A little info and a couple opinions about the ecology of the lake. Baseline: .."lake is 210 acres, spring-fed, mostly 4-10 feet deep and the deepest part is 35 feet deep. The water is very clear to where you can see 8-10 feet deep and the PH is Currently 6.3."
Clear water indicates low nutrient concentrations which means the lake is not real productive compared to fertile eutrophic waters. This could be due to low alkalinity and or abundant weed (plant) growth to compete for nutrients instead of having abundant phytoplankton (grass that feeds everything else). Submerged weeds could appear to be a problem, however weeds are habitat. Good habitat grows good wildlife.
201 acres can still have a very good fish community of good ranges of sizes but just not as much as a more fertile cloudy greenish water lake. Steelman is correct adding lake dye is not good since it will lower productivity even more by limiting phytoplankton (base productivity) which in turn limits zooplankton which limits growth of all sizes of fish.
Anglers are still catching fish and some large fish which indicates the food chain is present. One key item is to make sure the natural foods produced are not overeaten by too many smaller mid-sized fish. Balance and the correct numbers of fish in each size group that are present is key to maintaining balance and achieving fishery goals. A good fish survey tells the manager what the current balance is. Every angler or the most frequent anglers should be required to keep catch records to help with determining fish sizes and balance. Several fishing methods / techniques should be used to monitor the fish community. Pan fishing, predator angling, and forage fish sampling, all with catch records, are very important for measuring fish community balance. The HOA does not know the fish balance and community structure which should be well known before adding more fish.
Most bodies of water do not need more fish stocked despite what many think is best for improving a fishery. More is not always better. What most waters really need more than anything, is selective harvest of fish that are too abundant in a certain size class.
Often to improve a fishery using funds to implement a fish feeding program is efficient use of monies. Look at what a fish feeding program did for the high flow through, nutrient poor Richmond Mill Lake that now has a world class trophy fishery. Regularly adding more fish did not produce this high quality fishery. It was wise professional management designed for the current habitat and conditions. The key component is getting someone smart enough to asses or evaluate the habitat and then doing what works best to optimize those conditions.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 11/19/13 12:14 PM.
