Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Imminent Fish Die-Off

I figure I am about to witness a fish kill in the next several days. My water will probably reach 70 degrees within a week, and I still have somewhere between 15 and 17 trout left in the pond. The water was 65 tonight, and the next several days are forecast to be sunny and in the mid- to high-70s.

I was trying to catch more of them again tonight, but only got two. However, I pulled in seven female bluegill ranging from about 8 inches to over 10 inches. I was using a flyrod and an ultralight with 4 lb. line. It sure is a thrill to hook the bigger bluegill on either rig. I have the biggest of tonight's BG, and one that is about 9 inches, in a cage. They swallowed the hooks to where all I could see was the hook eye.

I still have at least one big catfish, and a few medium catfish, so maybe they will help in the cleanup when the die-off occurs.

I caught a small (stunted??) 10-inch trout tonight that had brown horse-shoe shaped "mouth marks" on its sides that were about 3-4 inches wide. They extended from the tail to just in front of the dorsal fin. It looked like something big tried to grab the fish from the top. That is the second one I've recently caught like that. The other one had the marks between the head and dorsal fin. I figure the marks are from the catfish. (I should have taken pictures.)

Even if all the remaining trout die tomorrow, they have been an absolute thrill to have in the pond over the winter. For about the cost of a ticket to a theme park, they have provided six months of incredible enjoyment for my grandkids, visitors, and for my wife and me.

Ken

Hi, Ken --
The rainbows just may surprise you. Their demise may not be quite as imminent as your fear. My hunch is that there may be some cooler, and still well-oxygenated water they can escape to during the heat of the day. I don't know how deep your pond is, but perhaps there is already a thermocline layer forming that will have adequate temp. and O2, for a while at least.
My experience with rainbows is that when they do expire (mostly from catch-and-release efforts gone awry, in my pond), they don't tend to become "floaters." In fact, all the dead trout I've found, have been on the bottom (I have a very clear pond). If I can't remove them (and offer them up to the feral "barn yard" cats around here) because they're too deep, the big channel cats in my pond do clean- up duty.
Anyway, I'm really glad you had a good experience with the rainbows ... but a few of them may fool you and linger on into early summer. -- Mike

Mike,

Thanks for the encouraging words. There is certainly cooler water in the middle of my pond. At about 6 inches below the surface, my water was about 65 degrees tonight. I'm just not sure how well oxygenated it might be. I've had a lot of water flowing through the pond recently, so it may be OK. We've gotten over 8 inches of rain in the last two weeks. We got over five inches just last Saturday and Sunday. It looked like much of it just missed you.

One thing I am curious about is trout spawning. The females I've been catching in the past few days have apparently laid their eggs. Until about a week ago, the females were really fat and packed full of eggs. The last several I've caught have had flesh that is really stretched out and saggy. The female fish look emaciated, and their innards are really meager. I got one male tonight, about 12-13 inches, and he sprayed me and everything around me with milt. He was very healthy and had good meat on his bones.

So, my question is -- do they actually try to spawn in a pond? If so, do their eggs hatch and provide forage?

And yes, we've really enjoyed the trout. Not for eating (I'll take a bluegill any day), but for their antics and acrobatics. I got five goldens and 40 rainbows this year. Next year I hope I can make it 25 and 25. The goldens have actually been the most fun to watch and catch.

Thanks,
Ken

Ken --
I guess one thing I learned in biology many, many years ago now: "never say never." That said, it's not likely that rainbows could spawn successfully in a pond. They really do need good, clean gravel and running water that percolates through it.
I have read that female rainbows will somehow re-absorb egg; and I've read elsewhere that rainbows will show "courtship" displays in ponds and attempt to excavate redds, or nests, if there is suitable gravel. So, I guess it is possible some may actually express their eggs in an attempt to spawn.
Maybe Cecil can give additional information here based on his experience. I know I have witnessed the pre-spawn courtship in the back cove of my pond: a big hen fish (at least 18") and a very ambitious and amorous 12" golden male -- it was something to see!
Brook trout can and do spawn in ponds. There was that really excellent article in the Sept./Oct 2006 issue of PONDBOSS by Mark Cornwell of SUNY-Cobleskill, NY, about building spawning redd boxes for brook trout. That article really impressed me. So much so that a friend of mine and I hope to get a few Whitlock-Vibert plastic hatching boxes (the Federation of Fly Fishers is the sole U.S. distributor, I understand) and some eyed brown trout eggs and try hatching them in a protected area of my pond. We're still very early in the planning -- and the actual efforts may still be 18 months off. But that's what we're hoping to try.
I agree with you about goldens -- I was a little hesitant about stocking any at first. But every one who fishes my pond really gets a kick out of them. So, I too will be adding at least another 20 or so next fall. -- Mike