Thank you for doing this and highlighting the steps. I wish more people would report gross waterways. Lets all make out rivers clean its a win/win for us all. Better wild life and better fishing. Thanks for stepping up and reporting it. You have earned a fan for life mad respect.
Too bad the EPA usually does nothing about this stuff... I have been reporting creeks here in Australia along with a few others and in years nothing has been done... Some creeks are so bad that even turtles are dying in them, now one of the best creeks around is about to take all the runoff of a new airport nothing but rocks to filter the water... The way our waterways are treated is disgusting
Honestly it may have been bacteria or a disease especially if it was a certain fish like gar also u said the ph was off by a little with all the rain it could have brought it back to a livable pH level for said gar just some ideas also bro should do another catch and cook
Your concern for the waters you fish is commendable, Nick. With there being little to no rainfall when you first noticed the dead fish, and little to no activity on your baits and lures, I wonder whether the issue was low oxygen levels. No movement, no aeration, no life? Just a hunch, brother. Keep up the great work, Nick, UA-cam's most wholesome fishing channel!
I had this thought as well and I totally agree. Lack of oxygen due to low water and no flow could have wiped out many of the species in this small creek.
Gar and bowfin can breath air and also have relatively slow metabolisms so that doesn't explain why they were missing. Also a fish forgotten about for their ability to survive in some incredibly polluted and low-O2 environments are green sunfish and they were missing too.
Yep, I was thinking the same thing. Oxygen levels are a big one, and could vary a lot depending on how much water is flowing. If the water got stagnant for a while due to low rainfall, the Oxygen levels could have dropped and caused a fish kill.
I’m glad you didn’t find anything. I’m even more glad that a young Fisherman such as yourself took the initiative to test the water yourself when our government agencies seem to have dropped the ball.
It's common for water pollutants to be let go in batches. i.e, not consistently. It's quite possible that you'd have to test the water more often to catch them releasing toxins into the stream. Keep up the good work!
Water quality expert here. Several things: First, pH is measured in pH units not parts per million (ppm). Second, holding time for chlorine is usually about 15-20 minutes. It dissipates way too rapidly, so basically you have to measure it in the field. Third, those home test kits are pretty coarse measurements. Good enough for home measurments but not so much for more detailed results. Fourth, when collecting samples you'll want to use appropriate bottles and use appropriate preservatives. Then keep them in a dark, cool place before testing. Best if you can have an accredited analytical lab run the tests (they will provide bottles, preservatives and chain of custody forms) but understandably that is the more expensive route. You did collect reference samples and downstream samples, so that was good. What I would do instead is phone EPA and request the results from the wastewater treatment plant effluent testing. At least here in Canada routine testing is required by companies of their effluent streams to ensure compliance with regulatory discharge limits. I imagine the US is similar. Nice fish too 😊
Do you think a PH of 9 is a bit strange? ive heard alkali water is supposed to be healthy. seems pretty high to me. Could that be from the water being stored in the plastic too long and causing issues w reading accuracy?
@@nesforce7712 natural pH of water bodies and watercourses varies quite a bit. Around here, a pH of 9.0 wouldn't raise an eye. Places where you have a lot of runoff through peatlands (bogs) with the typical brown stained water, natural pH could be as low as 4.0. For this case, I would compare it to the background (i.e. lake) which had a pH of 7.5. While 9.0 is higher it's more a leading indicator that there are likely chemical differences between the two locations creating the pH difference. Rambling on here, but pH actually changes throughout the day in response to photosynthesis, so even the time of day can have some influence. pH change in bottles can also happen as chemical reactions don't stop. You'll usually see a difference between field and lab readings as a result. All this to say pH can and does vary
Like you said, the recent rains probably diluted whatever was killing the fish and is likely gone or down to safe levels. But at least you were concerned enough to call. You might want to just keep an empty bottle in your car just in case you run across a similar situation so you can take samples immediately.
That's awesome that you went out of your way to try to figure out what the issue was. Sometimes we as fisherman get bad reputations because a small group of us will leave trash behind but the true fisherman like yourself want to protect our fish and waterways. Way to lead by example!
In all honesty there's probably not much you can test for test point. Next time you run into the situation like, grab samples right away. Running water has a habit of cleaning itself out quickly. Also, you have a great following, if someone was to blame they would get on clean up fast.
Your posts are the only I seek out each week. Can’t wait for Thursdays. Very pleased you took steps to protect and figure out why there was such an extreme fish kill. Good for you. Issue may be that so many other contaminants than you tested for could be the problem. A water quality lab would be a good resource there but cost $$. pH could definitely be an issue and for the record that is a measure of acid/ base levels not parts per million. Thanks for your efforts and great videos. Good fishing.
Awesome job Nick, actually glad you didn't find anything out of the "Basic" normal. I run the water treatment for a steel mill here in Ohio and we discharge into the Ohio river. We are very particular on what we put back into the river and are monitored closely by the EPA. What you tested for is basic (normal discharge ph is between 6.5 - 9.0). There is a number of other chemicals that could be in the water that your tests will not pick up. Might I suggest you run a "Minnow test". Gather larger water samples and use minnows to determine if the water will sustain a fish. Be sure to run a "control" test also. That is a good water source that the test minnows can live in. *This test will NOT tell you what's in the water, but it WILL tell you if something IS in the water. *Also, to everyone out there. KNOW your local game warden. Each county has one and they normally live local, know the area, are willing to meet you, and really care about the environment, that's why they chose this field to work in. They can cut through the "Red Tape" faster then you or I filling out complaint forms or calling people in offices that don't give a crap (is it 4 o'clock yet?) Anyhow Nick, been following you for over 2 years now and love the content. Still wishing for you to give away some of your secrets in a few tutorial videos (hint hint) Rock on Sir 🤘😎
I was looking for another guy in the comments that works in a lab/plant ;) I left a laundry list of hints or ideas for nick. I really think B.O.D. should be looked into but like u said it could have been one of a million things.
