This is a still image from a video of stocking largemouth bass at Griffy Lake recently. The fish were from the Cikana State Fish Hatchery. Indiana Department of Natural Resources courtesy image
Firearms season for deer began Saturday, but people may want to pick up their fishing poles and head to Griffy Lake instead.
More than 250 largemouth bass ranging in length from 14 to 22 inches were recently stocked into the lake on Bloomington’s north side.
A total of 165 largemouth bass from Cikana State Fish Hatchery and 113 bass from a private hatchery were released into Griffy Lake as a way to cut down on the population of common carp in the lake. The carp are a member of the minnow family and grow very quickly.
“The reason we don’t like common carp is because of their feeding habits,” said Dave Kittaka, the fisheries biologist with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife.
The carp are bottom feeders, eating insects off the bottom of the lake.
They dredge for insects, disturbing up to 6 inches of sediment on the bottom. This sediment clouds the water, allowing plants less light to grow and leading to more algae growth in the lake. The dredging also disrupts plants’ roots.
Griffy Lake was drained in 2012 and 2013 so repairs could be made to the dam. Before the lake was drained, fishing rules were relaxed to allow people to harvest as many fish as possible. It seems some of the fish that survived include the common carp, which were in the lake before it was drained but not in such numbers, Kittaka said.
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