People bearing pitchforks, rakes and sharp sticks fetched hundreds of dead, smelly fish Saturday from two ponds in Winchester Green in western Henrico County. About 1,100 fish died mysteriously about a week earlier in a roughly 3-acre pond and a smaller adjoining pond.
The Saturday harvest ranged from tiny sunfish to a 3-foot blue catfish estimated to weigh 25 pounds. Other fish included carp, bowfins and gizzard shad.
"They are not hard to find at all," resident John Snyder said as he hauled in carcasses from the bank with a rake. "They are everywhere."
Some of the dead fish were floating. Some lay just under the surface in shallow water. Many lay in deep, murky, tough-to-reach water, residents said.
"I have not seen a single thing alive (in the water) today," said Tim Terry, vice president of the Winchester Green Association, a homeowners group.
Twins Harrie and Bill Siegfried manned a 14-foot canoe to pluck fish out with a net.
"There are still a lot underneath that are decomposing that we just couldn't dig out," Bill Siegfried said. "We'll leave them and, if they come back up, we'll do the same thing — we'll net them."
About 15 residents and four county workers took part in the cleanup. They put the fish in black plastic trash bags, and workers hauled them in a trash truck to a landfill. One resident estimated the haul at more than 500 fish.
Virginia environmental officials believe chlorinated water from a waterline break Jan. 27 killed the fish. Henrico officials are skeptical of that, saying lines have broken before without killing fish.
The fish kill was reported Monday. A beaver also died; workers have removed its body.
Residents are investigating the possibility of having the lake restocked with fish.
Some residents say they fear for the health of two bald eagles and a great blue heron that frequent the lake. The birds are fish eaters.
"This has hurt my feelings," said resident Sandra Register. "You get pretty close to these little critters."
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