@@nate9696 The EPA does a "Minnow" test on us every 6 month. It's best test for determining if there is anything in the water. Then if it is determined there is, you can start testing for what. We use Chromium and other nasty chemicals so we are monitored closely.
You should check again after a couple weeks when you haven’t had rain like before to see if it was just the rain that cleared it up or if the treatment plant actually cleaned it up.
I used to test water quality daily at a catfish farm I used to work at in Florida and I'll bet you that creek being so slow and stagnant had a drastic drop in oxygen and that could create dead decaying fish that would raise the ammonia levels temporarily and kill the tougher fish that normally would survive low oxygen. I've seen whole ponds die off from this.
It could have been very low D(dissolved oxygen) last time you were having said that, treatment plants strive to maintain excellent water quality, however, they are operated by human beings and specialized equipment and controllers and as such mishaps can take place but without testing the water during the event it's almost impossible to know one way or the other It's that you tgreat that you took the time to do some investigations yourself, Nicely done
I always enjoy your videos, you going the extra mile shows your a stand up guy. I’m glad the water was good, but now I’m really curious what caused all death before. Thank you Nick v
Thank you for the update… I’m glad nothing sinister is going on in the water. Thank you for doing what you do and keep up the great work. Keep the videos coming 😃. Let’s keep the water and our environment clean folks.. for us and our future generations ❤
Not sure if they did anything but good to see most of the water samples are good! Thank you Nick for doing this episode and doing the water samples and caring for the environment as we need more people like you! Was great to see you catch some healthy looking fish and a rare one at that. Have a fun and safe weekend and take care Nick! See you next adventure!
Many instances like this are actually caused by chemical spills, which result in a plug of polluted water flowed down the river. It can be gone inside a few hours, just leaving behind dead fish, and the source can be very difficult to track down. Regular culprits are farmers (slurry, milk, fertilisers, weed killers & pesticides), but almost any kind of industrial company can be working with chemicals that can destroy aquatic environments, some requiring very small amounts to do so. It can even be things like vehicle accidents that result in spills that end up in local streams, or even householders getting rid of toxic chemicals by pouring them into drains rather than disposing of them properly. The kit you bought is really for fish tanks & ornamental ponds that are effectively a self-contained environment - I literally bought the same kit last week for my 1200 gallon fish pond.
Drought conditions + high temps = lower and warmer water levels. Which means lower oxygen saturation. In conditions like that fish head for deeper cooler pools and their metabolism slows WAY down. They become scarce and lethargic, just like in winter. There's nothing wrong with your stream. It's tough conditions for all of us in the area.
This is pretty inspiring Nick! You skipped right past the silly politics and just took action! Nice work and congratulations on one of your favorite spots looking a lot better!!!
Awesome job and respect for caring for your local ecosystem! Two things I would've checked for would be oxygen levels in the water and also algal blooms. Too little or too much oxygen in contained bodies of water is toxic to marine life. Both can be invisible to our sight and smell but can wreak havoc on aquatic ecosystems.
The ph being higher under the spillway makes sense due to the material used on the spillway itself. Thank you for investigating it though. There are people doing this tests in our local lake for the same reason. As always, great video and thanks for sharing!
Nice video, Nick. I’m wondering if the water was stagnant for a long period of time and the fish died from lack of oxygen when you went the first time.
pH is not measured in parts per million. pH is an acid/base CONCENTRATION indicator. A neutral pH is 7.0 For every pH point, this is a decade, or an order of magnitude greater or less for the concentration of acidic or basic solutions. For example, a pH of 8.0 means that the sample is 10x times more concentration of base than neutral pH A pH of 6.0 means that the sample is 10x times more concentration acid than neutral pH The inflow water you measured had a pH of 9.0 ... this means the pH is 100x times more basic than neutral pH! A pH this basic is definitely NOT GOOD for fish and wild life.
Ive worked over 25 years as a licensed WWTP (Wastewater Treatment Plant) Operator and Water Pollution Control. The statement that they use ammonia as part of the treatment is incorrect! They remove ammonia through nitrification followed by denitrification of the urea that creates ammonia. Sorry Nick! I really like your videos, but that was an undereducated statement to make. EDIT: The most likely cause was the treatment plant temporarily quit dechlorinating the effluent for whatever reason, allowing a chlorine residual to reach the receiving stream. In this case the creek you were fishing. If they use UV light or ozone for disinfection this wouldnt be the case. Its important to note that under any circumstances the discharge waters from a treatment plant will never effect upstream waters as long as its not stagnant. This is not saying an effected fish wouldn't swim upstream.
Hey Nick ,you should have taken your samples of water on the day you noticed dead fish. How much time between the first notice and the samples? I'm just saying. Good on you mate.
You could have come up to fish shortly after someone illegally milked the water to guarantee them some fish. I've caught numskulls doing that in Virginia backwaters.
I think you need to save your money and take a good long road trip go catch some real fish Maybe trout maybe Bass maybe tuna maybe mahi-mahi I'm just saying your Channel would see some response from that I'm pretty sure I've been watching you for a long time but I really think you need to go splore stuff
Nick nice job on the process you took in this issue but if you didn't find anything wrong in the water I'm just woundering if the oxygen level dropped rapidly and there was a mass fish kill nature taking care of her water
Considering the conditions of the water on you prior visit, (no flow, no new moving water) it sounds like a case of low oxygen levels. Now that water has been moving since the rain came, all seems to back in harmony. Great job following up on your valid concerns.
Gar can breathe air from lungs in low oxygen so even in low oxygen conditions Gar wouldn't be dead but every other fish other than Gar or Bowfin could be explained by low ox
Most mass die offs are related to a deoxygenation event but that wouldnt affect gar or bowfin as much so its almost certainly something to do with the plant. Unfortunately/fortunately incidents like this of contamination are usually very short term so unless you catch them and take samples at the time of release its very hard to prove or even detect anything. Best advice is to stay vigilant and perhaps even carry a couple of different test strips in the truck (aquarium test strips and the potable water test strips you used in the video) along with a few empty bottles
My guess is the fish were killed by either lack of oxygen or heat. Since the water was not flowing much, and stagnant, either of these could be possible.
