Northwest Iowa — We’ve had a lot of snow in the past few weeks. And that could spell trouble for fish in area water bodies.
Mike Hawkins, the District Fisheries Biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources tells us about the situation.
He says there’s not much that can be done about it at this point but he does have some advice for private pond owners.
According to Hawkins, in the bigger lakes like Spirit Lake and the Okobojis, the snow cover is less of a concern.
He says that on some lakes they have winter aeration systems, that can be of limited benefit.
Dangerous and variable ice conditions early this winter prevented state officials from turning some systems on in December and January. A few systems were started and then turned off after large portions of the lake opened back up.
Hawkins notes that turning the systems on later in the season usually isn’t possible or advised. He says a point is reached at which ice thickness is too great to create a large hole. Turning the system on when oxygen levels get low can cause water to mix under the ice and create even worse conditions, according to Hawkins.
Dissolved oxygen levels are monitored on natural lakes throughout northwest Iowa and he says so far levels are still safe in most locations.
