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A special meeting of the Prestbury Fishing Club was held on 27 April 2006. In attendance were Tom Dornback, Marv Doty, George Hauser, Steve Keierleber and Marty Swanson. This meeting was called to discuss the winter fish kill in light of the fact that no fish other than carp and bullheads have been caught so far this spring.

It was the consensus of those present that Lake Prestbury may again be dead except for carp, bullheads and catfish. No game fish have been caught or seen so far this year. It was also noted that there have been no shore fishing birds seen. Some of us still hold out some hope that not all of the fish are gone, but it does not look good at this point.

Marv Doty reported seeing large catfish eating while he was feeding the fish.

The most probable major cause of the fish kill was the severe drought last year with the interruption of flow through the lake for many months and subsequent very low water levels. A possible contributing factor during this time of stress was the shoreline restoration project bank disruption with major water turbidity as a result.

It was decided that if indeed the worst has happened, that the club would not disband out of frustration, but instead would once again start action to restore our unique and valuable sport fishery.

Tom Dornback reported that there was about $850.00 left in our treasury. Several present pledged $ 200.00 each to begin any restoration activity.

The following were discussed as beginning action items:

1) We will rely on Logan Hollow Fish Farm Fish Stocking Experts for advice as to how to proceed. Marv Doty will contact them. (See note in item 8 – b)

2) We will find a way to conduct a prompt census of the lake to see just what fish are left in it in order to proceed in an informed manner. (See note in item 8 – b)

3) We will probably delay any major restocking effort until the fall, after any further shoreline disruption is hopefully over.

4) We will participate in the Prestbury Garage Sale in an effort to raise money for the restocking effort.

5) We will begin to meet again on a monthly basis and move our meeting place to the Prestbury Office Building.

6) We will begin to advertise our presence to the community in order to add new and reclaim old members, and solicit help for the restocking efforts.

. 7) We will work for changes to and improvements in the Lake itself to make it a better fish holding resource. We simply cannot start over from scratch every 5 or 6 years.

8) George Hauser will present the following proposals on behalf of the PFC to the PCA Board for action on their part.

1. Propose that the PCA fund a timely census of the Lake. We would not want to wait for the State to again conduct such a study. The last time it took close to 2 years to occur. Perhaps it could be conducted or arranged for by the PCA’s lake consultants. (Note: Conversations that Marv has had with Logan Hollow Fish Farm experts since the meeting, confirm that a census is needed before we proceed with ordering fish. They think that most probably some of the game fish have survived. They can recommend commercial enterprises that would conduct a lake census for a charge in the range of $1,000.00.)

2. Propose that PCA purchase, place and operate three - 3 acre aerators in the main part of Lake Prestbury to be run all year around. The manufacturer of the model we tried out last year said that they were developing a 3 acre model and at least three of them would be needed for the main part of the lake (about 9 acres).

3. Propose that PCA fund a project that would dredge some large deep trenches or holes (around 15 feet deep) near the center of Lake Prestbury. This would assure better long term viability of our fish in years of drought or hard winters. One suggestion for where to put the dredging soil was to make the island into a peninsula by filling in the shallow area between it and the north shore of the lake. This would create an area that could be used by residents instead of Geese. It would also provide for some shore fishing opportunities that were eliminated by the lakeshore restoration project. It would also be much easier to maintain and plant the island area and would remove an area (an island) known to attract nesting geese.

4. Propose that the PCA match any private funds the PFC raises for restocking the Lake.

5. Ask PCA for an occasional page in the Prestbury News to advertise for PFC membership and solicit residents for fish stocking funds.

6. Ask PCA for regular monthly use of a room at the office building to hold PFC meetings. Hopefully a night and or a room can be picked that will not interfere with any current use.