In all the years of being a subscriber you always keep surprising as to how good of a person you are. I don't think the average person and have never seen another fishing youtuber would take their environment concerned to this level 🫡🫡🫡
The only other parameter I can think of is either the water became unusually warm and deoxygenated or a chemical was released that also drastically reduced oxygen content
Nick, nice work on the water testing. The pH of the water at the spillway is much more alkaline than the other samples, which at 7.0 are just about neutral. My theory about that is that since there was very little water flowing on the spillway, the water is spending an extended amount of time in contact with the concrete. One of main ingredients in concrete is lime (calcium hydroxide) which is very alkaline. The longer the water is not flowing, or flowing very little, the more alkaline it will become.
Brilliant ! just to show anglers can protect the waters and benefit the fish , good for the environment, thanks nick to show this and how you did it , highest respect !!
I don't know if you can test for it, but where I am a big issue this time of year particularly with low rainfall, is low oxygen. Good on you for testing that water.
I’d be interested to the results of other places you’ve been. You’ll have to take test kits or sample cups with from now on. Great vid and thanks for the update!!!
Will done Homes, a follow up test after no apparent action by the authorities a commendable action. Glad the spillway seems clear now and you was able to land some nice fish . Thanks for sharing Nick . Tight lines .
That water can be tested by an actual water lab. They test drinking water for wells and other things. It’s a bit pricey, but they can find traces of many other dangerous chemicals in the water. Thank you for doing this. If citizens don’t stay vigilant there’s no telling what some of these Companies will do.
Great video Nick. The stagnant water was most likely the culprit. From lowering the oxygen to spiking the nitrates due to the fishkill, I believe once the flow was reintroduced, the waterway corrected the levels. Your heart is in the right place and I am glad to have you on UA-cam being a model sportsman. Keep up the awesome content
Great job doing your own homework and sticking up for our water ways. I feel like the kinds of fish you caught are good at adapting and during the low water, the smart ones, found a hole and virtually hibernated. Good luck, tight lines!
Pollutants are dumped sporadically by polluters. Similar to opening and shutting valves. Could be once a week. Hard to catch this type of random disposal of waste. Rivers also have the ability to heal quickly especially when toxins are diluted by large amounts of water.
I bet a few weeks ago when you were there, some of those readings would have been off the chart, so yeah hopefully between the EPA and the rainfall, it straightened your creek up 🤞🤞. EPA just may have did something, who knows, no one will ever know that, unless you get some local newspapers from around there or go to the local library, you can probably find the newspapers going back to a few weeks ago, look from there on and see if you can find anything about the EPA or whoever and that lake and creek..
Is Nicks favorite fish the Bowfin? Genuinely curious. “Wow really rare Gar. That’s cool.”…. “OH MY GAAWWWWD YOU GUYS, I caught my one millionth MONSTER BOWFIN.” 😂
Nick, maybe that plant purges flow at predetermined intervals...? Randomly GO BACK and see. Get a temp job there, and ask random things about the waste flow schedules...
pH is not expressed as PPM, rather is just a number. Neutral is 7, below 7 is acidic, greater than 7 is basic. Many bodies of water are slightly acidic (6.5ish) unless the underlying rock is limestone or marble (or other calcite-containing rock). A pH of 9 is pretty basic, I'd double check that and report it if that value persists...
My thoughts would be dissolved oxygen levels. My understanding is there has to be a certain amount of dissolved oxygen in the water out of the tap but I don't know about the water released. Copied from: The Importance Of Dissolved Oxygen (DO) In Wastewater Treatment, Atlas scientific. How does wastewater effluent affect the environment? Even though many wastewater treatments require some level of dissolved oxygen in the secondary treatment section (around 2mg/L), these levels are inadequate to support larger aquatic organisms like fish and plants. As a result, rivers that receive wastewater effluent usually have “dead zones” directly downstream from the effluent since the effluent discharge is so low in dissolved oxygen. This lack of oxygen is called hypoxia and is very harmful to aquatic life. However, in swift and large rivers this is not a large issue since the water will rebalance and reoxidize rather quickly. Although it draws an important point about choosing a safe spot to dump effluent wastewater without wiping out aquatic life in the area (i.e. stagnant lake, small slow-moving river).
How many ticks you get every season!? Every time I watch you walk through your way I always hope you Checking for ticks! Great vids wish I could get out and do fishing. In meantime I envy your vids. Keep them up!! 👍👍
I have been a lab manager for a drinking water plant for 17 years and it's interesting and cool that you did this. I have also been in wastewater lab b4 that for many years. 1. I don't get why the ph was different at the bottom of the spillway like that. Maybe aeration. 2. Not sure about your state but most if not all data labs get should be public knowledge under the laws and regulations of EPA. I would call the plant and ask to talk to the lab manager. 3. I am assuming the plant is a wastewater facility, if so I would test for BOD (biological oxygen demand) that is a huge teller of wastewater quality, you would probably have to have a contract/private lab test for it. 4. Most facilities don't treat with ammonia to my knowledge it's more of a by product of treatment of wastewater. 5. It would be VERY rare to find chlorine in nature as it's very susceptible to air and depletes extremely fast. 6. If you wanted to go further I suggest going to a CERTIFIED/LICENCED lab and have them collect the samples and test them, not a pool place lol. If the lab is certified they have to put their license number on the results and that gives you "legal" backing if needed. Hope this helps.
You're the man Nick! Thank you for the concern for the water quality. Another great video. Hey can you go back to the spill way that you caught the 23lbs. Blue cat. Was a great spot. Just a idea. I love every place you go! Thanks Nick. By the way, I am so thankful for the music you play. I had never heard of four of them and now play them every day oh yeah!!
