DNR to selectively target shad at Lake Waveland

Monday, October 12, 2015

WAVELAND -- Lake Waveland in Montgomery County is the target as the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife plans to selectively cull gizzard shad.

The goal is to reduce the gizzard shad population enough to increase largemouth bass populations and produce better panfish in the 358-acre lake.

The lake is currently being lowered to two to four feet below its current level.

Once the water level is reduced, draining will cease and a low dose of rotenone will be applied. Rotenone application is slated for Oct. 27, weather permitting. The lake will be closed to fishing and boating that day.

Sometimes used as an insecticide, rotenone is toxic to fish and has been used in fisheries management for decades. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved the use of rotenone formulations to control and sample fish populations. It affects shad at doses too low to drastically affect other species.

Boat owners may want to remove watercraft before or shortly after the drawdown begins. It is anticipated that the lake level will be down at least two feet by mid-October.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: