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Bluegill, bass populations rebounding at Bruneau Dunes after carp eradication
No carp were observed in recent survey, signaling successful treatment in 2016
Joe Thiessen, regional fisheries biologist for Idaho Fish and Game, couldn’t help but be excited as he loaded a boat with electrofishing gear and prepared to launch at the overgrown earthen ramp at Bruneau Sand Dunes Lake on a warm July evening. He was eager to see how the lake’s bluegill and bass populations were progressing since getting a fresh start in 2017.
He was also a little apprehensive.
“I really hope we don’t find any carp today,” Thiessen said, after the boat was in the water and he had begun setting up the anodes — the metal and wire assemblies that emit an electric current — on the bow.
When the electrofishing started, the boat made its way around the shoreline in 30-minute intervals. The current drew fish toward the anodes at the surface, where netters at the front of the boat hauled them in, deposited them in a live well, and went back to scooping. Every 30 minutes, the boat brought the fish back to a two-person crew on the shore, who documented the species, measured the fish, and in some cases, affixed tags to them before releasing them back into the pond.
When the survey was completed, and the last fish was released, the news was good: there were no carp observed, and the survey found lots of bluegill were growing well and reproducing, as well as a self-sustaining population of bass that appeared to be re-establishing itself.
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