Fish loss ?

[sasqy]

Has anyone noticed that they lost a lot of fish during the big freeze ?
I have a 19 acre lake that was full of fish last year. You could sit and watch them break the surface all day and could go down and catch one every other cast.
Since snowmageddon i might see 1 splash a day, and have fished it 3 times only to catch one or two fish. Water is prob 10-12 ft at the deepest part and was under ice for 2 weeks. Worried that I might have lost most of my fish due to the prolonged low temps. Has anyone else noticed a decline in their fish population since the freeze ?

[hopedale]

Seems like had you lost a bunch they would have floated to the top

[Kossetx]

Black bass, crappie, bluegill and catfish all grow up north. If you lost fish you'd have seen them.

[sasqy]

I think it was too cold for them to bloat and float !
I think they laid on the bottom and deteriorated.

[St59]

I think it was too cold for them to bloat and float !
I think they laid on the bottom and deteriorated.

I don’t know how realistic this is, but it’s my opinion. We have a few tanks that would be 100+ Bass a day and now nada. Never saw any floating but it’s the only thing that makes sense

[brokeno]

I stocked 300 blue cats, perch and Minnows in my tank last year. I know the catfish didn't die because they are coming to feed like crazy but not so sure about the perch or minnows.
My tank is about 25 feet deep and didn't freeze all the way over.

[GarGuy]

Sounds like you may have an otter probablem.

[sasqy]

Anyone else feel like chiming in ?

[Razrbk89]

I don’t think the freeze would do much to your fish, at all. My ponds typically freeze (for a day or three) every winter. I don’t think it bothers the fish at all.

When we had that little cold snap in February mine locked up pretty good and there’s no noticeable difference, this spring.

Maybe a water quality issue or an otter issue, like mentioned above? That being said, I have quite a few otters in my creek and they don’t wipe my ponds out, though I know they occasionally get in them and fish.

[speck1]

We had Tilapia mixed in with bass and perch in four stock tanks. Bass and perch seemed to do fine but the tilapia got hammered.


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[sasqy]

No otters here at all !
I know tilapia can’t handle extreme cold.
I’m not sure what happened to them but I sure would like to know.

[GarGuy]

No otters here at all !
I know tilapia can’t handle extreme cold.
I’m not sure what happened to them but I sure would like to know.

Dang....where are you that dont have otters?

[sasqy]

Dang....where are you that dont have otters?

Out west of Dfw about an hr

[BrandonA]

How deep is your lake?

[Birddog66]

No otters here at all !
I know tilapia can’t handle extreme cold.
I’m not sure what happened to them but I sure would like to know.

We're in the same boat man. I've been stocking my parents 1.25-1.5 acre pond for several years and finally had things somewhat sustainable. Last few years I would catch between 8-20 fish every time I went. I've been 3 times this Spring - 2 skunks, caught 2 small bass. It was mostly stocked with black bass and bluegill.

I don't know what the heck happened either, I don't remember ever seeing this kind of a sudden decline. I HAVE to consider the freeze at this point.