Harsh Winter's Effect On Small Ponds 2024
Djman72 reply :
Men,
My diehard fishing buddy and I went out to our favorite golf course pond today to see if we couldn't get some fish to show themselves. We live in NW Indiana and the ice just broke on most of the waters around us. Had to 100 or so dead fish from all different kinds of species mainly crappie, bluegill, and bass. We fished a bit but it was like fishing a toxic lake with every 4-5 feet of shoreline we had numerous dead fish. Needless to say we didn't even see a living fishing let alone drag one out.
We packed up and went to our other favorite honey hole across town and this lake was even worse. I lost count of all the dead mature bass washed up on the shore. Are we in for a rough fishing season?
Anyone have any experience with this? I know the 02 levels get low with that much time under ice but man I swear it looked like half the fish population was wiped out.
I know it gets colder in places farther north and people still catch great fish year in and year out, I was just in a bit of shock I've never seen anything quite that devastating on small ponds/lakes.
shanksmare reply :
Many years ago I experienced a similar occurance. There was a small cranberry bog reservoir in southeastern Massachusetts that had exceptional bass fishing. Myself and a friend fished in this small shallow pond often with excellent results. Then we had a particularly severe winter during which the small waters remained frozen for months. During this period they were also covered with deep snow. In the spring when we fished the pond we also found many dead fish. The fish probably died from oxygen depletion. The once fertile waters seemed devoid of fish. I don't know if the fishery ever came back there. I never returned. Other larger,deeper waters in the area seemed uneffected by the severe winter.
tatertester reply :
Heavy snow cover over ice makes a bad situation even worse....Up here in northern Minnesota lakes need to have at least 25 foot depth in a main basin in order to prevent winterkill...Springs can help out a lot as well as any moving water....The DNR here are reporting quite a few winterkill lakes this year, more than normal....Late ice out also now.
Lund Explorer reply :
On 4/1/2014 at 11:55 AM, tatertester said:Heavy snow cover over ice makes a bad situation even worse....Up here in northern Minnesota lakes need to have at least 25 foot depth in a main basin in order to prevent winterkill...Springs can help out a lot as well as any moving water....The DNR here are reporting quite a few winterkill lakes this year, more than normal....Late ice out also now.
Yup, same thing going on here in Michigan. Ice came early and is going to leave late. Throw on way more than normal snow cover and its perfect conditions for winter kill on shallow lakes and ponds. The guys I have talked to that ice fish quite a bit told me that bluegills and crappie were right under the ice (colder water but more oxygen) by the middle of February.
When the ice finally goes away sometime near the end of April we'll see how bad it got.
skeeter1980 reply :
Our ponds in Delaware aren't deep.,they are mostly about six feet deep.A few may have some deeper holes,but not much deeper.This winter our ponds and lakes stayed frozen for several weeks at a time.I'm amazed at how our fish make it throughout the winters ,in such shallow waters.
Dyerbassman reply :
I'm in NW Indiana, too, and was afraid that this was going to happen. Some of my favorite spots may be wiped out.
hoosierbass07 reply :
I'm in central west Indiana and a local TV station did a story on the harsh winter and fish. Some guy said to expect all the bass to have died in small ponds/lakes because of the harsh winter! I don't know if he meant only very small farm ponds or even larger ones. I've been to a lake and city pond the last few weeks and I have not seen any dead fish floating.
bass_masster reply :
On 4/1/2014 at 9:23 AM, shanksmare said:Many years ago I experienced a similar occurance. There was a small cranberry bog reservoir in southeastern Massachusetts that had exceptional bass fishing. Myself and a friend fished in this small shallow pond often with excellent results. Then we had a particularly severe winter during which the small waters remained frozen for months. During this period they were also covered with deep snow. In the spring when we fished the pond we also found many dead fish. The fish probably died from oxygen depletion. The once fertile waters seemed devoid of fish. I don't know if the fishery ever came back there. I never returned. Other larger,deeper waters in the area seemed uneffected by the severe winter.
I am from Carver, this wouldn't have been near the state forest would it?
shanksmare reply :
Bass-master, It is off of Purchase Street in Carver.
Djman72 reply :
On 4/2/2014 at 4:41 AM, Dyerbassman said:I'm in NW Indiana, too, and was afraid that this was going to happen. Some of my favorite spots may be wiped out.
Retention ditch off of Calumet Bridge is bad. I was just there and more of the same. I went to Lake of the Meadows and that was a Disaster.
My favorite place to fish around here is White Hawk Golf Course in CP. Needless to say it was saddening to see all the dead fish. Not many deep lakes within a short drive around here. Could be a rough fishing season with a lot of travel. Most of the lakes/ponds I fish are less than 8 feet deep.
jacob95 reply :
Same thing here. I'm from La Porte Indiana and a spring fed pond I fish at had about 250 or so bluegills around the pond and about a dozen bass. It's pretty sickening.
flyingmonkie reply :
Man... this is a depressing thread. My heart goes out to you guys. Fish kills of any kind are the pits. :/ Around here, the drought and algae blooms are the big threats.
I hope you can each find unaffected water. Tight lines.
lmbfisherman reply :
One of our local lake. 
