According to Lakes Committee Chairperson Steven FitzGerald, HSV Lakes Manager Katy Harmon used electrofishing to survey Hot Springs Village lakes. FitzGerald said that fish move during springtime due to spawning and water temperature.
FitzGerald reported, “A dedicated boat, fitted with specialized equipment, is used to stun the fish; The stunned fish then rise to the surface.” The fish floating on the surface are netted, measured, weighed, and released back into the lake.
According to Wikipedia, “Electrofishing is a fishing technique that uses direct current electricity flowing between a submerged cathode and anode. This affects the movements of nearby fish, so they swim toward the anode, where they can be caught or stunned.”
Wikipedia continues, “Electrofishing is a common scientific survey method used to sample fish populations to determine abundance, density, and species composition. When performed correctly, electrofishing results in no permanent harm to the fish, which return to their natural mobility state in as little as two minutes after being caught.”
Harmon shared that the surveyed fish fall under the “bream” category, which includes bluegill, redear sunfish, and others, in addition to catfish. Because catfish typically reside in deeper waters, capturing many catfish in electrofishing samples is not always possible.
Harmon presented her findings to the Lakes Committee on August 9, 2023.
The length categories for largemouth bass are as follows:
- Sub-stock (fish that are 7.8” and smaller),
- Stock (fish that are between 7.8” and 11.7”),
- Quality (fish that are between 11.8” are and 14.9”),
- Preferred (fish that are between 15” and 20”), and
- Memorable (20” and above).
For smaller lakes, the entire shoreline is sampled. These shorelines typically are at a depth of 8’ or less. This is the optimum depth for electrofishing surveys.
On larger lakes, ten random sites are sampled. Variations in water depth, water temperature, and site location make sampling in the larger lakes less accurate. As demonstrated in the analysis, Lake Balboa is our largest lake, with the fewest number of total fish captured.
The Lakes Manager indicated that this is the first electrofishing survey since 2019, so no trend can be interpreted from the survey results. No additional stocking is scheduled or recommended for any of our lakes until we better understand the trends in our fisheries. This will come with a couple more years of consistent surveys.
Electrofishing Findings by Lake
Lake Segovia/11 Acres: Total Sampled 101 / Sub-Stock 29 / Stock 65 / Quality 7 / Preferred 0 / Memorable 0
Lake Estrella/21 Acres: Total Sampled 98 / Sub-Stock 25 / Stock 41 / Quality 32 / Preferred 0 / Memorable 0
Lake Isabella/25 Acres: Total Sampled 229 / Sub-Stock 75 / Stock 130 / Quality 20 / Preferred 1 / Memorable 3
Lake Maria/27 Acres: Total Sampled 136 / Sub-Stock 31 / Stock 93 / Quality 11 / Preferred 1 / Memorable 0
Lake Sophia 36 Acres: Total Sampled 90 / Sub-Stock 6 / Stock 14 / Quality 34 / Preferred 35 / Memorable 1
Lake Granada 54 Acres: Total Sampled 194 / Sub-Stock 15 / Stock 152 / Quality 20 / Preferred 6 / Memorable 1
Lake Pineda 62 Acres: Total Sampled 183 / Sub-Stock 33 / Stock 109 / Quality 31 / Preferred 10 / Memorable 0
Lake Desoto 200 Acres: Total Sampled 378 / Sub-Stock 40 / Stock 174 / Quality 141 / Preferred 17 / Memorable 6
Lake Cortez 245 Acres: Total Sampled 236 / Sub-Stock 24 / Stock 92 / Quality 99 / Preferred 17 / Memorable 4
Lake Coronado 390 Acres: Total Sampled 216 / Sub-Stock 14 / Stock 119 / Quality 68 / Preferred 11 / Memorable 4
Lake Balboa 944 Acres: Total Sampled 46 / Sub-Stock 3 / Stock 15 / Quality 15 / Preferred 12 / Memorable 1
Other Lakes Department and Lakes Committee Updates
On another note, the Lakes Committee is still conducting compliance boat sticker surveys. If you don’t have a boat sticker, please get in touch with the POA to obtain one.
The Lakes Department has also worked hard to replace boards, powerwash, and reseal docks.
Click here to visit the HSV Lakes Committee website.
Click here to read an article about Lakes and Golf Department fish rescue efforts.
By Cheryl Dowden
