T.J. DeBates, from Waterville Area Fisheries, said the hot weather was a sad occurrence for Geneva Lake, but a natural occurrence, as it stresses the fish out that are in the shallow lakes.
Northerns are more susceptible to the effects of intense heat and oxygen deprivation. Northern pike need cool water and, as a result, the big fish die first.
Geneva Lake, which is 2200 acres in size, is a shallow lake, with a maximum depth of 7-8 feet, and 3-4 feet in the shallow. When air temperatures reach the 100-degree area, water gets hot.
Fish in the thousands have been rumored to have expired. All are good size, and it’s disappointing to fishermen who were surprised by the size of the northerns, which could be 3 to 5 years old, many as long as 25 inches.
A few yeas ago, the DNR did a renovation of Geneva Lake by "blasting out" the old cement dam and replacing it with a barrier that was put in to help keep rough fish from entering the lake. Water was no longer pumped into the lake from the low land areas and cattails flourished.
At the public access, cattails and reeds have grown so thick it is next to impossible to launch a kayak, let alone a boat or pontoon. Acres of beautiful green cattails keep boats and pontoons at bay.
The lake was restocked in the spring of 2008 with northern pike and yellow perch and the northerns did well and would rival fish from up north, both in size and taste.
The question most asked is what can be done to keep this from happening again?
And there are others.
Is raising the water level or deepening more areas of the lake the answer? Is an aerator feasible? What could happen this winter to the fish population now that the lake is lower due to our dry conditions? What would happen if colder-than-normal conditions created thicker ice? Has lowering the lake provided more habitat for waterfowl?
It has been said the flyway has changed from the years when the lake was a prime breeding ground for ducks and geese. Many of the area outdoorsmen report they had had seen a large number of wildlife at the lake earlier this spring, but are not seeing anything now.
DeBates said that it was sad to see all of the dead fish floating on the lake. DeBates believes Geneva Lake, which is a wildlife-type lake, will rebound quickly as this event will open up food areas which will help the fish that survived grow faster.
But will this type of fish kill happen again?
DeBates said Waterville Fisheries area will do another assessment of the lake this fall when things cool back down again, as well as one again in the spring.
The stories and memories run deep of this area, which was part of the early settlement of Geneva and Clarks Grove. The original settlement in the Clarks Grove area was on the southwest side of the lake until settlers moved to the high, tree-covered hill owned by Mr. Clark.
How Clarks Grove got its name
My uncle, Paul Hanson, and my dad, Curt Schember, constructed the first cement dam for Geneva Lake, located on the east side. Previous dams had moveable planks that allowed people to raise and lower the lake for the benefit or not-so-beneficial run of water from the lake.
Stories my grandparents told of Geneva Lake and surrounding area are endearing memories. My Grandpa Hanson worked hard on the “Swamp Angel,” a tracked dredge that floated in its own ditch, so large that it had its own small house on it, making "the swamp" (the area east of the lake that includes Hollandale) into a livable, productive area. He also told about harvesting ice from the lake in winter for use in summer. There was sometimes a “bonus” of fish that had frozen in the ice that could be fed to chickens or pigs. There had been a celebration of the home that Mr. Payne built on the east side of the lake so many years ago that is still being used. My aunt Helyn Langlie, who is now 92 and was a baby at the time, slept in the handmade cradle Mr. Payne had made for his granddaughter.
Grandma Hanson told of ice boats" floating" across the frozen water and my dad often remarked about the "crack" that crossed the lake and left ice standing like a wall. Standing on his snowmobile, my dad, who was 6-foot-2, couldn't reach the top of it.
My memories of snowmobiling around the lake when my sister, Kaye, and I were young with my parents many weekend mornings are ones I treasure. I believe the trip around the lake was 17 miles. In those days it was nothing to see 100 snowmobiles descend upon the frozen lake, sometimes getting lost in the fog.
The Geneva Lake “Keep It Up" campaign
There are sad memories of hunters who drowned on the lake trying to reach shore in snowstorms. The Baptist Church in Clarks Grove held their yearly picnic at "The Narrows’ where "smartweeds" reached out to touch somebody. This is now Harmony Park and the public access to the lake.
Concerns are many from the various opinions writers like the "Tribune Thumbs," which stated "This is exactly what the people who live on Geneva Lake are saying: ‘How is it that the DNR stocked Geneva Lake with northern pike following the fish kill about five years ago but then left the lake so shallow, making the water susceptible to heat and thus killing the temperature-sensitive northerns?’ The dam has a variable crest, so it can be raised, yet the big prairie lake has been left shallower, according to locals, than it used to be with the old fixed-crest dam. People want their water back. The DNR should oblige.”
Dick Herfindahl found room in his weekly column, "Woods & Water" to remark about this historic lake.
Said Herfindahl, "The hot temperatures that we have been experiencing the last few weeks have many area fisherman concerned. I have seen this occur in past years, but it hasn't happened in this area for quite some time. It is something that is hard to accept because there is nothing to do but let nature take its course."
We hope that fishermen who enjoyed fishing this beautiful lake know northerns rebound quickly and it won't take long before the lake will have some great fish to catch once again.