Can you do a video about how you pack all your gear together? I struggle with different rods and gear, camera gear, and other necessities. You got it down, gotta know your secret to packing all that stuff fr. Thank you Great video Nick! Long time viewer/fisherman from WV
Something important to remember is that the pH scale is logarithmic. It is a way to display a wide range of values in a compact way. Because the pH scale is logarithmic, a change of one pH unit corresponds to a ten-fold change. Acidosis and Alkalosis can occur with even a change of 0.1 pH in blood, resulting in rather profound health consequences, including seizures, heart arrhythmia, or even coma. Also, its super important with the water quality test strips to follow the instructions carefully, especially not shaking the strip.
Most still waters in hot summer lead to oxygen depletion which can belly-up fish in just an hour or less. It may show later as the aerobic bacteria deplete the rest of the oxygen. Freshwater influx (from rain will dissipate the CO2 build up, (OR you can have strong wind action to add air to water) which then repeats with a fish kill later on all over again. Catching a Gar, even a rare melanistic gar, due to a primitive swim bladder that is connected to the throat. Gar can fill this swim bladder with oxygen by sticking their snout out of the water. This gives them buoyancy and allows them to survive in waters with very low oxygen and even out of water for a few hours. I was surprised to see all those dead gar carcasses near the shore. It may have been a chemical spill, but it was something that dissipates quickly. Nice video. I once caught a ten inch amelanistic gar (not a true albino bc the eyes were not pink) but stunning still the same. I took him home, and kept him in a fifty gallon aquarium. I named him Johnny (for Blues Guitarist albino Johnny Winter a great Texan.) God bless!
It doesn’t take much pesticide to produce a fish kill, and wouldn’t be detected by those tests. Oxygen is not as critical for bowfin and gar. The bluegill is a good indication there is some oxygen. The waterfall and the spillway when flowing would be adding some oxygen just by the agitation of the water. I was involved in a fish kill on the Black River in Western WA. The algae was bleached white for several miles downstream of a commercial fish pond. Swimmers jumped out of the water complaining about irritating skin and eyes. The fish pond got away with it because chlorine dissipates so quickly in flowing water.
Hey I love your videos! Watch everyone as they come out! I actually work for Arizona game and Fish and stock waters around the Phoenix area. You checked off a lot of boxes but missed a critical point such as Dissolved Oxygen! When a water body becomes warm in the summer the water isn’t able to retain oxygen for the fish to breathe. So when it became stagnant the temps probably increased therefore not having as much dissolved oxygen. That and a ph of 9 is rather high. At that point we throw in a test net when stocking to see if they survive so you probably had stressed fish from low oxygen and high ph. You might have also had an algae bloom at the time which can raise the ph even higher. Could be a variety of things! If you ever want to come out to Arizona and do some fishing, hit me up! Thanks and keep up the great work!
It's likely the "toxin" was washed away by the recent rains and continuous water flow from the lake. "The solution to pollution is dilution." Too bad you couldn't collect the samples when the problem was first noticed. Hopefully you wont encounter those conditions again. Happy fishing!
Great job!!! Great video!!! I am sure when you contacted the EPA they contact that treatment plant. And what you did made a difference. They made a change to their chemical additives. Great job!!!
Good on you for following up, testing the water and sharing the results. Would have been interesting to compare samples from the first trip. Sidenote: Bourbon/whiskey on the shelf in the background?
If you run into this again, try a kit that includes a test for nitrates. The nitrate cycle is important for a waterway. I think it goes something like, Ammonia>nitrite>nitrate. If one of those chemicals is high in concentration it will let you know something is off in that ecosystem. If it was summertime when the fish were dying it could be a lack of oxygen. That doesnt fully explain the dead gar though.
Love the episode, the only thing I can think of is that a poison was introduced for a short period, did it’s damage and then was flushed out/ diluted by the running water. Definitely not a Lake problem. Suspicious waterfall must be the cause. Your video could well have stopped the perpetrator/s in their tracks. We’ll done 👏
Hey boss quick question ? Is bow fishing popular in your area? In my fishing spots , people leave fish to die once they caught them bow fishing especially carp. Maybe it could be that??
Thank you for doing this and highlighting the steps. I wish more people would report gross waterways. Lets all make out rivers clean its a win/win for us all. Better wild life and better fishing. Thanks for stepping up and reporting it. You have earned a fan for life mad respect.
Too bad the EPA usually does nothing about this stuff...
I have been reporting creeks here in Australia along with a few others and in years nothing has been done...
Some creeks are so bad that even turtles are dying in them, now one of the best creeks around is about to take all the runoff of a new airport nothing but rocks to filter the water...
The way our waterways are treated is disgusting
Honestly it may have been bacteria or a disease especially if it was a certain fish like gar also u said the ph was off by a little with all the rain it could have brought it back to a livable pH level for said gar just some ideas also bro should do another catch and cook
Agreed!
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Your concern for the waters you fish is commendable, Nick.
With there being little to no rainfall when you first noticed the dead fish, and little to no activity on your baits and lures, I wonder whether the issue was low oxygen levels. No movement, no aeration, no life? Just a hunch, brother.
Keep up the great work, Nick, UA-cam's most wholesome fishing channel!
Was thinking same
I had this thought as well and I totally agree. Lack of oxygen due to low water and no flow could have wiped out many of the species in this small creek.
@@dustinmason6152yea but there are a lot of gar in that region and gar can live in a pile of wet paper towels
Gar and bowfin can breath air and also have relatively slow metabolisms so that doesn't explain why they were missing. Also a fish forgotten about for their ability to survive in some incredibly polluted and low-O2 environments are green sunfish and they were missing too.
Yep, I was thinking the same thing. Oxygen levels are a big one, and could vary a lot depending on how much water is flowing. If the water got stagnant for a while due to low rainfall, the Oxygen levels could have dropped and caused a fish kill.
I’m glad you didn’t find anything.
I’m even more glad that a young Fisherman such as yourself took the initiative to test the water yourself when our government agencies seem to have dropped the ball.
relying on the government is like letting a 12 year old mentally challenged kid drive your brand new Hellcat
It's common for water pollutants to be let go in batches. i.e, not consistently. It's quite possible that you'd have to test the water more often to catch them releasing toxins into the stream. Keep up the good work!
