Northern pike being poisoned in California

Northern pike fisherman won’t be happy to hear about what’s been happening in the mountains of Sierra Nevada, California recently.

UC  Davis Fear and Fishing in Lake Davis - Northern Pike Documentary Video Preview

Government workers began pouring toxic chemicals into Lake Davis on Tuesday Sept. 23, 2007 in an effort to kill off all northern pike. Over 16,000 gallons of the poison Rotenone were destined to end up the 7-mile long lake. Dead fish began washing up on the shore within hours of the poison distribution.

This will be the government’s second attempt to trump mother nature and exterminate northern pike from the well-known trout fishing reservoir situated in the back country 150 miles northeast of Sacramento.

The first poisoning attempt began in 1997, but the voracious pike reappeared after 18 months. Officials are worried that the northern pike could decimate not only all the trout and salmon in Lake Davis, but also in the Sacramento River system.

A new chemical formulation of the aquatic insecticide Rotenone, which has been used to successfully kill off pike in other reservoirs, was used for this round of poisoning. Officials previously tried eradicating the pike through over fishing, explosions, electric shocks, traps and nets, but all failed to kill off the hardy predators.

Over $20 million has been spent since 1989 to eliminate northern pike from the area, but despite the fact that an estimated 65,000 pike have been killed, the toothy predators keep coming back.

Officials are confident they will get all the pike this time.

For more information on the northern pike poisoning please visit the links below: