so many dead pike

[the local angler]

so today i decided to go do some biking around town and went from the NW of calgary to the 22x and back. the path i chose to come back on passes by carburn park ponds, so i noticed a group of people at the shoreline so i stopped and took a looksee. the middle pond winterkilled, there was so many dead juvenile pike all along the shoreline that had about 2 feet of open water. age range maybe 1-3 years old fish. wow did it stink. sad to see.

[chucklesthe3rd]

so today i decided to go do some biking around town and went from the NW of calgary to the 22x and back. the path i chose to come back on passes by carburn park ponds, so i noticed a group of people at the shoreline so i stopped and took a looksee. the middle pond winterkilled, there was so many dead juvenile pike all along the shoreline that had about 2 feet of open water. age range maybe 1-3 years old fish. wow did it stink. sad to see.
Dang, was a nice little pond to bring newbies hopefully it'll bounce back in the coming years. How did the first pond hold up?

chuck

[TROLLER]

Saw that on the local news last week.

Seems like every fish in that pond is gone

[calgarygringo]

Saw a pic of them all dead on the shore last week. With the real deep depth of ice we had down south this year I would not be surprised if there are many of the smaller lakes and smaller stocked ponds with a lot of winter kill. I know where I fished most of the time we had about 34 inches of ice and for the first time I went out and bought an extension for my auger as it was starting to get close to the end of the shaft. That much ice on a shallower lake may be tough on many fish.

[the local angler]

the first pond was still iced over so i didn't stop off at that one, it makes me wonder because back when it was stocked with rainbows on the stocking list i use to go there ice fishing and caught perch too. no dead perch so i wonder if they are more resilient then the pike? that was a fun place to go. i did take pics but don't know how to post on here.

[Drewski Canuck]

Pike, especially small pike, can handle pretty low oxygen levels. It does not bode well for the other Pond if it is still iced over.

Even the perch will die off if the pike do not make it.

Small ponds and pothole lakes do not get ice heaves in the winter. The ice heaves and cracks are critical to oxygen exchange for the water when the ice gets thick.

Drewski

[slough shark]

Was there still perch in there? I remember probably 20 something years ago I was able to catch buckets of small perch but last time I was out there I didn’t even see any. About all I caught/saw was small pike in the 12-18 inch range, no perch bites or sightings, that was in the second lake. The first lake I though had a complete winter kill a few years back although I may have been misinformed so I didn’t even try, is anything still there?

[Beartracks]

I saw that on the news also.

[chickensashimi]

so today i decided to go do some biking around town and went from the NW of calgary to the 22x and back. the path i chose to come back on passes by carburn park ponds, so i noticed a group of people at the shoreline so i stopped and took a looksee. the middle pond winterkilled, there was so many dead juvenile pike all along the shoreline that had about 2 feet of open water. age range maybe 1-3 years old fish. wow did it stink. sad to see.

She was a pretty brutal winter, I think there will be lots of winter kill everywhere…..

[EZM]

She was a pretty brutal winter, I think there will be lots of winter kill everywhere…..

Common misconception ..... Winter kill is due to O2 (oxygen levels).

Has nothing to do with temperature.

The water under the ice is always 4 C

[matt1984]

Common misconception ..... Winter kill is due to O2 (oxygen levels).

Has nothing to do with temperature. :confused:

The water under the ice is always 4 C


It has a lot to do with temperatures. I don't think I have ever heard anyone claim the water is too cold. A harsh winter results in thicker ice and heavier snowcover decreasing sunlight penetration into the water.

[buckman]

I believe it has more to do with the depth of the lake, and how long the ice cover lasts,along with the numbers of fish.