In August, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) conducted fish-netting tests in Waseosa. Their report is not expected to be available until mid-winter, however the MNRF has given us a brief summary of their results.
An updated and more precise depth map was created for the lake, and temperature and oxygen profiles were collected to compare to historic data and provide context for the netting results.
A Broad-Scale Monitoring survey was conducted, to assess species presence and abundance for the whole fish community, using both small-mesh and large-mesh nets. No new species were detected, which is a good thing - care should be taken by all owners to avoid introducing new species, either deliberately or accidentally. There were no lake trout detected. This does not rule out the presence of a low-density population, however it also does not change the Ministry's current approach (of not managing for a lake trout population). The catch of Splake, which were stocked last year, was modest, and it appears stocking may not be productive - we had similar feedback from one member after the stocking last year. The Bass catch was also limited, although there is relatively limited habitat for this species. Four fish were sent to the University of Guelph for disease testing, and tissue samples from smallmouth bass were sent to the MOE for contaminant testing: the MNRF advises that both of these are precautionary.
Catch results: 150 cisco, 35 largemouth bass, 17 white sucker, 14 yellow perch, 13 splake, 9 smallmouth bass,
Update: the full report is now available. Please download the attached PDF: Waseosa-BsM-2015.pdf