The Pickerel Chain Lake Association (PCLA) plans to install aeration systems in three lakes, beginning with Pickerel Lake this year.
The Pickerel Chain, located in the town of Townsend, incorporates three interconnected lakes: Pickerel, Little Pickerel and Smoke. The lakes have a history of severe fish population winterkills, usually occurring every 10 to 12 years.
Typically, this happens when a long, cold, snowy winter causes dissolved oxygen to be depleted due to aquatic vegetation die-off. This occurred in the winter of 2012-13 when an estimated 95 percent of the fish, or over 20,000, perished. The winter of 2013-14 resulted in a second consecutive winterkill, almost totally decimating fish populations in the chain.
In the past, local fishermen transplanted fish from other local lakes to repopulate the chain. This is no longer an option. Concerns about the transfer of diseases and exotic species make this illegal. Restoring the fishery and solving the problem of recurring winterkills has become the responsibility of the landowners on the lakes. To that end, in May 2013 the PCLA was formed.
According to President Steve Heimerman, PCLA’s chief goals are restocking the lakes and eliminating future winterkills.
Working with the Department of Natural Resources, the group restocked northern pike in 2013. The organization has also raised funds for stocking crappies and bluegills.
PCLA plans to install aeration systems in the lakes, beginning with the initial installation in Pickerel Lake before the winter of 2014-15. That system is estimated to cost up to $13,000. Aeration systems at the two smaller lakes are estimated at $9,000 each, for a total of $31,000.
“Since aeration systems are not sanctioned under DNR grant programs, such installations must be financed by local fundraising efforts,” Heimerman said. “The PCLA, as a new organization, is not fully tax exempt at the present time, which limits some fundraising options. Therefore, we are relying on contributions from members and supporters to raise the initial $13,000 in time for this year’s aerator installation.”
The Townsend Flowage Association donated $1,000 to PCLA.
“We are happy to help our neighbors on the Pickerel Chain,” TFA President Dan Coopman said. “We understand and sympathize with their winterkill problems and support Pickerel Chain lake owners’ efforts to come up with a permanent solution.”
Heimerman said PCLA appreciates the donation.
“Everyone agrees the lakes of the Pickerel Chain are a valued resource to the local area,” he said. “On a typical Saturday during the ice fishing season there will be over a hundred fishermen on the lake. … Until we can restore and sustain this formerly prolific fishery, these fishermen will have to pressure other local lakes or not come to the Townsend area at all.”
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