Water Quality Project Targets Carp on Middle Twin Lake

Crews had a beautiful day to go fishing on Middle Twin Lake. By the end of the day Thursday, they pulled out hundreds of pounds of carp and bullhead and took a big step toward improving water quality on the impaired lake.

“Our modeling estimates, 15,000 common carp in this system and we’re hoping to remove 50 percent of those,” says Tom Langer, biologist with Wenck Associates who is working with the Shingle Creek Watershed and city partners on improving water quality on the lake. “We could go from pea soup water to clarity 10 feet deep with an effort like this.”

The process is an interesting one to watch. A hole is cut in the ice on one side of the lake and crews pull the net out from a 10-by-20 foot hole on the other side of the lake. Scientists know the carp are here because they’ve been tracking the movements of the fish by transmitter for about two years.

But as with any day fishing, there are often unforeseen problems. Sometimes underwater debris like a tree or even a sunken car causes the net to snag or rip. On Thursday, the net caught rusted fence and debris, which could have cut a hole for fish to escape.

Crews also pulled up 20,000 pounds of bullhead, which is a native fish but overpopulated in Middle Twin Lake, as well as 10,000 pounds of carp. It’s a good haul in terms of total fish and hopefully a step in the right direction for water quality on the lake.