Several area residents attended a meeting last week conducted by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources about yellow bass in Lake Cornelia. As has been explained in Monitor stories previously, invasive yellow bass have become a significant problem at the lake to the detriment of other fish species and the fishery as a whole. A group of over twenty people listened to a DNR presentation put on by Jonathan Meerbeek, Natural Lake Research Biologist, and Scott Grummer, DNR Fisheries Biologist. They discussed the potential options for dealing with the yellow bass problem. These include a “complete renovation” of the lake, which would essentially start the fishery over by killing all the fish in the lake. Or, option two, a “partial renovation,” where they would apply a low dose of rotenone (a fish toxicant) to kill off most of the yellow bass. This option would also call for aggressive predator stocking to take care of lingering yellow bass. “Most attendees knew and understood something needs to be done with the fishery to improve angling opportunities at Lake Cornelia,” said Grummer. “Based on comments we have received so far, a low dose treatment followed by aggressive fish stockings of species known to consume yellow bass is the preferred approach.”