Water quality expert here. Several things:
First, pH is measured in pH units not parts per million (ppm).
Second, holding time for chlorine is usually about 15-20 minutes. It dissipates way too rapidly, so basically you have to measure it in the field.
Third, those home test kits are pretty coarse measurements. Good enough for home measurments but not so much for more detailed results.
Fourth, when collecting samples you'll want to use appropriate bottles and use appropriate preservatives. Then keep them in a dark, cool place before testing. Best if you can have an accredited analytical lab run the tests (they will provide bottles, preservatives and chain of custody forms) but understandably that is the more expensive route.
You did collect reference samples and downstream samples, so that was good. What I would do instead is phone EPA and request the results from the wastewater treatment plant effluent testing. At least here in Canada routine testing is required by companies of their effluent streams to ensure compliance with regulatory discharge limits. I imagine the US is similar.
Nice fish too 😊
Do you think a PH of 9 is a bit strange? ive heard alkali water is supposed to be healthy. seems pretty high to me. Could that be from the water being stored in the plastic too long and causing issues w reading accuracy?
@@nesforce7712 natural pH of water bodies and watercourses varies quite a bit. Around here, a pH of 9.0 wouldn't raise an eye. Places where you have a lot of runoff through peatlands (bogs) with the typical brown stained water, natural pH could be as low as 4.0. For this case, I would compare it to the background (i.e. lake) which had a pH of 7.5. While 9.0 is higher it's more a leading indicator that there are likely chemical differences between the two locations creating the pH difference.
Rambling on here, but pH actually changes throughout the day in response to photosynthesis, so even the time of day can have some influence. pH change in bottles can also happen as chemical reactions don't stop. You'll usually see a difference between field and lab readings as a result. All this to say pH can and does vary
Wow! This guy caught two Melanistic Gar within 2 months! That’s a species that most Gar anglers will never encounter!
Like you said, the recent rains probably diluted whatever was killing the fish and is likely gone or down to safe levels. But at least you were concerned enough to call. You might want to just keep an empty bottle in your car just in case you run across a similar situation so you can take samples immediately.
That's awesome that you went out of your way to try to figure out what the issue was. Sometimes we as fisherman get bad reputations because a small group of us will leave trash behind but the true fisherman like yourself want to protect our fish and waterways. Way to lead by example!
In all honesty there's probably not much you can test for test point. Next time you run into the situation like, grab samples right away. Running water has a habit of cleaning itself out quickly. Also, you have a great following, if someone was to blame they would get on clean up fast.
Your posts are the only I seek out each week. Can’t wait for Thursdays. Very pleased you took steps to protect and figure out why there was such an extreme fish kill. Good for you. Issue may be that so many other contaminants than you tested for could be the problem. A water quality lab would be a good resource there but cost $$. pH could definitely be an issue and for the record that is a measure of acid/ base levels not parts per million. Thanks for your efforts and great videos. Good fishing.
Awesome job Nick, actually glad you didn't find anything out of the "Basic" normal. I run the water treatment for a steel mill here in Ohio and we discharge into the Ohio river. We are very particular on what we put back into the river and are monitored closely by the EPA. What you tested for is basic (normal discharge ph is between 6.5 - 9.0). There is a number of other chemicals that could be in the water that your tests will not pick up. Might I suggest you run a "Minnow test". Gather larger water samples and use minnows to determine if the water will sustain a fish. Be sure to run a "control" test also. That is a good water source that the test minnows can live in.
*This test will NOT tell you what's in the water, but it WILL tell you if something IS in the water.
*Also, to everyone out there. KNOW your local game warden. Each county has one and they normally live local, know the area, are willing to meet you, and really care about the environment, that's why they chose this field to work in. They can cut through the "Red Tape" faster then you or I filling out complaint forms or calling people in offices that don't give a crap (is it 4 o'clock yet?)
Anyhow Nick, been following you for over 2 years now and love the content. Still wishing for you to give away some of your secrets in a few tutorial videos (hint hint) Rock on Sir 🤘😎
Great comment!
All great info and suggestions! I really appreciate the comment and your support for the channel!
I was looking for another guy in the comments that works in a lab/plant ;) I left a laundry list of hints or ideas for nick. I really think B.O.D. should be looked into but like u said it could have been one of a million things.
@@nate9696 The EPA does a "Minnow" test on us every 6 month. It's best test for determining if there is anything in the water. Then if it is determined there is, you can start testing for what. We use Chromium and other nasty chemicals so we are monitored closely.
@@robertflint4115 poor minnows lol never did that 4 wastewater
You should check again after a couple weeks when you haven’t had rain like before to see if it was just the rain that cleared it up or if the treatment plant actually cleaned it up.
Way to take the initiative Nick! Do any of those kits test for metals?
That second kit tested for quite a few metals and they all came back clear/minimal. Thanks for watching!
Those kits are pretty basic when it comes to metals analysis. But yeah they looked fine.
I used to test water quality daily at a catfish farm I used to work at in Florida and I'll bet you that creek being so slow and stagnant had a drastic drop in oxygen and that could create dead decaying fish that would raise the ammonia levels temporarily and kill the tougher fish that normally would survive low oxygen. I've seen whole ponds die off from this.
Sounds about rite and plausible
It could have been very low D(dissolved oxygen) last time you were having said that, treatment plants strive to maintain excellent water quality, however, they are operated by human beings and specialized equipment and controllers and as such mishaps can take place but without testing the water during the event it's almost impossible to know one way or the other It's that you tgreat that you took the time to do some investigations yourself, Nicely done
I always enjoy your videos, you going the extra mile shows your a stand up guy. I’m glad the water was good, but now I’m really curious what caused all death before. Thank you Nick v
Didn’t catch any fish today? Call the EPA and blame the water. 😂
That was really interesting to watch. Thanks for following up about the water and I’m really glad fish have returned to that creek and spillway!
