04-24-2008, 01:43 PM
[cool][#0000ff]A current hot topic is fish kills after a hard winter. Looks like there is some "fallout" below Scofield too. Brett Prettyman had this in his column in the Tribune this morning.[/#0000ff]
Tight lines: Fish kill below Scofield a mystery
[url "mailto:brettp@sltrib.com?subject=Salt Lake Tribune: Tight lines: Fish kill below Scofield a mystery"]Brett Prettyman
Tribune columnist[/url]
Article Last Updated: 04/23/2008 06:34:54 PM MDT
There is nothing more disheartening for an angler than a fish kill. Something about arriving at one of your favorite spots to find fish littering the shore or river bank or floating takes the edge of the excitement.
That's what happened at Fish Creek below Scofield Reservoir this past weekend. I heard about the kill on a fly-fishing forum and then got a couple of e-mails about the dead fish.
Low water is a recurring problem on Fish Creek and fish kills are not exactly rare there, but this one seemed a little more intense to those who visit the tailwater frequently.
It wasn't even sport fish kicking the bucket; even nearly-impossible-to-put-down-carp were appearing belly up.
Justin Hart, a fisheries biologist for the Division of Wildlife Resources' southeastern region, also received the reports. He walked Fish Creek on Monday from the dam to the first railroad bridge and counted two dozen or so dead fish, mostly trout. He also noticed heron tracks and bird feces along the bank, leading him to believe most of the other fish that anglers had reported were eaten by the time he got there.
Hart reported a strong sulphur smell coming from the water as it came out of the dam, something he says is commonly associated with anoxic conditions.
"It is my professional opinion that some of the increased flows coming out of Scofield over the last week or two were oxygen-poor and killed some fish in the river. We had a long hard freeze and several feet of snow on the lake this year," Hart wrote in an e-mail. "That much snow on the ice completely blocks out all light and eliminates any photosynthesis. The result is gradual oxygen depletion, with no production. I think that is what happened. The low water levels may have exacerbated the problem."
Anglers are more suspicious and wonder if construction on the dam could be the culprit.
People fishing Fish Creek over the weekend also reported seeing healthy fish and Hart said he saw some live big brown trout in the stretch he walked.
With the ice retreating from the reservoir near the dam, Hart says, water quality should improve and he hopes the weekend's fish kill was just an isolated event. He'll keep on it for a while to see if anything happens.
Ice Breaker
fishing tournament
Speaking of Scofield. The Second Annual Ice Breaker fishing tournament is being held at Scofield State Park on May 17 from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Registration, which opens May 2 and costs $20, is limited to 200 participants. Sportsman's Warehouse will be providing awards and raffle prizes. Call 435-687-2491 or 435-448-9449 to register and for more information.
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Tight lines: Fish kill below Scofield a mystery
[url "mailto:brettp@sltrib.com?subject=Salt Lake Tribune: Tight lines: Fish kill below Scofield a mystery"]Brett Prettyman
Tribune columnist[/url]
Article Last Updated: 04/23/2008 06:34:54 PM MDT
There is nothing more disheartening for an angler than a fish kill. Something about arriving at one of your favorite spots to find fish littering the shore or river bank or floating takes the edge of the excitement.
That's what happened at Fish Creek below Scofield Reservoir this past weekend. I heard about the kill on a fly-fishing forum and then got a couple of e-mails about the dead fish.
Low water is a recurring problem on Fish Creek and fish kills are not exactly rare there, but this one seemed a little more intense to those who visit the tailwater frequently.
It wasn't even sport fish kicking the bucket; even nearly-impossible-to-put-down-carp were appearing belly up.
Justin Hart, a fisheries biologist for the Division of Wildlife Resources' southeastern region, also received the reports. He walked Fish Creek on Monday from the dam to the first railroad bridge and counted two dozen or so dead fish, mostly trout. He also noticed heron tracks and bird feces along the bank, leading him to believe most of the other fish that anglers had reported were eaten by the time he got there.
Hart reported a strong sulphur smell coming from the water as it came out of the dam, something he says is commonly associated with anoxic conditions.
"It is my professional opinion that some of the increased flows coming out of Scofield over the last week or two were oxygen-poor and killed some fish in the river. We had a long hard freeze and several feet of snow on the lake this year," Hart wrote in an e-mail. "That much snow on the ice completely blocks out all light and eliminates any photosynthesis. The result is gradual oxygen depletion, with no production. I think that is what happened. The low water levels may have exacerbated the problem."
Anglers are more suspicious and wonder if construction on the dam could be the culprit.
People fishing Fish Creek over the weekend also reported seeing healthy fish and Hart said he saw some live big brown trout in the stretch he walked.
With the ice retreating from the reservoir near the dam, Hart says, water quality should improve and he hopes the weekend's fish kill was just an isolated event. He'll keep on it for a while to see if anything happens.
Ice Breaker
fishing tournament
Speaking of Scofield. The Second Annual Ice Breaker fishing tournament is being held at Scofield State Park on May 17 from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Registration, which opens May 2 and costs $20, is limited to 200 participants. Sportsman's Warehouse will be providing awards and raffle prizes. Call 435-687-2491 or 435-448-9449 to register and for more information.
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to hear it is one of my fav's in the hot summer months. Hopefully it rebounds quickly...