Fishing in British Columbia > General Discussion

Interior Lake Winter Kill

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RalphH:
If anyone has been following release of lake oxygen levels this winter it looks like we are about to realize what is perhaps a record year for winter kill in many popular lakes in the interior including lakes like Roche and Salmon. I got an email from Salmon Lake Resort today. Oxygen levels in the lake were measured at 0.6ppm just below the ice and 0.00 at the bottom of the lake under a 20 inch thickness of ice. Ideal oxygen levels are 2.0ppm or higher. The expectation is that no trout have survived the winter. Douglas Lake Ranch is actively trying to obtain 'catchable' size fish for many of their privately stocked lakes which means they likely expect this scenario in most of the lakes on the ranch.  For many lakes the transition from an uncharacteristically warm fall to ice over  was so sudden the lakes had not gone through turnover leaving a large amount of living plant biomass to die and rot under the ice robbing the water of dissolved oxygen.. If you are making plans for a spring trip be sure to check lakes you want to visit have not suffered a significant winter kill.

Tylsie:
It won't be pretty. Region 3 lakes that people hope to fish by Christmas were frozen over by mid November. The shallower lakes close to Kamloops have been suffering from whitening since early February with visibility measured in inches rather than feet. Larger lakes, in the shallows you can see the dead materials floating in the shallows. The amount of bacteria and fungi consuming this matter must be insane and the ice is still thicker than it was this time last year.

In deeper lakes the fish are down at the 60'-80' level, and some even deeper. A lot of the larger lakes have huge shallow shoals with only a small deeper area, such as Salmon lake, mentioned and even then at just over 30' it's probably not enough.

Wiseguy:
I read a recent quote from legendary retired fisheries biologist Brian Chan who is arguably the leading authority on interior lake fly fishing and probally the best Stillwater angler in all of B.C saying its the lowest oxygen levels on the lakes around the Kamloops area he has ever seen in 40 yrs.

DanL:

--- Quote from: RalphH on March 22, 2023, 10:23:54 PM ---If anyone has been following release of lake oxygen levels this winter it looks like we are about to realize what is perhaps a record year for winter kill
--- End quote ---

Where would find this kind of info? Winter kill info seems to be a bit of a guarded secret, which I sort of understand as one would not want to make claims about winterkills (or lack of) that turn out to be incorrect. Measured O2 levels shouldnt really be a secret as it's just a measured quantified value. It would be interesting to compare with previous year's readings as well

I've been to two winterkilled lakes, and didnt find out about either until well after the fact. The first time was a partial kill, but still managed to get into a few, including my largest of the trip, so just because there's some winterkill doesn't mean it's not worth checking out, especially if it keeps everyone else away.

The other time was apparently a complete kill and unsurprisingly got skunked; not even a single object on the sounder.


--- Quote --- For many lakes the transition from an uncharacteristically warm fall to ice over  was so sudden the lakes had not gone through turnover leaving a large amount of living plant biomass to die and rot under the ice robbing the water of dissolved oxygen..
--- End quote ---

I've not really considered what mechanisms might make winterkill worse one some years vs another, other than length of ice-over. I wonder if the aerated lakes have fared any better.

RalphH:
I have seen it on a few Facebook pages. The Province does measure oxygen levels at a sample of lakes (by no means all) - Roche is one and has had very low samples.I don't know if that info is publicly released but word does get out. Douglas Lake hired a biologist to measure the levels on Salmon and as I has reserved some time on the lake this spring I was copied on a letter. Send me a PM and I can copy you. I can't tell you more.

I'd  also suggest you check before visiting a lake that is prone to winter kill. It sounds like that a lot of lakes will kill this winter. Salmon had a winter kill in 2018/19 but seldom does winter kill. Summer kill is a common issue there though usually not all fish die. Roche had a kill some years back. You can check with the F&W regional office closest to whatever lake you intend to visit or by calling the nearest tackle shop. 

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