Sturgeon Lake - Any Update on Carp Die-off?

[Golfisher]

So, is the carp die-off in Sturgeon (and other Karwarthas lakes) completely over? No more dead carcasses floating around to stink the whole lake, or are they still going belly up? How has fishing been affected by it, if at all? Worse, better, no difference? Inquiring minds want to know!

[ccmtcanada]

Doesn't look like they have any idea, although I did fish one of the affected lakes (Chemong) last weekend and I didn't see a single dead carp anywhere. Two weeks ago I was at Scugog...same thing...didn't see any at all. Here's a news article from the Lindsay Post

 

Still no answers on cause of carp die-off

GALEN EAGLE / Osprey News Network

Local News - Tuesday, August 14, 2007 @ 09:00

 

There is still no definitive answer about what caused the major carp die-off in area lakes, but whatever the cause, it seems to be waning, MNR area biologist Dan Taillon said Saturday.

 

The die-off - which produced up to 24,000 dead carp on local shores - has not moved to any new lakes in more than two weeks. The last reports of dead carp came from lakes west of Peterborough such as Balsam and Mitchell lakes, Taillon said.

 

The progress of the die-off has stalled, with no reports of dead carp in either Canal Lake to the west of Peterborough or Stony Lake to the east, Taillon said.

 

Dead carp began turning up in Lake Scugog in early June and the problem quickly spread to Sturgeon, Cameron and Pigeon lakes, Pigeon River and Chemong, Buckhorn, Balsam, Sandy, Bald and Mitchell lakes, he said.

 

There have been no new reports of dead carp on Lake Scugog since mid-June and only a few dead carp remain in Sturgeon Lake and the Tri-Lakes area, Taillon said.

 

In Balsam and Mitchell Lakes, the situation is improving, but dead carp are still being found in higher numbers there, he said.

 

Since the first dead carp was reported, 90 tonnes of carp carcasses have been disposed at local landfills, an estimated 13,000 to 24,000 carp in total, Taillon said.

 

Taillon spoke with about 100 people who attended Saturday's Lakeland Conference in Buckhorn.

 

He said 19 carp samples have been sent for testing to a provincial lab at the University of Guelph and a federal laboratory in Nanaimo, B.C.

 

The MNR has no idea when results will come back from the federal lab, he said.

 

"It's out of our hands. The labs will get in touch when the tests are completed," he said. "This isn't CSI, there's no fast track. That has been one of the biggest challenges, trying to communicate that to the public."

 

During a July 31 press conference in Peterborough, Roselynn Stevenson, a molecular and cellular biologist with the University of Guelph, said she conclusively identified columnaris bacteria in the gills of carp samples taken from Sturgeon and Pigeon lakes.

 

The same bacterial infection plagued the Ottawa River last year, killing between 2,000 and 4,000 catfish, Taillon said.

 

Still, whether columnaris is a definitive cause of the die-off awaits the final test results from the federal lab, and even then, results might not be able to identify a primary cause, Taillon said. Despite the thousands of dead carp, there is no indication any other fish species has been impacted, he said. There have been a small number of other dead fish species found in area lakes, but Taillon said there is nothing to suggest they're tied to the carp die-off.

 

As for the surviving carp, Taillon is optimistic they will be just fine.

 

"The impact of the carp population is uncertain, but there are still healthy carp present," he said. "It's not a terrible thing for surviving fish. In theory, the surviving fish have less competition now."

 

Source: http://www.thepost.ca/webapp/sitepages/con...ws&classif=

Edited August 16, 2007 by ccmtcanada

[Golfisher]

Thanks for the link, Cliff. Looks like the worst is over, but I wonder how fishing has been affected overall.

[Beans]

Our "swim " at Carp Point on Sturgeon has been slow to come back but this is always a slow time of year and hopefully will pick up by the end of the month...

 

I threw a half bucket of corn out this morning but did not fish...gotta get them coming around and feeling safe...

 

Will do the same tomorrow and will wet a line to see if there are any around...

 

We did see a few jumping but notakers since before July 01...

 

Doesn't seem to have affected the other species...my neighbour caught a couple of nice pickerel and a few bass two days ago...Too hot out there for me...nicer to sit in the shade of the trees shore fishing...

Edited August 17, 2007 by Beans

[Nanook]

I got it !!! Its all the corn you Guy's are tossing out.

The lakes are fermenting and the Carp are getting drunk, and forgetting how to swim.

There, who needs Fed. Labs.

No new dead ones in my area of Pigeon, and fishing seems to be the same.

[Sinker]

Fishing on sturgeon has been great all summer. Lots of eyes and the musky are really getting going the last few weeks. No idea about bass.....I only catch them by accident.

 

No more dead carp either....

 

Sinker

[Golfisher]

Thanks guys for updates. I wanted to find out before booking a few days of outing on Sturgeon. Nothing like the smell of dead fish in the morning!