Don’t look at Raccoon as blueprint for Dutch Fork recovery
Those wanting an idea of how Dutch Fork Lake will recover from being drained and refilled might not want to look at Raccoon Lake in southern Beaver County as an example.
While both lakes have now been drained and refilled, and are of similar size, they are two completely different impoundments, according to Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Fisheries Manager Rick Lorson.
The biggest difference? While Raccoon Lake was drained and refilled a couple of years later, Dutch Fork sat empty for several years, allowing trees and vegetation to grow up in the lake bed.
“When those lakes were built in the ’60s and ’70s, they would clear the lake beds and allow them to fill up,” said Lorson. “That was just the way it was done. But we’ve found since that allowing the trees to stay in the lake bed not only provides cover for young fish, it allows the nutrients to be released into the water slowly, creating a great environment for growth.”
That increased potential for growth will be key for a lake looking to rebound, especially given the financial difficulties the commission finds itself in.
When restocking Raccoon Lake in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the commission stocked fingerlings for game species such as bass and walleye for the first two years. But even with those restockings, comparisons of the lake from surveys done in pre-draining in 1995 and then in 2008, several years after it had been refilled, show just how slowly the lake was recovering.
While the walleye population is actually better post-draining than it was before the lake was emptied, possibly due to fewer people targeting the species, the largemouth bass population has yet to rebound.
In 1995, electrofishing produced over 45 largemouths over 12 inches per half hour of surveying. More than 20 of those fish were larger than 15 inches in length.
A similar survey in 2008 produced just 15 largemouths larger than 12 inches, 10 of which were larger than 15 inches in length.
The difference in the crappie population was also alarming.
But because the commission was able to use the natural cover provided by the trees in the lake bed at Dutch Fork, better results are expected.
Not that everyone is necessarily happy about it.
Trout anglers who fish via a put-and-take philosophy since the trout don’t survive from year-to-year, are understandably upset.
But in the long run, Dutch Fork Lake should enjoy a great deal of growth in its fish population over the next decade.
Will it be a different style of fishing than many of the lake’s former users were accustomed to? Sure.
But those who figure out how to work the areas with heavy tree cover could find themselves being pleasantly surprised in the coming years.
• The Buffalo Creek Watershed Association, in cooperation with the Fish and Boat Commission, will hold a Family Fishing Program at Dutch Fork Lake from 1 to 5 p.m. June 9. The event is free, and no fishing license is required.
Children must be accompanied by an adult and adults must be accompanied by a child. Equipment and bait will be available from the commission staff.
Space is limited and registration is required. To register, visit www.fishandboat.com/calendar.hto or by phone at 814-443-9841.
For information, call 724-484-7537.
Outdoors Editor F. Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com.