Thank you for the update… I’m glad nothing sinister is going on in the water. Thank you for doing what you do and keep up the great work. Keep the videos coming 😃. Let’s keep the water and our environment clean folks.. for us and our future generations ❤
Not sure if they did anything but good to see most of the water samples are good! Thank you Nick for doing this episode and doing the water samples and caring for the environment as we need more people like you! Was great to see you catch some healthy looking fish and a rare one at that. Have a fun and safe weekend and take care Nick! See you next adventure!
Might want to check the dissolved oxygen content. That would be my only additional suggestion. Great video as always!
Many instances like this are actually caused by chemical spills, which result in a plug of polluted water flowed down the river. It can be gone inside a few hours, just leaving behind dead fish, and the source can be very difficult to track down. Regular culprits are farmers (slurry, milk, fertilisers, weed killers & pesticides), but almost any kind of industrial company can be working with chemicals that can destroy aquatic environments, some requiring very small amounts to do so. It can even be things like vehicle accidents that result in spills that end up in local streams, or even householders getting rid of toxic chemicals by pouring them into drains rather than disposing of them properly.
The kit you bought is really for fish tanks & ornamental ponds that are effectively a self-contained environment - I literally bought the same kit last week for my 1200 gallon fish pond.
Drought conditions + high temps = lower and warmer water levels. Which means lower oxygen saturation. In conditions like that fish head for deeper cooler pools and their metabolism slows WAY down. They become scarce and lethargic, just like in winter. There's nothing wrong with your stream. It's tough conditions for all of us in the area.
the PH in the spillway water is so high because of the lime content of the concrete the spillway is built from.
This is pretty inspiring Nick! You skipped right past the silly politics and just took action! Nice work and congratulations on one of your favorite spots looking a lot better!!!
I just realized I have never seen you with out sun glasses on and i have been watching this Chanel for about 4 years😂
Nice to see fish activity back! And always awesome to see anglers who care.
Good for you man doing what the people that get paid to do don’t do. What a way to take care of your local water kuddos to you
Awesome job and respect for caring for your local ecosystem! Two things I would've checked for would be oxygen levels in the water and also algal blooms. Too little or too much oxygen in contained bodies of water is toxic to marine life. Both can be invisible to our sight and smell but can wreak havoc on aquatic ecosystems.
The ph being higher under the spillway makes sense due to the material used on the spillway itself. Thank you for investigating it though. There are people doing this tests in our local lake for the same reason. As always, great video and thanks for sharing!
🔔🇺🇸👌🏼👍🏼
Nice video, Nick. I’m wondering if the water was stagnant for a long period of time and the fish died from lack of oxygen when you went the first time.
The lack of gar and bowfin (which can breath air) is what really threw me off on my last trip out there. Thanks for watching!
pH is not measured in parts per million. pH is an acid/base CONCENTRATION indicator.
A neutral pH is 7.0
For every pH point, this is a decade, or an order of magnitude greater or less for the concentration of acidic or basic solutions.
For example, a pH of 8.0 means that the sample is 10x times more concentration of base than neutral pH
A pH of 6.0 means that the sample is 10x times more concentration acid than neutral pH
The inflow water you measured had a pH of 9.0 ... this means the pH is 100x times more basic than neutral pH! A pH this basic is definitely NOT GOOD for fish and wild life.
Ive worked over 25 years as a licensed WWTP (Wastewater Treatment Plant) Operator and Water Pollution Control. The statement that they use ammonia as part of the treatment is incorrect! They remove ammonia through nitrification followed by denitrification of the urea that creates ammonia. Sorry Nick! I really like your videos, but that was an undereducated statement to make.
EDIT: The most likely cause was the treatment plant temporarily quit dechlorinating the effluent for whatever reason, allowing a chlorine residual to reach the receiving stream. In this case the creek you were fishing. If they use UV light or ozone for disinfection this wouldnt be the case. Its important to note that under any circumstances the discharge waters from a treatment plant will never effect upstream waters as long as its not stagnant. This is not saying an effected fish wouldn't swim upstream.
Hey Nick ,you should have taken your samples of water on the day you noticed dead fish. How much time between the first notice and the samples? I'm just saying. Good on you mate.
You could have come up to fish shortly after someone illegally milked the water to guarantee them some fish. I've caught numskulls doing that in Virginia backwaters.
You have gone far beyond what anybody else would. I'm glad you didnt find anything bad but I would love to know what killed all those fish!
Thanks Nick. You are a champion to fishing, conservation, and nature.
I think you need to save your money and take a good long road trip go catch some real fish Maybe trout maybe Bass maybe tuna maybe mahi-mahi I'm just saying your Channel would see some response from that I'm pretty sure I've been watching you for a long time but I really think you need to go splore stuff
Nick nice job on the process you took in this issue but if you didn't find anything wrong in the water I'm just woundering if the oxygen level dropped rapidly and there was a mass fish kill nature taking care of her water
What you should have teste the first time is total dissolved oxygen. The breakdown of organic compounds use a whole lot of oxygen.
Considering the conditions of the water on you prior visit, (no flow, no new moving water) it sounds like a case of low oxygen levels. Now that water has been moving since the rain came, all seems to back in harmony. Great job following up on your valid concerns.
Gar can breathe air from lungs in low oxygen so even in low oxygen conditions Gar wouldn't be dead but every other fish other than Gar or Bowfin could be explained by low ox
@@GunBudget54 but with no other fish species for the gar to feed on, they'd move on as well.
Yes they would move on down the stream/River not die on the bank like he showed in the video.
Most mass die offs are related to a deoxygenation event but that wouldnt affect gar or bowfin as much so its almost certainly something to do with the plant. Unfortunately/fortunately incidents like this of contamination are usually very short term so unless you catch them and take samples at the time of release its very hard to prove or even detect anything. Best advice is to stay vigilant and perhaps even carry a couple of different test strips in the truck (aquarium test strips and the potable water test strips you used in the video) along with a few empty bottles
My guess is the fish were killed by either lack of oxygen or heat. Since the water was not flowing much, and stagnant, either of these could be possible.
