Lake stocked with fresh catch

By ALICIA HENRIKSON

The Capital-Journal

They made their move early on a crisp October morning, ushered to a gateway that promised more freedom, room to roam and perhaps a new life.

Of course, some will be known just as dinner. But this is life for fish at Lake Shawnee.

More than 10,000 catfish and bass were moved from rearing ponds to the lake last week.

The process isn't a new one. The county has been growing fish for more than 30 years. But, moving the fish from the four ponds to the lake is a lengthy event.

"It takes a while to do," said Lyle Bausch, park maintenance superintendent. "It requires a lot of time and a lot of help."

The process begins by draining the ponds so people can work in them. Bausch said to get the ponds at a workable level requires draining them for about 10 to 12 hours. While draining the ponds, a screen is left on the large drain to prevent the fish from going through the system.

When the draining is finished, the real work begins. The screen is removed from the drain and, using an 8-foot net, people work in groups of two in the ponds to corral the fish toward the drain. Workers walk around the deep wet mud in waders and if they don't move quick enough, it is easy to sink into the mud.

"On Tuesday, we had a couple of guys get stuck in there," Bausch said.

Once the fish are herded over to the drain, they swim through a 10- inch pipe that empties out into Lake Shawnee. The fish are weighed, counted and released into the lake.

One or two fish might have become casualties along the way, but Bausch said that similar to past years, they had good success with the process this year.

"It's a real cost-effective way for us to do it," Bausch said.

Kansas Wildlife and Parks supplies the Lake Shawnee with fingerlings, or baby fish, for free, said Richard Sanders, district fisheries biologist for Kansas Wildlife and Parks. The reason the fingerlings are free is because the county lake is part of the Community Lakes Assistance Program.

Sanders said about 10 percent of the groups involved with the Community Lakes Assistance Program have a rearing pond.

"Most of them are the larger ones like Wyandotte Lake and the lake at Shawnee Mission," he said.

Lake Shawnee received its shipment of fingerlings from Kansas Parks and Wildlife in early March.

Since that time, the fish have been fed daily and water was drained periodically in the rearing ponds and replaced with fresher water from the lake, Bausch said.

By the time October rolls around, the fish weigh about a pound and usually about six inches or more in length.

"They usually do real well on size out at Lake Shawnee," Sanders said. "Usually, it's because of the people doing the feeding. If you feed them about the same time everyday, that really helps, so I'm guessing they're pretty consistent with it."

To ensure the fish aren't centrally located, no fishing is allowed this week.

Alicia Henrikson can be reached at

(785) 295-1192 or ahenrikson@cjonline.com.

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