FYI

[merc1997 Bo]

i wanted to pass along some info.  back in the spring, i ran into a group of MDC folks that were actually getting ready to go out and do some shocking above eagle rock.  the MDC biologist's name was Shane Bush.  he promised me to pass along their findings which he did.  we also had a very long conversation about the state of the lake and he did listen somewhat with open ears, except for stocking, lol.

i also asked about the recent fish kill at eagle rock, and he got right back to me with what they thought happened.  hopefully he is right in what they think happenend and it is limited in scope.

i am going to attach his contact info and i am sure that he will try his best to answer questions and concerns from anyone.  the more we voice our observations and opinions the more our voices will be heard.

bo

Shane Bush

Fisheries Management Biologist

610 Hatchery Road

Branson, MO  65616

Office: 417-334-4859

Cell: 417-533-2344

shane.bush@mdc.mo.gov

 

 

[fishinwrench]

Well, what did they think happened?

[Royal Blue]

1 hour ago, fishinwrench said:

Well, what did they think happened?

Exactly!

[Guest]

3 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

Well, what did they think happened?

Shane Bush via missouriconservation.onmicrosoft.com	Mon, Aug 20, 9:03 AM (1 day ago)
to me

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn’t dive, but I surveyed the fish kill last Monday as soon as I heard about it.  It seemed to affect primarily walleye and spotted bass and seemed to be very localized right around Eagle Rock.  I went all the way in to Arkansas and never saw a dead fish past the bend just above Eagle Rock and I didn’t see any further downstream of Panther Creek.  I am sure there were more fish over the weekend that I didn’t see as the vultures were cleaning them up pretty quickly.  I didn’t see any small bass, the spots I saw were in the 12-15 inch range.  What I saw is listed below:

 

Walleye – 55-60, 12”-25”

Spotted Bass – 36, 12”-16”

Suckers – 21, 15”-18”

 

I took some dissolved oxygen profiles in several different spots both upstream and downstream of the kill area.  The DO profile file in the area of the fish kill indicated that there was a pocket of low DO water (<4 ppm) from 18-33 feet and oxygen readings around 7-8 ppm from 0-17 feet and 5-6 ppm from 36-51 feet (see attached).  Anything below 4 ppm is toxic to fish.  Everything else looked good water quality wise, I didn’t see any large algae bloom happening and observed quite a few fish on the depth finder in the 30-35 foot range.  After speaking to the park attendants at Eagle Rock, they said they started to see dead fish last Thursday.  They also had nearly 3 inches of rain from an isolated storm on Thursday, which I believe may have caused the low DO water to mix rapidly with the rest of the water column and create isolated pockets of low DO that killed the fish.  With the kill being primarily walleye, I suspect they were hanging in the area just above and/or below the thermocline and when it mixed, they became trapped in low DO water.  This is not uncommon when we have heavy rains like that.  The lake stratifies by temperature, so when the surface temp is cooled, it can mix and trap fish in pockets of low DO water.  See the graphics below that helps explain how this occurs.  Keep in mind, the thermocline isn’t a nice straight line at a certain depth, it can fluctuate daily. 

 

 

 

How deep do you typically catch the walleye up there this time of year?  Please let me know if you hear of any additional fish kills up that way.  Thanks.

 

Shane Bush

Fisheries Management Biologist

610 Hatchery Road

Branson, MO  65616

Office: 417-334-4859

Cell: 417-533-2344

shane.bush@mdc.mo.gov

 

From: NuTech Lures <nutechlures@gmail.com> 
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2018 8:30 PM
To: Shane Bush <Shane.Bush@mdc.mo.gov>
Subject: Re: White River Bass Sampling Summary

 

Attachments area

 

 

 

 

[rps]

The depth of the low DO water was exactly the depth from which I caught my limits on Aug 4 and Aug 6. All were caught between the Eagle Rock bridge and the first big bend uplake of there.

[fishinwrench]

So as I predicted in the other thread..... It's just something that happens and there's nothing anyone can do about it.  

In the future I wouldn't bother worrying about it.   Why would he want to be notified of any future kills?   If there's no course of action that can be taken for low DO, and the only test that can be taken are for low DO (apparently true since that's the only thing he tested for)....then why even waste time on it?  

How do fish "get trapped" in a pocket of low DO water?   Do they forget they have fins?  If a fish can survive a tournament weigh-in then you'd assume they could move 20 yards into some better water.    I mean supposedly fish move to seek better water,or water more to their liking ALL THE TIME.

[abkeenan]

18 minutes ago, fishinwrench said:

So as I predicted in the other thread..... It's just something that happens and there's nothing anyone can do about it.  

In the future I wouldn't bother worrying about it.   Why would he want to be notified of any future kills?   If there's no course of action that can be taken for low DO, and the only test that can be taken are for low DO (apparently true since that's the only thing he tested for)....then why even waste time on it?  

How do fish "get trapped" in a pocket of low DO water?   Do they forget they have fins?  If a fish can survive a tournament weigh-in then you'd assume they could move 20 yards into some better water.    I mean supposedly fish move to seek better water,or water more to their liking ALL THE TIME.

If fisherman knew why fish do what they do, we would all catch a lot more fish.

[fishinwrench]

17 minutes ago, abkeenan said:

If fisherman knew why fish do what they do, we would all catch a lot more fish.

I don't think we would.  They either wanna bite, or they don't.   Knowing why isn't gonna change that.  

Since when does knowing WHY your wife is pissed help change her attitude?   You just gotta wait it out. Or go to your girlfriend's place and hope she's in a better mood.😁

[snagged in outlet 3]

😀 deleted

[motoman]

52 minutes ago, fishinwrench said:

So as I predicted in the other thread..... It's just something that happens and there's nothing anyone can do about it.  

In the future I wouldn't bother worrying about it.   Why would he want to be notified of any future kills?   If there's no course of action that can be taken for low DO, and the only test that can be taken are for low DO (apparently true since that's the only thing he tested for)....then why even waste time on it?  

How do fish "get trapped" in a pocket of low DO water?   Do they forget they have fins?  If a fish can survive a tournament weigh-in then you'd assume they could move 20 yards into some better water.    I mean supposedly fish move to seek better water,or water more to their liking ALL THE TIME.

I wonder if fish get ‘trapped’ in a similar fashion to carbon monoxide poisoning in humans. Not the kinda thing that’s easily detected; just kinda start getting sleepy and it’s downhill from

there?