Fish Kill Event - Little River Lake
Leon, near main boat ramp
- Event ID
- 1037
- Date of Kill
- 5/22/2023
- Waterbody Type
- Lake
- Cause Origin
- Natural
- Cause
- Disease/Parasite/Stress
- Mode
- N/A
- Magnitude
- 1 (1 - 100 fish killed)
- County
- Decatur
- ESD Field Office
- FO 5
- Fisheries Office
- Mt. Ayr State Hatchery
- LongDD
- -93.77580
- LatDD
- 40.76677
- Created Date
- 7/6/2023 4:02:47 PM
- Last Update
- 7/6/2023 4:02:47 PM
There are some dead Bluegill and Black Crappie washed up in the curly leaf pondweed, but I didn't see any large dead fish (eg. Largemouth Bass or Walleye). Checked the water quality and temperature was 71 degrees F, pH was 8.3, and dissolved oxygen was 13.2 mgl/L. The water was very clear and I could see fish, including big Largemouth Bass moving around without any signs of distress. There was no odor or discoloration of the water.
Fisheries ruled this a natural, partial fish kill relating to spawning stress since most of the dead fish were Bluegill and Crappie. The panfish have been spawning for awhile (Bluegill are still spawning) and the water temperature has warmed up so that could have led to the partial kill. There are also a lot of panfish fish skeletons in the water from people harvesting fish and throwing the waste in the water so it may look worse than it actually is to the general angler.