I spread word last week about the rotenone renovation of Goose Lake. I was busy and did not make it up to see the operation, but I did see a couple of follow-up photos. It is always unbelievable the numbers, and domination, of rough fish when we do a renovation!
Previous renovations of sandhill lakes have shown that there can be over 1600 pounds per acre of just common carp (Rat and Beaver)! At that level, there just ain’t much else that can compete. When the renovation was completed at Rat and Beaver lakes a few years back, the fish community by biomass was comprised of 94% common carp, 5% black bullhead, and 1% everything else. From the looks of the photos, Goose Lake was well on its way to being in the same condition. Water quality there will already be improved and the fish community will be on its way back very soon. Yep, there is some short-term sacrifice, but the fishing will be better, much better, because of it. Again, I cannot wait!
If you would like more information on this critical fisheries management tool, I have blogged about it often. Check these out, Lake Yankton Renovation, Renovations.
POSTSCRIPT: Some counts were done of dead fish at Goose after the renovation last week. By number the dead fish were 84% common carp, 8% black bullhead, 5% largemouth bass and 2% northern pike. If those counts were expanded to account for the actual weight of the fish, the biomass, it would have been well north of 90% common carp.
–Daryl B.
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