In all the years of being a subscriber you always keep surprising as to how good of a person you are. I don't think the average person and have never seen another fishing youtuber would take their environment concerned to this level 🫡🫡🫡
Great work, although you probably would have gotten more definitive results if you had tested sooner.
Have you ever caught a saltwater gar? They’re called Seagars. And they best when they’re smoked. 😉
People don’t realize that fisherman and hunters are huge conservationists.
Keep up the great work sir!
Possibly water temperatures to hot and low oxygen. But now we know not to wait for the epa. Love the channel thanks for doing the test.
The only other parameter I can think of is either the water became unusually warm and deoxygenated or a chemical was released that also drastically reduced oxygen content
I feel deja vu......
I keep and breed aquarium fish and the thing i notice affects them most is high nitrates, so i would recommend testing for that.
Nick, nice work on the water testing. The pH of the water at the spillway is much more alkaline than the other samples, which at 7.0 are just about neutral. My theory about that is that since there was very little water flowing on the spillway, the water is spending an extended amount of time in contact with the concrete. One of main ingredients in concrete is lime (calcium hydroxide) which is very alkaline. The longer the water is not flowing, or flowing very little, the more alkaline it will become.
Very interesting and that makes sense! Thanks for watching!
Brilliant ! just to show anglers can protect the waters and benefit the fish , good for the environment, thanks nick to show this and how you did it , highest respect !!
Maybe it's ph shock, those results were wide ranging.
Pretty cool of you to actually investigate and update us Nick. At least now the fish are dping ok. ❤
Fisherman and scientist. 🤓🤓🤓
Great video baby!!! Glad you caught some monsters!
Haha ayyyyy thanks for watching baby I love you!
I don't know if you can test for it, but where I am a big issue this time of year particularly with low rainfall, is low oxygen. Good on you for testing that water.
Just wanted to let you know you've taught me so much about fishing. Thanks for all the videos you put out for us 😊
I’d be interested to the results of other places you’ve been. You’ll have to take test kits or sample cups with from now on. Great vid and thanks for the update!!!
FINALLY LAST THURSDAY WAS MISERABLE WITH NO 618 UPLOAD LETS GOOOOO
It’s easy u got skunked that day 😂😂😂
Will done Homes, a follow up test after no apparent action by the authorities a commendable action. Glad the spillway seems clear now and you was able to land some nice fish . Thanks for sharing Nick . Tight lines .
That water can be tested by an actual water lab. They test drinking water for wells and other things. It’s a bit pricey, but they can find traces of many other dangerous chemicals in the water. Thank you for doing this. If citizens don’t stay vigilant there’s no telling what some of these Companies will do.
Great video Nick. The stagnant water was most likely the culprit. From lowering the oxygen to spiking the nitrates due to the fishkill, I believe once the flow was reintroduced, the waterway corrected the levels. Your heart is in the right place and I am glad to have you on UA-cam being a model sportsman. Keep up the awesome content
Nice to see the river clean and producing fish again!
Great job doing your own homework and sticking up for our water ways.
I feel like the kinds of fish you caught are good at adapting and during the low water, the smart ones, found a hole and virtually hibernated. Good luck, tight lines!
Excellent video Brother
nick nye the fishing guy🤣
Pollutants are dumped sporadically by polluters. Similar to opening and shutting valves. Could be once a week. Hard to catch this type of random disposal of waste. Rivers also have the ability to heal quickly especially when toxins are diluted by large amounts of water.
I bet a few weeks ago when you were there, some of those readings would have been off the chart, so yeah hopefully between the EPA and the rainfall, it straightened your creek up 🤞🤞. EPA just may have did something, who knows, no one will ever know that, unless you get some local newspapers from around there or go to the local library, you can probably find the newspapers going back to a few weeks ago, look from there on and see if you can find anything about the EPA or whoever and that lake and creek..
Nick, as European, I would like to see river float fishing for carp! Great videos!
I am dying to see an American use a hair rig.
@@EsoxLVCIVS6776 Good one! I wish to see just a simple float rig for american wild creek carp.
I really want to find some bowfin on my ultralight casting gear they look vicious! And that blacked out gar looked crazy!
Thank you for going out to test the river. It's great to see folks being proactive when it comes to conserving nature.
Appreciate your interest for our great environment. Nice video Nick. Those were some nice fish
Is Nicks favorite fish the Bowfin? Genuinely curious. “Wow really rare Gar. That’s cool.”…. “OH MY GAAWWWWD YOU GUYS, I caught my one millionth MONSTER BOWFIN.” 😂
I was very impressed that you caught some fish "LIVING BENEATH THE SURFACE" I men there is not many fish that do that.
Nick, maybe that plant purges flow at predetermined intervals...? Randomly GO BACK and see. Get a temp job there, and ask random things about the waste flow schedules...
pH is not expressed as PPM, rather is just a number. Neutral is 7, below 7 is acidic, greater than 7 is basic. Many bodies of water are slightly acidic (6.5ish) unless the underlying rock is limestone or marble (or other calcite-containing rock). A pH of 9 is pretty basic, I'd double check that and report it if that value persists...
The high ph at the bottom of the spillway is most likely because of the concrete from the spillway.
My thoughts would be dissolved oxygen levels. My understanding is there has to be a certain amount of dissolved oxygen in the water out of the tap but I don't know about the water released.
Copied from: The Importance Of Dissolved Oxygen (DO) In Wastewater Treatment, Atlas scientific.
How does wastewater effluent affect the environment?
Even though many wastewater treatments require some level of dissolved oxygen in the secondary treatment section (around 2mg/L), these levels are inadequate to support larger aquatic organisms like fish and plants. As a result, rivers that receive wastewater effluent usually have “dead zones” directly downstream from the effluent since the effluent discharge is so low in dissolved oxygen. This lack of oxygen is called hypoxia and is very harmful to aquatic life.
However, in swift and large rivers this is not a large issue since the water will rebalance and reoxidize rather quickly. Although it draws an important point about choosing a safe spot to dump effluent wastewater without wiping out aquatic life in the area (i.e. stagnant lake, small slow-moving river).
