Citizen’s complaints about the mass fish winterkill at Twin Lakes have not been ignored.
Nets were placed in the lake to test for live fish species shortly after calls were placed to the Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) office in Pierre.
The net testing revealed the winter had killed off all the game species in the lake, only leaving behind a few bullheads.
Last week the GFP began restocking Twin Lakes. They released 205 adult Northern pike averaging three to four pounds each.
They have plans to stock 2,000 adult crappies and possibly more Northerns, depending on the lakes’ needs later on.
Northerns and crappies have been determined by the GFP to be the best type of fish for Twin Lakes, based on its documented history.
Restocking rates also depend on fish availability. These types of fish do not come from a hatchery, but from other lakes.
GFP officials say they have currently moved on to work in other lakes, but that they have Twin Lakes on their minds and will continue to monitor the situation.
They say they completely understand people’s concerns and would be willing to sit down and visit with a group of residents to share information and talk about the lake’s issues and possibilities.
The GFP recognizes that if the wells feeding the lake hadn’t been shut off, the aeration they provided could help the situation, but that it is an issue for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
GFP documentation shows winter fish kills were also common in the years while the wells were still running, and lake depths do not seem to have changed over the years. Maps from the 1950s show 12-foot depths, just as they have recently been measured.