Today was a day that I have been dreading for some time now. The day was coming, it was just a matter of which day was it going to be. The 3 weirs at the dam are almost dead. The water in the top two are black and a couple of hundred fish are dead including an estimated 15 pound flathead. I anticipate the water is anaerobic or septic due to its color. The water in the bottom weir is brown and being fed by the upper two and several hundred carp are piping. Piping means that the fish are at the surface and gulping air. Time is short. They all are going to die. Several thousand carp and several hundred catfish were reportedly seen today in the lake proper dead. The lake has an estimated depth of 18 inches to 2 feet. Hot water does not retain oxygen very well.
I received a call today from a pond owner that has lost 150 pounds of LMB in his pond in the past week. He has asked for help and I have made some reccomendations and may have to install an aeration system to save his pond this weekend. I installed an emergency aeration system in a 2 acre lake yesterday before any kill could occur. More ponds are dying each day as this drought continues. These kills are occuring 30 to 45 days earlier than normal. Pray for rain
If anyone is seeing their pond or a friends pond turn bright kelly green and heavily laden with algae then the pond may be very close to having a kill. If you have electricity very close to the pond then there is hope that it may be saved. If anyone is interested then contact me by PM.
I anticipate that Great Salt Plains Lake fish kill will accelerate this week with the forecasted temps. Once the fish start to die then the first dominoe in a long chain will have been tipped and you know the outcome. It is not a pretty sight and smells worse. The only winners are the flies. Last week the catfishing dropped off dramatically and I suspected the worse was coming. It seems to be here. The only thing to stop the kill will be alot of rain and cooler temps to allow the absorption of more oxygen. Stay tuned for an update.
I received a call today from a pond owner that has lost 150 pounds of LMB in his pond in the past week. He has asked for help and I have made some reccomendations and may have to install an aeration system to save his pond this weekend. I installed an emergency aeration system in a 2 acre lake yesterday before any kill could occur. More ponds are dying each day as this drought continues. These kills are occuring 30 to 45 days earlier than normal. Pray for rain
If anyone is seeing their pond or a friends pond turn bright kelly green and heavily laden with algae then the pond may be very close to having a kill. If you have electricity very close to the pond then there is hope that it may be saved. If anyone is interested then contact me by PM.
I anticipate that Great Salt Plains Lake fish kill will accelerate this week with the forecasted temps. Once the fish start to die then the first dominoe in a long chain will have been tipped and you know the outcome. It is not a pretty sight and smells worse. The only winners are the flies. Last week the catfishing dropped off dramatically and I suspected the worse was coming. It seems to be here. The only thing to stop the kill will be alot of rain and cooler temps to allow the absorption of more oxygen. Stay tuned for an update.