I went to feed my fish this AM and found about 7 dead bluegill floating on the surface. We had about 1 1/8" of much needed rain yesterday and it has debris floating on the surface. My catfish and several bluegills fed this morning. What might have killed these fish? Also they appear to be as small or slightly smaller (2 to 3 inches long) than the fish I originally stocked 4 months ago. Would these fish be this size already if they were produced from a spawn? Don't like seeing floating fish.

Bill, I saw three giant red ear floating the other day. I've seen such before this time of the year and either someone told me or I assumed that it was stress from the spawn. Maybe somebody can tag on to why you and I both have floating fish.

I have floaters too. In one pond of about 1/4 acre, I saw about 20 last weekend. They ranged in size from one inch to 4 inches. In a 1.5 acre pond, I saw a dead 3 inch and a dying 7 inch. All bluegills and no obvious disease signs. Cool, overcast weather.
I'm not sure it isn't my fault. I fertilized the 1/4 acre pond with some one year old liquid ag fertilizer. It had never been fertilized before. The water was the color of weak tea and yet I didn't get a bloom. I assume the stuff had gone bad. I sprayed about 1/2 gallon in the 1.5 acre pond. In both ponds, I am still loaded with bluegills. However, I am concerned. I only get there on weekends so can't do any kind of daily evaluation. I assumed the fertilizer could have lost its srength but didn't think about it getting toxic. Where in the dickens is North Zulch, Texas?

I appreciate the response. Maybe Bob Lusk can offer insight to the floaters. NZ is in Central Texas not far from Bryan-College Station.

Bill and David,
I may have found the fish dying answer. At Mississippi Fishing website, www.mdwfp.com/fishing.asp under the farm ponds discussion link, the moderator, a State fisheries biologist, discusses this problem relating to this time of the year. Evidently, cloudy conditions this time of the year causes low dissolved oxygen levels with the biggest problem occuring in overstocked ponds. You can read the whole explanation there. You don't have to do anything wrong. Mother Nature does it.

My ponds certainly qualify as overstocked. They were newly stocked last year and you can almost walk on the fatheads and bluegills.

Dave, thanks for the website. I will go read the article. I believe that the bluegills have spawned once at least and with the predator fish still being fairly small, it will be difficult to keep the levels down. We will be able to start harvesting this fall I believe however judging from the present size of the original stocked fish. Maybe I won't be so quick to run off the birds that like to feed on the shore.