Caribou Lake

[Squaretail 38]

I have a few concerns and curious if anyone has fished caribou throughout this winter. I have fished it for a few years and always produces excellent. This winter have fished it three times no hits at all. I have fished specks all my life and realize this happens with speck fishing, my issue is lately drilling holes around the lake produces a very awful smell and constant dead life under the ice. ALOT of dead minnows and insects etc. and heavy algae. Just curious to see if anyone else has experienced this. I have asked other fisherman out there and they report the same issues. On a few holes I drilled fish remains we're evident under the ice.

[Guest MNR]

The conditions you have described are typical for those of a lake that has experienced a winterkill.

Winterkill occurs when fish suffocate from lack of dissolved oxygen. Winterkill occurs during especially long, harsh winters. Shallow lakes with excess amounts of aquatic vegetation and mucky bottoms are prone to this problem. When snow and ice cover a lake, they limit the sunlight reaching aquatic plants. The plants then cut back on the amount of oxygen they produce. If vegetation dies from lack of sunlight, the plants start to decompose, which uses oxygen dissolved in the water. When oxygen depletion becomes severe enough, fish die. Winterkill is worse in winters with abundant or early snowfall. Lower autumn water levels increase the probability and severity of winterkill. Early ice-on and late ice-out dates also increase the winterkill potential.

Taking dissolved oxygen measurements during the winter is a way to monitor the level of dissolved oxygen to see if it is adequate for fish survival. Also, a lake that has experienced winterkill can usually be detected by the strong smell of sulfur dioxide, which is often equated with the smell of rotten eggs.