Wintertime Thoughts on
Sportfish Management

Charles “Bo” Collins, Fisheries Biologist
Sunrise Fisheries, Inc.

When it’s too cold to fish and you have already harvested your buck of a lifetime, this is the time to start thinking about how you might improve fishing conditions in your private lake.
 The following is a list of things you might want to consider:

•  If the body of water does not contain any fish (new or recently reclaimed with rotenone), locating a source of fish must be done.  Also contact a fisheries consultant who can advise you on what species, number, and size of fish to stock.  Spring is a prime time of year for fish stocking.

•  If the lake bottom is dry, this is a good time of year to have the soil tested.  Most soils are acid and will need liming to raise the soil pH, which will improve the productivity of the water.  The type of lime recommended is agricultural limestone.  Lime can be purchased in bulk at most farm store outlets and they also should have equipment to spread the material.  To determine the amount of lime needed, take several soil samples in the basin and take the samples to your county Cooperative Extension Service.  They can test the soil and recommend the amount of agricultural limestone needed.

•  If your lake does not contain enough fish habitat such as brushpiles, you might want to consider constructing fish shelters by tying a number of small trees together and anchoring them in strategic locations in the lake.  Christmas trees are great for this purpose.  A fisheries consultant can help you with the number you need and the design.  It has been proven that fish shelters attract fish and by concentrating them, it makes fishing more productive.

•  Keeping a daily fishing log on the species, size, and number of fish caught can tell you a lot about the structure of the fish population. 

•  If you are considering feeding your fish, such as bluegill or channel catfish, now is the time to start looking for a fish feeder and locating a place to install it.  By feeding, you can improve the growth and condition of the fish and make fishing more productive.

•  Aeration is becoming more popular with private lake owners since lakes can experience oxygen problems.  Oxygen problems can result in losing numbers of expensive fish.  Installing aeration is like adding insurance for your fish crop.  If you are seriously looking at aeration, contact a fisheries consultant for his or her advice before purchasing. 

•  If you have an existing lake and are not sure of the condition of the fish population, a fisheries survey would be helpful before anything else is done.  Most fish consultants have the equipment to sample the fish population and then make recommendations on how to improve the fishery.

Sunrise Fisheries, Inc. can provide you with all your fish stocking needs, chemicals, fish feeders, and aeration needs.  We also have on staff professional fisheries consultants to advise you with all your needs.