Page 45 - Outdoor Oklahoma - May/June 2021 Issue

Another benefit of this process would potentially
allow more shad to be released into the lake than what
the Fisheries staff members are able to collect and MATTHEW PALLETT/ODWC
restock after a winter shad kill.
The project started in February by filling the pond,
then fertilizing the pond in April so there would be plen-
ty of zooplankton for the brood stock to eat.
After the pond was fertilized, threadfin shad brood
stock was collected from Tenkiller Lake.
The shad were hauled to the nursery pond to start
spawning. Some of the fish just couldn’t wait, and shad
eggs were found on the air pumps in the hauling tank This threadfin shad was collected from Tenkiller Lake to serve as
after arriving at the pond. broodstock in the Skiatook nursery pond.
A week later, shad eggs were found on cedar trees that
had been placed in the pond. And in short order, the first MATTHEW PALLETT/ODWC
fry were seen. “Fry” is the term for a recently hatched
fish whose yolk-sac has almost disappeared and whose
swim bladder is operational to the point where the fish
can actively feed for itself.
As the weeks passed, the shad grew to fingerling
size. And as summer continued, shad were seen swim-
ming near the edge of the pond. Staff members used a
high-resolution sonar unit to survey the shad population
in the entire pond, and the images showed large schools The transport tank is backed into position for release of shad into
of shad throughout. the nursery pond.
As summer 2020 was nearing its end, the time came This project’s successful crop of threadfin shad will
to release the shad into Skiatook Lake. The shad would contribute in growing the population of shad this sum-
have a month or two before water temperatures started mer, producing high-quality forage for Skiatook Lake’s
to drop. A blocking net was used to enclose the stocking hybrid striped bass, blue catfish, and black bass.

area to protect the shad from being eaten by predators Several partnering groups assisted in the project,
as they came out of the pond. A day later, the net was including the Skiatook Lake U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
removed, and the shad were free to swim into the lake. staff, Skiatook Lake Association and Zink Ranch.

MATTHEW PALLETT/ODWC

Water pumped from Skiatook Lake is used to fill the nursery pond.
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