Beginning Oct. 31, Crystal Springs Pond will be slowly drawn down over the course of a week to help reduce nuisance vegetation.
This fishery, located in Bingham County adjacent to Idaho Fish and Game’s Springfield Fish Hatchery, is a popular family fishing water and typically supports year-round trout fishing. Over the past couple of years, the aquatic vegetation has become extremely dense throughout the pond, making it difficult to fish.
In order to reduce nuisance vegetation, the water level will be lowered until the pond has been nearly drained. From there, most of the live vegetation will be exposed and die, and it is expected that a hard winter freeze will limit additional growth of vegetation.
This technique has been used successfully in other reservoirs and is a cost-effective alternative to other treatments such as herbicide. This pond was also drawn down last winter (2021-2022), and improvements were observed in the spring to early summer. However, the mild winter and hot summer may have reduced the effectiveness of last year’s drawdown.
Anglers should be aware that fishing will be impacted at Crystal Springs Pond for the next four months. Fish and Game anticipates refilling the pond again in mid-March 2023, at which time it will be stocked with trout to provide spring fishing opportunity. Most of the fish currently living in the pond are expected to still survive in the outlet; as such, a salvage order is not being issued at this time.
For additional information, please call the Southeast Region office at (208) 232-4703.