Maryland DNR, MDE investigating fish kill at premier fly fishing creek

Maryland officials are investigating a fish kill in Beaver Creek, a popular fishing spot for brown trout southeast of Hagerstown.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Maryland Department of Environment officials were at the creek on Tuesday collecting information about the fish kill, according to a statement from Tony Prochaska, DNR's director of the Freshwater Fisheries and Hatcheries Division. The statement was emailed from the department's communications office.

"It is too early to tell what may have caused the event, MDE and DNR are investigating the cause," Prochaska said.

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"We do not know how extensive the fish kill is at this time, although dozens of fish were found dead. Species that were found dead included trout, suckers, and sculpin. The dead fish were found between I-70 and as far downstream as Route 40," he said.

Maryland Department of the Environment spokesman Jay Apperson wrote in an email that the environment department is taking water samples.

Both the natural resources and environment departments are investigating the fish kill.

"At this time no likely source of pollution has been identified and no cause for the fish kill has been determined," Apperson wrote late Tuesday afternoon.

Prochaska said the Albert Powell Fish Hatchery was not affected by the fish kill.

The fish hatchery is upstream from Interstate 70.

Did Monday's storm contribute to the fish kill?

The region saw a thunderstorm Monday afternoon that included hail.

While officials don't yet know what caused the dead fish, Beaver Creek Watershed Association President Michael Saylor said, "This was not just a high water event."

Saylor said he saw about 10 live fish DNR officials collected from the stream on Tuesday in a bucket with water and "before long, they were all dead."

"Something is going on ..." he said.

Doug Hutzell, 72, a fly fisherman and retired state environment worker who has lived along the creek for over 40 years and has fished the creek since he was 13, said he "never saw anything like this."

Hutzell said he believes the high water from Monday's storm helped move whatever it was through the creek, killing fish.

"I hope that nobody did it intentionally," Hutzell said.

Hutzell estimated that 90% to 95% of the brown trout were dead in the section of the creek from the I-70 bridge downstream to Beaver Creek Road.

Broc Pickett, a fly fisherman who manages the Precision Fly & Tackle shop by the creek, also doubts the cause is solely the weather event on Monday.

If the water temperature dropped from the hail, that would probably just affect the trout because they are so sensitive, he said.

But Pickett said shiners, suckers and creek chubs also were among the dead fish.

Pickett said one angler reported seeing about 30 to 40 dead fish on the bank Tuesday morning.

"Thats completely unheard of," Pickett said.

There were still fish alive in the creek early Tuesday, he said.

Pickett and Hutzell said DNR happened to be at the creek that morning to do a trout survey when the state workers were among those who found dead fish.

"There's a lot of people walking around, state workers, trying to figure out what's going on," Pickett said.

Concern for the future brown trout population

Not knowing the cause of the fish kill, Saylor and Hutzell are concerned about the effect it will have on the brown trout population over the next few years.

With the sheer number of dead fish, old and young, Hutzell said it will take at least three to five years for the wild brown trout population to bounce back in the affected stretch of the creek.

That area includes the special regulation area for fly fishing brown trout to catch and release. The special regulation area runs from where Black Rock Creek flows into Beaver Creek, near the tackle shop, downstream to near the bridge on Beaver Creek Road, fisherman said.

Both Saylor and Hutzell referred to a 22-inch brown trout found dead Tuesday.

"That's a huge trout for that creek," Saylor said.

Hutzell said if the bugs, aquatic insects and other fish survive and the water chemistry is just right, he thinks the brown trout will come back.

Hopefully, they will come back with this fall's spawning, he said. But they won't come back this fall in the high numbers they did in the past. That will take longer.

Beaver Creek's reputation

Hutzell said he's worked with the watershed association, Trout Unlimited and other organizations, investing over $1 million in grant money the last 25 years to help restore the creek.

That restoration work has helped turn Beaver Creek into a premier fly fishing destination in the state, Saylor said.

"This fish kill is pretty devastating for local fishermen, plus a lot of guys come from all over the mid-Atlantic to fish that creek," Saylor said.

Pickett and Hutzell said they've seen license plates from beyond the mid-Atlantic among those fishing the creek.

"We had done a tremendous amount of work over the years to try to get the stream in a state it could support natural reproduction and this is a terribly big hit on the stream," Saylor said.

Hutzell said he was "choked up" over the fish kill.

"This is not going to hit me until later on. I'm really upset."

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Maryland DNR and MDE officials investigating fish kill at Beaver Creek