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, it happens most often in shallow bodies of water that are frozen for an extended period of time, preventing the natural exchange of oxygen.
“Unfortunately the fish are dying from lack of oxygen,” says Art Zymerman, president of the Puslinch Lake Conservation Association. “What I see here now is the worst winter kill that I’ve seen in the ten years that I’ve been on the lake, and even the lake residents that have been here much longer than me. Everyone is concerned.”
The winter kill will have a devastating effect on the fish population at Puslinch Lake.
Zymerman says he expects to see hundreds, if not tens of thousands of fish wash up on the shoreline in the coming weeks.
That’s why fishermen are being asked to stay away until later this summer.
Anyone who visits the lake will smell the rotting fish but experts say it will only take a few weeks for the lake to clean itself up naturally.
Read more: http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/dead-fish-found-floating-in-puslinch-lake-1.1755686#ixzz2xnLOyfJs
lmbfisherman reply :
This was one good lake, this is where lots of people go to "catch" fish. This lake has everything, Bass, Pike, Walleye..etc. It is also one of the usual suspects for tournaments too.
Lund Explorer reply :
The only good news in all of this is that winter kills have happened many times in the past, and if your pond or lake suffered this year, it has probably done so before. If that place was good last year, it means that it will be good again.
Hopefully, we can take this as an opportunity to discover new waters which will expand our choices in the future.
If anyone is thinking about helping mother nature along by doing your own restocking plan, make sure to follow your state's regulations. A ticket from the fish cop could be the least of your worries if you somehow introduce the wrong fish from the wrong lake. I do know of one person who transplanted VHS infected bass into his pond a few years ago, and he still has problems.
bigbill reply :
It's called a "winter kill" there isn't enough oxygen to support all the fish so nature evens the score. We had it happen to one of my best spots a few years back now it's better than ever.
It pays off to remove some smaller bass to eat leaving the bigger bass to spawn.
jhoffman reply :
Let me tell you the story of the minnow cooler...
When I was a young man I liked to fish minnows for trout in winter. I would buy a dozen or two, not use them all and throw them in this cooler till the next time I went. Id change the water now and then but not really that often. One day I opened the lid and it was frozen solid, not a drop of water left, it looked like something out of a movie with minnows frozen in place. I closed the lid and figured id deal with the mess when it thawed.
I walked out later in the spring expecting to deal with this disgusting cooler, I opened the lid and not a single one was dead. I dont know how or why or if someone played the best prank ever(I never found out if that happend) but those minnows survived somehow.
Jar11591 reply :
On 4/5/2014 at 7:53 PM, jhoffman said:Let me tell you the story of the minnow cooler...
When I was a young man I liked to fish minnows for trout in winter. I would buy a dozen or two, not use them all and throw them in this cooler till the next time I went. Id change the water now and then but not really that often. One day I opened the lid and it was frozen solid, not a drop of water left, it looked like something out of a movie with minnows frozen in place. I closed the lid and figured id deal with the mess when it thawed.
I walked out later in the spring expecting to deal with this disgusting cooler, I opened the lid and not a single one was dead. I dont know how or why or if someone played the best prank ever(I never found out if that happend) but those minnows survived somehow.
Now that is spooky. Especially because when I used to use shiners, they would die if I looked at them wrong lol. I wonder how they could have survived. It has certainly peaked my interest. I'm gonna do some research.
Jar11591 reply :
Now I don't know too much about winter kill, so I have a few questions for the people who do. What about an 18-acre pond with a max depth of 7', heavy weed growth and a small dam on one end? Should I be bracing for winter kill at this pond?
Glenn reply :
Perhaps of interest...
http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/winter-fish-kill.html
http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/winter-aerating.html
http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/winter_oxygen.html
http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/under-the-ice.html
Jar11591 reply :
On 4/5/2014 at 9:39 PM, Glenn said:Perhaps of interest...
http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/winter-fish-kill.html
http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/winter-aerating.html
http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/winter_oxygen.html
http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/under-the-ice.html
Read through all those, just couldn't find anything too specific. I saw a lot of words such as "small" or "shallow". That's all relative. I scoured the internet as well. Everything is pretty vague.
jhoffman reply :
On 4/5/2014 at 7:57 PM, Jar11591 said:Now that is spooky. Especially because when I used to use shiners, they would die if I looked at them wrong lol. I wonder how they could have survived. It has certainly peaked my interest. I'm gonna do some research.
These were fathead minnows, not shiners.
Jar11591 reply :
On 4/5/2014 at 10:13 PM, jhoffman said:These were fathead minnows, not shiners.
Ah gotcha. But still that's pretty interesting. Amazing that they lived through being frozen solid.
jhoffman reply :
Yeah I certainly cant explain it myself
bigbill reply :
When I was told about the winter kill the ice fisherman told me there were bass frozen in the ice as far as you could see.
But it's been many years later and I haven't noticed a change in the size of the fish other than it being hammered from people looking for a free meal nowadays. I wish they would get food stamps.
bass_masster reply :
On 4/2/2014 at 6:51 AM, shanksmare said:Bass-master, It is off of Purchase Street in Carver.
Ahhh Purchase St! Thanks for getting back to me
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