Thousands of fish die at Nevada reservoir known for trophy bounty

Sandra Chereb

Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2000 | 4:46 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - Warm water and low oxygen levels killed thousands of fish at a northern Nevada reservoir renown in the West for its trophy-size trout.

The first sign of trouble at Knott Creek Reservoir was noticed on Aug. 10 by a summer intern working with state wildlife biologists.

"Statistically, it's barren now as far as the fish go," Nevada Division of Wildlife spokesman Chris Healy said Wednesday.

At first, some area residents believed fire retardant dropped from air tankers fighting a wildfire in the region was to blame.

But biologists said the kill at the reservoir high in the Pine Forest Range was mainly a natural occurrence, brought on by above-normal temperatures, a spurt of algae growth, warm water temperatures and low oxygen levels.

"It's just a combination of factors that lined up," Healy said.

John Doyle, a Winnemucca lawyer who has fished Knott Creek for more than 30 years, witnessed the devastation first hand.

"I was up there on the morning of the eleventh with my daughter," he said. "The total circumference of the lake was just covered with fish. It looked as if they were trying to get out of the water ... almost as if they all died at once."

The last major fish kill at Knott Creek occurred in the mid to late '60s.

When full, Knott Creek Reservoir covers about 125 surface acres. At the time of the kill, it was about half that size and contained approximately 1,000 acre-feet of water.

Biologists estimated 5,500 fish died over about a four-day period. Among the largest was a 28-inch, 10-pound rainbow trout.

The reservoir is located on private property, but the wildlife agency has an agreement with the ranch owner to keep a minimum 500 acre-feet of water in it to support the fishery and allow anglers to use it.

It is stocked by the wildlife division and managed as a "trophy" fishery.

"Knott Creek has always been a destination for fly fisherman throughout the West because of its reputation for lunker fish," said Matt Holford, Nevada director for the conservation group Trout Unlimited.

Denny Rickards, an avid fly fisherman in Fort Klamath, Ore., agreed.

"It's sad. It's one of those places that's extremely picturesque," said Rickards, who noted Knott Creek in his book, "Fly Fishing the West's Best Trophy Lakes," published earlier this year.

"The fish averaged somewhere between 15 to 22 inches. A few were bigger, but that was a pretty good average."

Rickards and Holford said the kill was not surprising.

"Temperatures in the Great Basin are up. "We're seeing rivers and streams dry up abnormally early," Holford said. "It's just a combination of a long, dry summer."

Healy said similar die-offs, though not as extensive, have occurred this year in other waters in the region, including Dutch John and Siard creeks in the Santa Rosa Range and Spalding Canyon Reservoir south of Winnemucca.

Healy said biologists will monitor conditions at Knott Creek and hope to replant it this fall, though it could take a few years before the fish regain their trophy-size status.