Davis Lake poison treatment yields 75 percent catfish

According to a recent press release, the Calif. Department of Fish and Game (DFG) has finished chemically treating Lake Davis and all of its tributary streams.

DFG workers continued to collect and sample dead fish from both the reservoir and those washing ashore.

"We will continue to collect fish and monitor the chemicals as they break down in the reservoir," said Ed Pert, the Lake Davis Pike Eradication Project Manager. "The treatment phase of the project, which began on Sept. 10, went very well. We feel that all of the planning and preparation that went into this effort has really paid off."

DFG workers have collected an estimated 41,000 pounds of fish. The collected fish are bagged, put into a refrigerated truck and then transported by a Plumas County disposal company to a landfill near Reno.

Of the number of fish collected, about 8 percent sampled have been northern pike. The vast majority of fish collected (about 75 percent) have been brown bullheads. Rainbow trout collected have made up less than 1 percent of the total.

Other species found in the reservoir include largemouth bass, golden shiner, and pumpkinseed sunfish.

The dead fish pose no danger to wildlife, such as herons and coyote, which are scavenging in the area. The water is also safe for wildlife to drink.

Grizzly Valley Dam will remain shut off for up to 45 days to allow the compounds to degrade naturally in the reservoir. The U.S. Forest Service roads closure is still in effect, with check-in points to the project area on Grizzly Road and the upper end of West Street.

Below the dam area, spring flows and incoming groundwater will help feed Big Grizzly Creek and provide sufficient habitat for fish and other aquatic life.

Post-treatment stocking will begin when Lake Davis is free of any of the rotenone formulation compounds, which is anticipated to occur this year before the reservoir freezes over. At that time, DFG plans to stock about 117,000 sub-catchable and catchable-size rainbow trout in the lake and tributaries. In Spring 2008, about 900,000 fingerling, sub-catchable, catchable, and bonus size rainbow trout will be planted.