Summary

Description

Brief background on Lake Andes fishing history, and data on current fish populations. Lake Andes was a much larger body of water prior to the construction of an artificial outlet structure that lowered the water level by 13 feet. Since Lake Andes is fed almost completely by ephemeral streams, it has and will dry up over a span of 1116 years. These fluctuating water levels are detrimental to most game fish, while less harmful to undesirable species like bullhead and carp. The Lake was stocked with northern pike fry and prespawn yellow perch in 2001 in an attempt to reintroduce game fish and hopefully establish a fishery. The population was sampled in May 2002 to determine the status of all fish species and to evaluate the success of northern pike and yellow perch stocking efforts.