WILLMAR -- The hot, dry summer has lowered water levels in local lakes and has tested tempers at some boat landings by making it difficult to launch large boats.
So far, that inconvenience seems to be the worst of it.
Game fish in local lakes seem to be faring well despite the lower water levels and higher water temperatures, according to Bruce Gilbertson, fisheries supervisor with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in Spicer.
Lake levels are currently about 18 inches below their norm for this time of year, he said earlier this week.
Gilbertson said one weather related issue has come to the attention of fisheries personnel at this point. A dead tullibee or cisco was recently found on a beach on Green Lake. It could suggest that the lake's tullibee population is being stressed by the hot conditions, according to Gilbertson.
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Local fisheries personnel will be monitoring oxygen and temperatures in the lake at different depths to determine if the tullibees are under threat.
Tullibee is an important forage fish for walleye and northern pike in Green Lake. Tullibee is a cold water fish. Green Lake is the only water body in Kandiyohi County able to offer the deep, cold and well oxygenated water they require.
In the summer, tullibees are found in the depths of the lake. They move upward in the water column as oxygen is reduced in the deep water. Gilbertson said they come under stress when the band of water offering both the oxygen and cool temperatures they need becomes too small.
Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done about the situation but to monitor it, Gilbertson noted.
His office has not received any reports of significant "summer kill'' problems in area lakes, at least at this point. He said that the hot temperatures and dry conditions could certainly set the stage for some summer kills in shallow bays and water bodies in the days ahead.
Although some problems could develop, he also noted that the fish in area lakes are well adapted to the conditions now present. Summers like the one now being experienced have occurred before, and the area's fish populations have managed to rebound when conditions improve, he noted.
