
keithdog BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: IN Posts: 8,308	Getting close but..... Stopped out at one of the lakes I often fish at and found it's finally starting to open up. It's still about 85% ice covered but it's getting there. But, I am worried about one thing. This has been one of our worst and longest winters. The ice was thick and covered with a heavy blanket of snow for the entire winter. That spells trouble in the possability of a bad fish die off. In just the small area I was standing, I saw a couple dozen dead bluegill, some crappie, and a couple small bass. The one thing that really scared me is this. A couple years back goldfish were introduced into the lake by some dumba**. Well, they have multipied and the goldfish are known to survive even the most intense of winters, better than most fish. But tonight I found 6 dead goldfish. Glad they are dead, but what does that mean for the other species? I know of one large body of water that is a very shallow lake of about 600 acres about 45 minutes from my house. The DNR recently announced they believe a total fish die off has occured there this year. Thats a shame too because that lake was recently refurbashed and restocked by the DNR several years ago and the last 3 years, it has been a VERY good fishing lake with better than average growth rates in fish. The lake I wasd at tonight which is close to my home is where I caught my largest bass ever last year, an 8 pounder. When I was 17, we had a winter like this one. I went to the lake shortly after open water and found hundreds of dead bass floating all over the surface of the lake. I sure hope this isn't a repeat of that year!!! __________________ Just one more cast, and then some!

03-10-11, 07:55 PM	#2
Bassboss BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Shawano, WI Posts: 7,761	I hope it's not as bad as ya think. You're scaring me with all this talk of dead fish and winter! __________________ If you can't fix it with heavy squats or fish oil, you're probably going to die.

03-10-11, 09:07 PM	#3
bamabassman BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: cedar bluff, alabama Posts: 15,292	sammie, extreme cold weather does this. it is nature bud. i hope it thaws out soon for you keith. we are getting a light freeze tonight too. but warmng up to 55 tomorrow. then low of 40 tomorrow night and high back up to 68 sat. then a warming trend through out next week. think i am feeling a little sick......maybe a spring cold? hehehehehee........ __________________ so many lures, so little time.

03-10-11, 09:33 PM	#5
rrw4258 BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bellevue, Ohio Posts: 2,338	huh, never heard of anything like that before.... the last couple of winters have not been that bad around here, especially on Lake Erie... but like you said this winter was BRUTAL. I think we will be fine though. We have had much worse winters before, so a couple of dead fish is normal over the winter. Ryan __________________ Never Give Up!

03-10-11, 09:40 PM	#6
bassinbob BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Pitts. Pa. Posts: 3,801	The shallow lakes are deprived of oxygen with the longer than normal ice coverage. Hope it's not that bad for you. __________________ you can have my fishin rod when ya take it from my cold dead hands

03-10-11, 09:08 PM	#4
Justin2729 BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Annville, Kentucky Posts: 342	man that would be awful i hope that doesn't happen!

03-10-11, 10:26 PM	#7
WatterBoy BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Owatonna, MN Posts: 2,280	The small local lake here has an aeration system, but it still couldn't keep up with the harsh winter weather a year ago and there was massive winterkill. Basically all the game fish died and only a few of the rough fish survived. They're still trying to figure out whether to restock or not. Hope it doesn't turn out to be like that where you are, Keith.

03-11-11, 08:20 AM	#8
BigBassin144 BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 9,463	Hope it isn't too bad for you keith. I'm worried about our one reservoir. It's down to only 7-8' deep from its usual 18-20'. I'm really hoping all this rain brings it back up some (not just for fishing, but for those who count on it for drinking water). BB __________________ As of June 14, 2014 the members of the BF.com forum have moved to basschat.yuku.com!

03-11-11, 09:55 PM	#9
smittyman BassFishin.Com Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Lyndhurst, NJ Posts: 92	this is a very sad thread lol my hopes and wishes are with you keith, theres nothing sadder than a great fishery getting demolished by one harsh winter. but you gotta remember, its nature man. i know its horrible but it does happen. we had a river by me that was notorious for great carp and smallies but some a**hole chemical company started illegally dumping into the river and almost ruined it completely. granted this was a bit before my time, but my uncle told me it ruined about 5 years of fishing for the anglers in the area. the company has since been disbanded, but all i can say is these things do happen. here's to hoping your ice melts and your bass spawn, and you have a great year of fishing!! __________________ "a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work."

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