02-11-2009, 11:38 PM
Mud Lake is in a state Wildlife Management Area so the land is owned by the State of Idaho. The water is owned by an irrigation company and most of the water comes from wells that are started in the spring and not run during the winter. Due to the shallowness of the water, it would not be feasable to use aerators there.
Each year there is a winter kill at the lake, but some years are much worse than other years. Usually the lake is full of weeds and the weeds are the cover needed for the perch as cover, but when the weeds rot, they take most of the oxygen out of the water.
I have ice fished Mud Lake four times this year and have landed four perch - 3 - 3-inchers and one 10-incher. Also I cannot find any weed growth left from last year.
What happened to the perch and weeds? Were all poisoned last summer or did something natural destroy them? Will this also effect the waterfowl during the spring migration? Something happened in the last year there. Even on poor seasons, the perch fishing has been good during the early part of December.
When the ice leaves I will be observing it very closely.
[signature]
Each year there is a winter kill at the lake, but some years are much worse than other years. Usually the lake is full of weeds and the weeds are the cover needed for the perch as cover, but when the weeds rot, they take most of the oxygen out of the water.
I have ice fished Mud Lake four times this year and have landed four perch - 3 - 3-inchers and one 10-incher. Also I cannot find any weed growth left from last year.
What happened to the perch and weeds? Were all poisoned last summer or did something natural destroy them? Will this also effect the waterfowl during the spring migration? Something happened in the last year there. Even on poor seasons, the perch fishing has been good during the early part of December.
When the ice leaves I will be observing it very closely.
[signature]