TPWD explains the dead carp at Lake Palestine

LAKE PALESTINE – The first thing you may notice when visiting Lake Palestine is the awful smell from the dead decaying carp. The fish skeletons can even be found on the grass near the shoreline, but Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD) assures residents there is nothing to concerned about. “Nasty and smelly,” BJ Schalck, a local fisherman, said. People who live off the lake have seen many dead carp floating in the water in recent weeks, and they are wondering what is going on.

“I came down here Friday and fished and probably 14 carp floated in, came down here the next day and just covered in buzzards,” Schalck said.

According to TPWD Kills and Spills Department it is a natural kill cycle.

“It’s not unusual this time of year to see carp going up into shallow waters, because they’re spawning and that’s part of their reproductive process, is to do that,” Bregan Brown, with TPWD Kills and Spills Team, said.

TPWD said all of the rain seen in recent weeks has cause the shallow areas to be extremely shallow.

“They basically run out of dissolved oxygen in those areas and they can’t get out because it’s probably very choked with vegetation,” Brown said.

Residents in the area said they are seeing in increase in rodents, buzzards, and snakes due to the dead fish becoming their next meal.

“They’re eating the carp, that’s basically what they do. The scavengers find a dead carcass, and they just keep going at it,” Schalck said.

Bass fishers said all of the dead carp don’t bother them, but carp fishermen like Texas record holder, Mitchell Wright said it’s more than an inconvenience.

“It makes a lot more scarce in the fish that we have when we do those things, because we’re losing a lot of them naturally,” Mitchell said.

TPWD said it’s unlikely the deaths will continue.