Fish dead on the Surface

[Team Man]

Just had a very disturbing phone call about our lake at Donnington, apparently 100's and 100' of fish are all dead on the surface it was only found today as I don't think anyone has been there for a couple of days.

We are trying to contact the bailiff at the moment, the house nearby is complaining about the smell.

Strange thing is, a week or so ago we found all the bales of straw that were tethered round the sides, all broken up and floating on the surface.

Alan

 

[rodring]

get in touch with the E.A asap ,i don't think the straw incident is related. we've had a lot of rain lately maybe some contaminates have been washed in get the E.A. involved they'll get to the bottom of it commiserations and good luck.

 

[Team Man]

Thank you Rodring, it's a devastating blow, there are some big fish on the surface, bigger than we thought were in there, accounts for some of the smash ups we've had and straightening hooks.

I'm still trying to get hold of the bailiff, we will get it investigated I hope, that will be down to the owners

Alan

 

[Steve_goral]

That's devastating news. I hope you get it sorted.

 

[getfishing]

I'm sorry mate, it must be a real shock

 

[Team Man]

Have contacted the Bailiff, and suggested he rang the EA, he is going to give them a ring, I am meeting up with the bailiff and another mate at the water tomorrow morning to put our heads together to see what we can do for now on.

I'm so gutted, it's been the only water I've been fishing for some time

It's a day ticket water but hardly anyone fishes it, there are a few of us who pay 50 a year, have a key and can fish it anytime we like

Alan

 

[svenc]

Alan why have you not already called them. I know I would.

 

[shadow12345]

make sure you keep us posted.... hopefully its all sorted soon.

 

[Ferret1959]

Most likey cause will be low oxygen levels.
The EA can provide aeration equipment.

Possible blue/green algae if they have been using bails to keep the water clear.

 

[Team Man]

Originally posted by svenc

Alan why have you not already called them. I know I would.

I didn't find out about it until about 5.15 this evening, eventualy got hold of the bailiff, the EA were contacted about 7PM.

I'll keep you posted tomorrow if I get a chance

Alan

Thanks all for your concern

 

[Team Man]

Well, Just got back from a clear up at the water, the EA haven't got back to us yet, the water level is right down, I've been wading out netting fish off the surface and putting new straw bales in, it's that low, no waders, just went in as i was, have just come home to get changed....Well, somebody had to do it.

It's looking like lack of Oxygen rather than pollution, because the only fish lost are Chub, Perch, Bream, some of the Chub were real big beauties, no other species were found dead, if it was any sort of toxic pollution it would have affected all the other species, by the look of them I would say they died during that very hot spell and came up in the last day or so.

We buried most of the fish, some we destroyed in a fire we started with some of the old tree branches and dead undergrowth that we had about the place.

The fountain we are putting on for longer periods in the day.

This is a wake up call to how dangerously low this water can get in the summer, it is reliant on the water table and when the farmers put there bore hole pumps on in the fields around here to spray the fields, the water table goes down.

We seriously need a bore hole drilling so we could pump our own water in, but money is the problem.


Alan

 

[yorkie79]

i know nothing about fishery upkeep etc however why are you putting straw in?

 

[rodring]

Originally posted by yorkie79

i know nothing about fishery upkeep etc however why are you putting straw in?

barley straw prevents algae bloom.

 

[Team Man]

Originally posted by yorkie79

i know nothing about fishery upkeep etc however why are you putting straw in?

rodring has got it right

See here http://www.exit109.com/~gosta/pondstrw.sht

Today
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a149/Teamman/17julyclearingup.jpg


Alan

 

[yorkie79]

cheers fellas

 

[willothewisp]

Thnks Team Man. Those links were really informative and helpful. Much appreciated.

 

[jackojet]

hello sorry to hear your really sad news , thats terrible !

i run fisherwick at whittinton , luckily we have only lost a few fish due to low 02 . the water is like a tepid bath at the moment . aeration is good but will only help a bit once water gets to like 20C it wont hold saturated 02 so it wont help that much . a pump that can recirclate colder water from the bottom and splashed on the surface will help also .

the algae will take 02 out of the water at night as it photosynthesis changes and puts C02 into the water , this is likely to be when the fish died . so a combination of low 02 , algae and red hot water will be the contributing factor to the fish kill .
there may well be too many fish in the pool and nature has took its course to thin them out .

i would limit fishing till the weather cools and certainly limit the amount of bait anglers put in as the uneaten stuff will rot on the bottom and add to the high C02 and BOD ( biological 0xygen demand)

if you could get some fresh water from the river that is clean that would help no end , farmers will be finishing some of the irrigation as the harvest kicks in , so ask the land owner if you can get an engine and pump the water in . the EA will advice on abstaction licences etc .

at fisherwick the owner large arable farmer uses the lakes for irrigation , but we pump clean brook water into our pools for regular top ups

hope this helps and good luck with those remaining fish

Pete jackson fisherwick fishery manager

 

[pipikins]

Just to add to Pete's post - it is possible that adding barley straw may add to the problem. The reason I say this, is if you kill off the algae, using barley straw, the algae will begin to decompose on the bottom. You then get a bloom of bacteria feeding off the dead algae and that is what removes a lot of oxygen from the water. The same happens when we have a lot of close, thundery weather like we have had lately - blue green algae die off because of low light conditions and decompose, causeing the oxygen-stripping bacteria to proliferate. If the fish are floating up now, they probably died two or three days ago, overnight.... was the weather particularly 'close' a few days ago??

The addition of barley straw should always take place in early spring to prevent the algae getting established, although it's use is more often for blanket weed rather than the blue green algae that are often at the source of deoxygenations. Of course, the low water conditions are also dangerous due to the temperature and it could be that the chemicals exuded by rotting straw may not have helped either.

Sorry to be pedantic Pete, but BOD = Biochemical (not biological) Oxygen Demand.

 

[SteveH]

Not always in spring, if using straw to its best effect it should be added to the water in conditions of low temperature, when any algal colonisation will be low. So Spring Autumn and Winter are the best times. Straw is more effective at preventing algal blooms than it is in treating them. Having said that Spring is the optimal time as it is the third of three cool weather cycles and precedes the water temperatures rising in summer.

 

[pipikins]

So, not always in spring, but in Spring then?????