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A deeper Baker Lake means better fishing · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: A deeper Baker Lake means better fishing. Written by Tom Collins.
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  This article is being read by an automated voice brought
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  to you by Everlett. Caught any fish lately at Baker
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  Lake in Peru? Have you noticed the bluegills and sunfish
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  are smaller than in years past. There are complex reasons
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  why the fish aren't as big. Baker Lake has become
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  shallower and the resulting conditions make it harder for some
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  fish to thrive. Peru officials are doing something to reverse
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  those conditions, which were years in the making. Monday, the
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  Peru City Council voted to approve a proposal from Herman
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  Brothers Fisheries for lake improvements at Baker Lake at a
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  cost of fourteen nine and forty four dollars and nine cents.
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  This is a really good step forward for Baker Lake.
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  Mayor Ken Kolowski said, Eric Carl's city engineer said. The
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  immediate plan is to introduce a dozen grass carp to
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  assist with long term vegetation control and replace the few
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  aging grass carp The new carp aren't there solely for
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  anglers to catch. Their job is to consume the vegetation
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  and organic materials such as fallen leaves that have accumulated
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  upon the lake's bottom and decrease the overall depth of
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  the pond. The shallower the water, the quicker it can
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  heat up in the summer, which stresses or can kill fish.
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  Carls explained, the warmer water will have less oxygen, in
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  turn making it difficult to sustain aquatic life. Additionally, the
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  shallower water allows the sunlight to reach the bottom more easily,
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  which then causes excess weed, plant and algae growth. Shallower
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  ponds also naturally have less habitat to promote a healthy
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  fish population. Other fish besides carp will be introduced. City
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  staff plan to add one thousand pure bluegill and two
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  hundred channel catfish annually for about three years. Those are
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  the natural improvements. There is a mechanical improvement too. The
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  city will install errators at the bottom of Baker Lake.
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  The diffusers will help introduce more oxygen, which will in
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  turn accelerate the breakdown of the organic materials that have
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  accumulated on the lake's bottom. It will also help reduce
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  the nutrient load that is driving the significant algae growth.
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  In time, not immediately, but in a couple of years.
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  The aerators will result in a depth increase of twelve
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  to eighteen inches, said Adam Thorson Park's director. Anglers will
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  reap some short term benefits while the lake's largemouth base
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  population is very healthy. Carl said there were no catfish
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  observed during a recent lake survey, while a good population
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  of red air sunfish and hybrid bluegill was found. These
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  panfish were mostly smaller. These improvements won't yield overnight results,
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  but they are decidedly cheaper than dredging, which Carl said
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  would require a significant capital investment. A plan to dredge
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  the lake may not be out of the question long term,
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  Carl said, However, at this time we are focusing on
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  and exploring more cost effective solutions to help improve the
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  overall quality of the lake.