05/30/2026
Reminder…
It’s that time of year again!
Seeing a number of dead sunfish floating this time of year is disturbing and unpleasant but it is a VERY common occurrence.
It is happening now, it is part of nature, and it is nothing to worry about. The lake is healthy and there is nothing wrong with it…
If a spring fish-kill is one species, all of similar size, most commonly 5-6 inch sunfish, you can pretty much count on it being spawning mortality.
A common cause of spring fish-kills is spawning mortality. Many species, most notably perch and sunfish, spawn in shallow areas in the spring. Perch tend to be earlier spawners, and the water is colder and better oxygenated, so they are less likely than sunfish to experience stress while spawning. Sunfish, on the other hand, start spawning in May in much of New England and may continue to do so well into summer. They make nests in shallow water subject to fluctuations in oxygen and temperature within and among days. They don’t eat but they do defend the nests against other fish. The energy balance just doesn’t work out in some cases, and some fish die. If we have extremely variable weather, the stress is often greater.
This too shall pass 😊
