Lamenting lost cats on the Rock

As the mercury rises, catfish play a more prominent role in the fishing plans of Illinois anglers.

That’s why this weekend folks in Havana will celebrate whiskered bottom dwellers during the fourth annual Catfish Festival.

And that’s why since Sunday folks in Rock River country have been lamenting the deaths of thousands of catfish — some huge flatheads that had lived in the rocky river for 20 years or longer.

The Rock River fish kill almost certainly stems from the derailment of a Canadian National Railway train and a resulting ethanol spill near Rockford last Friday. While no official report has been issued, most believe ethanol flowed into a creek, then into the Kishwaukee River and then into the Rock
River, where dead fish started to show up last Saturday.

From there, experts so far disagree on what killed so many Rock River fish. Some say ethanol wasn’t a direct cause, but that fish died instead from oxygen deprivation. Others speculate that ethanol may have broken down into a chemical that was more toxic to fish.

Whatever the cause, the fish kill was “caustic” and of “short duration” according to Illinois Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist Dan Sallee, who lives along the Rock River near Sterling.

“We have at least one credible report from a conservation officer (near Sterling) who saw the fish jumping clear out of the water to escape whatever was in the water,” Sallee said. “They were jumping 2-3 feet onto the bank and the locals were corraling fish like it was Christmas Day.”

The brunt was in a 53.6-mile stretch from 2 miles north of Grand Detour to Prophetstown. But dead fish have been spotted in a five-county stretch of river from Rockford to the Quad Cities.

The death toll was particularly high for channel catfish, flathead catfish, redhorse suckers, drum perch and carp suckers. Impact was less severe on smallmouth bass, walleye and shovelnose sturgeon.

Veteran fisheries biologist Ken Russell said it was the worst fish kill he had seen since starting work with the DNR in 1962.

But Sallee said this was not “a total kill.” For instance, there was no evidence of dead gizzard shad and buffalo were underepresented among the dead fish counted.

“I think there was substantial survival,” Sallee said. “I think a lot of fish moved into tributaries and I think whatever killed them was not evenly spread across the river.”

Unfortunately trophy flathead catfish were hit hard. Those flatheads are a point of pride along the Rock and helped lead Dixon to bill itself as The
Catfish Capital of Illinois — a claim that may now face even greater scrutiny from rod-and-reelers.

Sallee said impact on flatheads was worst below the lower Sterling dam. “We lost a lot of flatheads there,” he said. “It was awful.”

Some of those flatheads were estimated to weigh up to 50 pounds.

Not all fish were lost, though. Ray Hays of Bunny’s Bait Shop in Dixon said he knows of one group that spent seven hours rescuing flatheads that had jumped onto the bank.

“There was three of them and they carried hundreds of flatheads back to the water,” Hays said. “Lots of those fish were 40 pounds or more.”

By Wednesday, though, there was little evidence of the fish kill. Instead, biologists were trying to plan for what comes next.

The first step came Wednesday when 50,000 smallmouth bass fingerlings were stocked near Byron above the kill area. “Over the next few weeks
those fish will distribute through the kill zone and start the recovery,” Sallee said.

Beyond that restocking will depend on funding and demand on the fish hatchery system.

“We’re going to count on a natural recovery and be as proactive as we can with excess fish,” Sallee said. “If we have excess channel catfish this year, they’re going here.”

HAVANA FESTIVAL: Fishing news is happier along the Illinois River, which is finally below flood stage in most locations and is again offering good catfish action.

That includes Havana, where the annual catfish festival opens today with vendors, a catfish cooking contest, fish dinners and music from 5-8 p.m.
Saturday’s Big Cat Quest tournament runs from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a guaranteed $11,500 in prizes. There will also be a casting contest for kids and other youth events.

The festival wraps up Sunday with duck and goose calling contests. Youth events start at 10 a.m. Adult competion is at noon.