FWC investigating after hundreds of dead fish found in Lakeland's Lake Hollingsworth

Fish die-off investigation in Lakeland

It has felt a lot like summer over the past couple of weeks, and it's affecting our local lakes. In Lakeland, hundreds of fish were found dead, prompting the state to investigate the cause.  FOX 13's Carla Bayron reports.

LAKELAND, Fla. - It has felt a lot like summer over the past couple of weeks, and it's affecting our local lakes. In Lakeland, hundreds of fish were found dead, prompting the state to investigate the cause. 

It was 12-year-old Noah Fetterhoff and his 9-year-old sister Vera's first time fishing on Lake Hollingsworth.

What they're saying:

"I was just bored, and I felt like fishing, and my parents said we could come down here, which is great," Noah Fetterhoff said.

At the boat ramp, they saw something floating in the water, and it didn't smell good.

"I thought there was a dead person, or it was just gas, but then I walked over here, and there were a lot of dead fish," Vera said. "I thought, 'Are these things alive or dead?' And they were all dead because I saw the birds nibbling at them."

The backstory:

The city of Lakeland got some phone calls about all the dead fish in the lake. It turns out it's several hundred gizzard shad — a native species sensitive to temperature changes.

"It has been very hot over the past few days, and we've had no rain in these drought conditions, so that leads to [low] dissolved oxygen in the water, and the water heats up, and it impacts those fish," Laurie Smith, the city's lakes & stormwater manager, said,

Dig deeper:

The city collected a water sample for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to test to make sure there isn't anything else going on, but the city is confident it's not water-quality related.

They haven't seen any algal blooms or chemical spills.

"Until it starts raining again, and water levels can rise up a little bit, hopefully, we won't experience this in our lakes," Smith said.

The dead fish — although stinky — aren't enough to deter this brother and sister from having a good time.

"I haven't really been fishing for a long time," Noah said. "I've only started this year, and I've only caught six or seven. Mainly all of them are bass, so that's what I'm aiming for."

"It's my first time, but I'm really hoping to catch a catfish," Vera said.

What's next:

A spokesperson with the FWC says they expect to receive the water sample on Thursday.