Big Eau Pleine fish kill - again

After hearing rumor of yet another fish kill on the BEP, Joe and I drove down this morning to take a look - not pretty. What a darn shame!

Were they mainly crappies in the pics? Looks like some dandies.

Once the ice breaks I will be out scouting for the bow fishing season. It will be interesting to see what WE see at night. In early April we usually see loads of crappies and northens in the shallows. I'll keep up to date postings as we scout and will also be posting updates on http://www.muddywatersbowfishing.com

It was mostly carp, bullheads, smaller crappies, and suckers. I don't think there were too many gamefish left in there, although we did find 2 walleyes and 1 pike.

Took a ride down to the BEP today after work.Lots of fish floating around.Mostly carp,suckers,and crappies.Also some white bass.That's to bad there was a decent year class of crappies that would have been good size in the next year or two.Definetly sad to see.

Also,seen a bunch of dead carp off of CTH C by Knowlton on DuBay.Right by the culvert.Hope that was a fluke.

I remember fishing DuBay early last spring and seeing loads of dead and dying fish washing downstream, I assumed they were coming in from the BEP; I'm sure it will be the same this year too. It'd be interesting to know how many fish carcasses are getting dumped into Lake DuBay via the BEP...

Drove to Rozellville last evening for supper at the Buck-A-Neer restaurant. We crossed the BEP on Cnty O, boy were there the dead fish everywhere. Talked to the owner at the restaurant about the fish kill. He said that they found four Muskies that were over fifty inches. Boy what a waste of resources.

In regards to the dead muskies seen on BEP (or other waterbodies for that matter);

I can obtain a lot of useful biological information (e.g. age, growth rates, stocking success and fecundity) from even dead muskies and am interested in collecting them. If you seen one that have recently died or appears to be dying, please contact me. I can not use muskies that are starting to decompose however. I would not recommend picking it up yourself as I don't want you to get in trouble for possessing a musky out of season.

Thanks,

Garrett Drach

Fisheries Technician
jeffery.drach@wisconsin.gov

An interesting article in the Wausau Daily Herald today - I guess I would like to know how the fishery can be expected to "rebound", as stated in the article, when nothing continues to be done to address the low water levels and continued run-off (it would be known as pollution if it came out of yours or my yard). Just another example of the complete and utter lack of direction when it comes to those who SHOULD BE responsible for preventing this...

If you're interested in getting involved, please take a look at the email I received below from Mr. Michael Paul, the VP of the Big Eau Pleine Citizens Organization:

"Joel, thank-you for your column in the Green Bay Press Gazette about the Big Eau Pleine. To introduce ourselves, we are BEPCO, the Big Eau Pleine Citizens Org., a lake assn., reactivated this past winter. Our website is: http://www.bigeaupleine.org, please check us out. We are updating the ongoing fish kill with photos and links to the recent news articles.

We are looking for all the support we can muster as we try address the recent fish kills. The estimated 70-80 percent fish kill this winter is disastrous. The Eau Pleine has a huge challenge ahead, to get the water cleaned up and fishery restored. All of the friends we have will help us going forward.

Please continue spreading the word and help us to to get the "pros" involved.
Again, thank-you.

Michael Paul, VP BEPCO

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/...011/adv&theme= "

Steve Pelton of BEPCO (Big Eau Pleine Citizens Organization) sent me these photos to share as well...

In reading the Wausau Daily Herald this morning, I came across an article commenting on the "mess" at the BEP right now as the multitudes of dead fish continue to rot. Tom Meronek, a DNR fish biologist, was interviewed for the article and said, "They're going to decay on their own," "But it's going to be a mess for a while."

The article went to on mention that Mr. Meronek said many of the fish will sink to the bottom and others will be pulled by the reservoir's current downstream to the Wisconsin River (Lake DuBay and beyond).

Beyond that, he said, it is up to the landowners to clean the shoreline, and there is no efficient way to clean up all the fish.

Does anyone else struggle with the notion of it being up to the landowners to clean the shoreline? Do the homeowners along the BEP continue to draw the water down? Are they responsible for the continued run-off also to blame for the low DO levels?

As for an "efficient way to clean up all the fish", perhaps the Department of Natural Resources could become a bit more proactive in respect to the Destruction of Natural Resources. Just my two cents worth, and it probably isn't worth even that...

Tight lines,