Biologist Report - Environmental Committee

Biologist Report April 30, 2022

Greetings, Lake Vilbig residents!

This letter is to discuss our April 2022 management efforts. I came out twice in April on the 13th and the 27th. We finally had a bit of rain in April. Enough to at least help with the drought. But I think we are still down for the year. April is one of our wettest months. This April in 2022 was our windiest month. That’s for sure. Thankfully I picked a couple of days to come out that weren’t gail force winds.

On the 13th. Water temperatures are on the rise now. Which is normal since we are having ambient temperatures up in the 80s. That and extreme winds can heat water up fairly quickly. Average of 72 F. That’s a pretty good temperature for April. Visibility was around 24 inches. pH was still high. 8.2. Water was green bloom, heavy spring bloom color. I like this color, especially for newly hatched fish. Alkalinity came down a little, back down to 140. Again there were a lot of birds in mid-April. Several cormorants, seagulls, and a few dozen coots. But also several Canada Geese. Hopefully, they fly away soon.

On the 27th. Things were very similar. Water temp was 73 F. Alkalinity was 140 and pH was 8.4. Still several birds around. Cormorants, and Geese but also a picture of several hundred seagulls was sent to me by a resident. That is a little weird. Unless they flew south and some point and are now making their way back north. I will keep an eye out for them. The water was a little off-colored. Some areas had a lot of colors while other areas were clearer. To me, it is an indication of some plankton bloom. Average depth readings were at 32 inches. I came out a couple of days after a big rain. So water was a bit murky/stained I anticipate this will change rather quickly.

Other than that, everything looks really good. Let’s get ready for warmer temperatures bass are spawned out so be prepared to fish a little deeper for them.

Thanks, Vilbig Residents!

Chad Fikes

Fisheries biologist