Home renovation TV shows are quite the rage today. Whether they choose the worst house in the best neighborhood, try to renovate every house in a certain neighborhood, buy houses to renovate and resell or simply remodel homes for current owners, the premise of those renovations is to remove everything they don’t want in the house and remake it the way they want it.
Four state fishing lakes in Kansas are also preparing for renovations this winter, Neosho State Fishing Lake, Pottawatomie State Fishing Lake #1, Shawnee State Fishing Lake and Washington State Fishing Lake. This will involve removing fish called gizzard shad that have become overpopulated and are threatening sport fish within those lakes.
In the past, “renovating” a lake meant drawing the water level down as low as possible and killing off all fish in the lake and basically starting over. A major downside to that process was the amount of time needed for newly-stocked fish to grow to harvest size. Sometimes a complete renovation is still required if the balance between sport fish and shad is really out-of-whack, but a new strategy called a “partial renovation” targets specific fish, in this case the gizzard shad and kills mainly those fish, solving the problem of the time needed for sport fishing to resume at that lake.
Avid fishermen in Kansas know the gizzard shad as the predominate bait fish in all large water impoundments that are actively pursued by sport fish like walleye, stripers, wipers etc, known by biologists as “open water” predatory fish. These fish keep shad numbers under control in large lakes and reservoirs. In smaller fishing lakes however where these open water predatory fish don’t exist, shad populations can quickly get out of control as they compete with smaller prey fish for available food, thus upsetting the balance that biologists call the “food web.”
Here’s how the partial renovation process will work. Sometime in late October the water level in each lake will be drawn down to approximately 3 feet below normal lake elevation. Then when weather permits in November or December, a fish toxicant called Rotenone will be applied at a concentration found to kill gizzard shad but not affect other sport fish. Rotenone is a plant –based compound mostly used as an insecticide that is toxic to fish and other gill-breathing animals, but in the amounts used in these lake renovations does no harm to humans, birds, pets and other air-breathing animals. Animals that consume fish killed by rotenone will suffer no ill effects either, and Rotenone breaks down rapidly in sunlight and will be undetectable after only a couple weeks. Boat ramps at each lake will be closed to boat traffic on the day Rotenone is applied, but all fishing regulations and limits will remain in effect. Gizzard shad found dead around the lake after this process will be legal to collect for personal use such as processing into bait.
For a complete lake renovation, Rotenone is applied at a high rate of 2,000 -3,000 parts per billion to kill all fish. Municipal water supplies allow drinking water to contain Rotenone concentrations of 40 parts per billion. These partial lake renovations will be using Rotenone at approximately 7.5 parts per billion, much less than even allowed in drinking water, so the process should be very safe and controlled. Bear in mind, even though this process should be very safe to sport fish, some small unexpected fish kills are possible, and the lake will be restocked if larger than expected numbers of non-targeted fish happen to die.
Our Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism people do a good job of managing our state’s fish and wildlife and I applaud them for using this new technique. Although hunting seasons are the main focus this time of year, fall fishing in Kansas waters can still be fantastic. Remember to purchase a trout stamp and give Kansas trout fishing a try this fall and winter. Starting November 1, nearly 30 lakes around Kansas will be stocked twice monthly with rainbow trout.
So for you non-hunters, instead of spending those cool fall days in your recliner, why not grab a kid or a friend and go fishing, and Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!
Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at [email protected].