Scammer
Banned
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Tempe Town Lake began to show increased signs of life early Thursday morning after more than 70,000 small Israeli carp were dumped into the lake's rising waters.
Crews from the city and Arizona Game and Fish re-introduced the fry into the lake, which began to fill again after repairs to a dam bladder that burst in July was completed.
The carp are insect larvae eaters and are used primarily to control midge flies around the lake, according to Kris Baxter-Ging of the City of Tempe.
Other smaller fish are also entering the lake with the water flowing in from the Roosevelt dam system, Baxter-Ging said.
The new fish are too small for sport fishing, and visitors are asked not to catch them because the fish are necessary for insect control and need time to grow and reproduce, Baxter-Ging said.
The best fishing will begin in late November, when Arizona Game and Fish begins adding rainbow trout to Town Lake, Baxter-Ging said.
As is tradition, on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Tempe welcomes introduces new rainbows with a community celebration. This year's celebration will be 3-5 p.m. on Nov. 23.
Arizona Game and Fish will offer a fishing clinic with free use of fishing gear, a helpful hand for new anglers and the opportunity to try the sport without a license for the afternoon.
Town Lake is currently filling at the rate of about 100 cubic feet per second.
The city intends to reopen the lake for public use on the morning of Oct. 26, Baxter-Ging said.
The damaged bladder, one of four that holds the waters, burst and released nearly 1 billion gallons of water into the Salt River bed in late July.