(Area) Winter fish kill events were widespread in Southwest Iowa. Now it’s time to get those fish populations back on the right track.
One of the main contributing factors to winter kill this year was low water levels heading into the fall. Fisheries Biologist Bryan Hayes says the first step in bouncing back is finding out what fish survived. “These kills are usually not complete. Often times you have some fish survive that could potentially re-populate the pond. What I’ve been telling pond owners is your goal is to re-establish that bass/bluegill population.”
Bass are needed as predators and bluegill will serve as prey and provide food for the other fish. “If you have time and can do a little fishing you are trying to detect any fish that survive. If you had survival of bass and bluegull that pond will likely re-populate on its own and those fish will grow rapidly as they fill that void that was created by the winter kill.”
If your bass and bluegill population is depleted you’ll likely need to look into re-stocking options.