How many ticks you get every season!? Every time I watch you walk through your way I always hope you Checking for ticks! Great vids wish I could get out and do fishing. In meantime I envy your vids. Keep them up!! 👍👍
I have been a lab manager for a drinking water plant for 17 years and it's interesting and cool that you did this. I have also been in wastewater lab b4 that for many years.
1. I don't get why the ph was different at the bottom of the spillway like that. Maybe aeration.
2. Not sure about your state but most if not all data labs get should be public knowledge under the laws and regulations of EPA. I would call the plant and ask to talk to the lab manager.
3. I am assuming the plant is a wastewater facility, if so I would test for BOD (biological oxygen demand) that is a huge teller of wastewater quality, you would probably have to have a contract/private lab test for it.
4. Most facilities don't treat with ammonia to my knowledge it's more of a by product of treatment of wastewater.
5. It would be VERY rare to find chlorine in nature as it's very susceptible to air and depletes extremely fast.
6. If you wanted to go further I suggest going to a CERTIFIED/LICENCED lab and have them collect the samples and test them, not a pool place lol. If the lab is certified they have to put their license number on the results and that gives you "legal" backing if needed.
Hope this helps.
Great video Nick, thanks for going out of your way to test the water. Something is definitely going on there.
You're the man Nick! Thank you for the concern for the water quality. Another great video. Hey can you go back to the spill way that you caught the 23lbs. Blue cat. Was a great spot. Just a idea. I love every place you go! Thanks Nick. By the way, I am so thankful for the music you play. I had never heard of four of them and now play them every day oh yeah!!
Good job
Can you do a video about how you pack all your gear together? I struggle with different rods and gear, camera gear, and other necessities. You got it down, gotta know your secret to packing all that stuff fr. Thank you
Great video Nick!
Long time viewer/fisherman from WV
Something important to remember is that the pH scale is logarithmic. It is a way to display a wide range of values in a compact way. Because the pH scale is logarithmic, a change of one pH unit corresponds to a ten-fold change.
Acidosis and Alkalosis can occur with even a change of 0.1 pH in blood, resulting in rather profound health consequences, including seizures, heart arrhythmia, or even coma.
Also, its super important with the water quality test strips to follow the instructions carefully, especially not shaking the strip.
Greetings from the BIG SKY. Good luck with you quest. I think the limitations put in place by the E.P.A. are meant for bottom limits only.
I think I remember you calling someone to report the water quality on a orevious video?
Most still waters in hot summer lead to oxygen depletion which can belly-up fish in just an hour or less. It may show later as the aerobic bacteria deplete the rest of the oxygen. Freshwater influx (from rain will dissipate the CO2 build up, (OR you can have strong wind action to add air to water) which then repeats with a fish kill later on all over again.
Catching a Gar, even a rare melanistic gar, due to a primitive swim bladder that is connected to the throat. Gar can fill this swim bladder with oxygen by sticking their snout out of the water. This gives them buoyancy and allows them to survive in waters with very low oxygen and even out of water for a few hours. I was surprised to see all those dead gar carcasses near the shore. It may have been a chemical spill, but it was something that dissipates quickly.
Nice video. I once caught a ten inch amelanistic gar (not a true albino bc the eyes were not pink) but stunning still the same. I took him home, and kept him in a fifty gallon aquarium. I named him Johnny (for Blues Guitarist albino Johnny Winter a great Texan.)
God bless!
It doesn’t take much pesticide to produce a fish kill, and wouldn’t be detected by those tests. Oxygen is not as critical for bowfin and gar. The bluegill is a good indication there is some oxygen. The waterfall and the spillway when flowing would be adding some oxygen just by the agitation of the water. I was involved in a fish kill on the Black River in Western WA. The algae was bleached white for several miles downstream of a commercial fish pond. Swimmers jumped out of the water complaining about irritating skin and eyes. The fish pond got away with it because chlorine dissipates so quickly in flowing water.
😂 You thought the EPA was going to pay attention to your complaint? That’s cute.
The EPA enforcement has systematically been gutted for years.
Hey I love your videos! Watch everyone as they come out! I actually work for Arizona game and Fish and stock waters around the Phoenix area. You checked off a lot of boxes but missed a critical point such as Dissolved Oxygen! When a water body becomes warm in the summer the water isn’t able to retain oxygen for the fish to breathe. So when it became stagnant the temps probably increased therefore not having as much dissolved oxygen. That and a ph of 9 is rather high. At that point we throw in a test net when stocking to see if they survive so you probably had stressed fish from low oxygen and high ph. You might have also had an algae bloom at the time which can raise the ph even higher. Could be a variety of things! If you ever want to come out to Arizona and do some fishing, hit me up! Thanks and keep up the great work!
It's likely the "toxin" was washed away by the recent rains and continuous water flow from the lake. "The solution to pollution is dilution." Too bad you couldn't collect the samples when the problem was first noticed. Hopefully you wont encounter those conditions again. Happy fishing!
Great job!!! Great video!!! I am sure when you contacted the EPA they contact that treatment plant. And what you did made a difference. They made a change to their chemical additives. Great job!!!
Good on you for following up, testing the water and sharing the results. Would have been interesting to compare samples from the first trip.
Sidenote: Bourbon/whiskey on the shelf in the background?
If you run into this again, try a kit that includes a test for nitrates.
The nitrate cycle is important for a waterway. I think it goes something like, Ammonia>nitrite>nitrate. If one of those chemicals is high in concentration it will let you know something is off in that ecosystem.
If it was summertime when the fish were dying it could be a lack of oxygen. That doesnt fully explain the dead gar though.
Love the episode, the only thing I can think of is that a poison was introduced for a short period, did it’s damage and then was flushed out/ diluted by the running water. Definitely not a Lake problem. Suspicious waterfall must be the cause. Your video could well have stopped the perpetrator/s in their tracks. We’ll done 👏
Hey boss quick question ? Is bow fishing popular in your area? In my fishing spots , people leave fish to die once they caught them bow fishing especially carp. Maybe it could be that??