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Yesterday I participated in the rotenone treatment at Pelican Lake working with a lot of great folks who care about this fishery and getting it back in production. We had nice cool windy weather which helped disperse the rotenone throughout the lake and by the end of the day, it appeared we were having great success with lots of dead carp (the target pest) along with the bluegill, bass and occasional catfish. While crews spread rotenone others worked at collecting dead fish to remove some of the possible stench of decaying fish and also collect some statistical information. The Lake will remain closed to all recreational activities from Oct. 10 through Oct. 31 to allow the rotenone to take its full effect and dissipate. After that the lake will be restocked with a few adult bass and a bunch of adult bluegill to get things started to recovery. I'm sure more will be planted prior to the spring spawn in 2019, but I wouldn't plan on catching much at Pelican for at least a year. Without competition and poor water quality caused by carp, I'd expect some really good growth from the bass and bluegill so hopefully Pelican will be back in business by spring 2020. I can't wait!!!
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Just out of curiosity do you know if there were any tiger muskie that floated up?
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How long do you have to wait after the rotenone treatment until it can be safely stocked again?
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[quote Dunn13]How long do you have to wait after the rotenone treatment until it can be safely stocked again?[/quote]
Very quickly. Rotenone naturally breaks down when exposed to light and oxygen. Temperature plays a large factor in the breakdown as well. At higher temps (80 degrees) it will break down in a few days. At cooler temps (45 degrees) it may slow to a few weeks -- which is why they have the lake closed until Oct. 31.
They also utilize detoxification stations to prevent the rotenone from affecting non-target waters. For example, outflows. Rotenone can be neutralized using Potassium Permanganate. This is how fisheries managers are able to poison specific stretches of streams, when necessary.
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I didn't see any, but I will be getting some stats from DWR in a few weeks and I'll try to remember to respond.
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It depends on the specific conditions, but usually about 2-3 weeks. They will add some test fish at that time to see how they handle it. Then restock if they survive.
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Thanks for the report Nate! I had to cancel helping because of a medical issue, but it sounds like it went well. Thanks again!
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I had to call in sick so I could go to Lake Powell!
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[quote fsh4fun05] Just out of curiosity do you know if there were any tiger muskie that floated up?[/quote]
I just got the word from the project coordinator that, to her knowledge, no tiger musky were seen in the casualties, just bass, bluegill, carp, channel catfish and black bullheads.
They are quite confident that they achieved a complete kill. They had found a small section with live fish on Thursday, the day after the treatment, and they were able to put out a small amount of rotenone they had left over and by Monday they weren't able to detect any live fish. With the cold weather and the good winds we've had out here, it is believed that the rotenone will continue to mix throughout the reservoir and remain active for many more days thus continuing to kill any surviving fish there may be. Restocking will take place with a small number of bass and bluegill in early November then additional transplants in early spring 2019.
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[#0000FF]My understanding is that the carp found their way into Pelican through the Ouray canal. I hope their access route has been properly blocked to prevent future carp-tamination.
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A screen system has been engineered and is being installed.
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I had to call in sick so I could go to Lake Powell!
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That's correct. The plan includes fish screens below Cottonwood and just above the inlet at Pelican. Hopefully that will be sufficient.
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Thanks for the info on Pelican I would love to see it get back to the way it was in the late 70's when I first started fishing it.[cool]
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Thanks for the info, just curious, any idea where they are going to get the Adult Bass and bluegill from?
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The bass and bluegill are from the salvage effort at Steinaker earlier this year. They're being held in a private pond currently.
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Is it hopefull that these fish won’t have yellow worm?
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I think it is hopeful that yellow grub will be reduced by stocking fish from Steinaker Res. However, snails are the first host and they remain in Pelican. Birds are the last host. Fish in Steinaker Reservoir have also been reported to have yellow grub.
[url "https://wildlife.utah.gov/fes/yellow_grubs.php"]https://wildlife.utah.gov/fes/yellow_grubs.php[/url]
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