A Holiday Miracle: After Fish Die-Off, Trout Planted In Resurrected Central Coast Lake

Here’s S.F. Gate with more details on a rebirth of fish at the Central Coast’s Lake San Antonio:

In July, thousands of bait fish, catfish, trout and bass washed up dead on the shores of Lake San Antonio, a popular recreation spot about 30 miles northwest of Paso Robles. At the time, county officials said it was the worst recorded fish die-off in the county’s history. The lake briefly closed and a campground was evacuated as the amount of dead and dying fish created a health hazard. 

When it reopened about a week later, Monterey County officials said the cause, luckily for humans, wasn’t due to bacteria or toxins. Instead, they believe a widespread but naturally occurring algae bloom choked the oxygen out of the water, resulting in the deaths of scores of fish. Algae blooms of this kind are often due to heat waves, which the area was experiencing at the time. 

On Dec. 10, some 4,000 pounds of live rainbow trout were trucked to the lake by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. A truck was backed onto the lake via a boat launch, and trout were sent shooting out of a pipe with the force of a firehose.