Hundreds of dead fish float to surface of Minnesota lake

April 6, 2011 - PLYMOUTH, Minn. — Like a lot of Minnesotans, Bruce Wahlstrom was happy to see the ice disappearing from his lake he lives on. Then, he noticed what was underneath. “I actually saw it last night as the ice started to melt back,” said Wahlstrom. “This morning, it’s just tons of dead fish.” Hundreds of dead fish are washed up on Wahlstrom’s property on Schmidt Lake in Plymouth, or floating in the shallow water. He knows the recipe for a fish kill: Early, heavy snow piles up on the ice, making it impossible for sunlight to reach the bottom of a lake. The lack of natural light then keeps plant life from creating oxygen. If the winter is long enough, and the heavy snow lasts, fish eventually run out of oxygen to breathe and die. Schmidt Lake is similar to many other urban lakes in that it is relatively shallow and loaded with nutrients from runoff, which makes it even more susceptible to fish kills. Wahlstrom is now concerned about getting rid of the dead creatures, so his lake’s problems don’t get worse.