THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 29, 1994 TAG: 9406280104
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARK DUROSE, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: 940629 LENGTH: Medium
Bubba the big bass was something of a legend around Forest Lake. He was the ``dream catch'' all the fishermen in Kings Grant and surrounding neighborhoods talked and teased about while they rigged their gear and cast their lines.
{REST} Bubba was always the one that got away.
But, after years of evading baited hooks, Bubba came to an unexpected end recently. He was finally caught, not by man, but by nature. Bubba, and several hundred of his gilled companions in the 19 1/2-acre lake, went belly-up en masse, as a result of what is commonly referred to as a ``fish kill.''
``Fish kills are not uncommon occurrences in hot weather like we're having now,'' explained Frank Scanlon, Environmental Health program manager for Virginia Beach. ``The theory is that a lack of oxygen is created in the water by a boom in algae growth, caused by the sudden heat.'' Apparently, fertilizers running off yards can also aggravate the problem of the rapidly growing, watery weed, which removes oxygen from the water instead of supplying it. As a result, the fish, in essence, drown.
It was a Tuesday morning when Mark Donan and his three sons stumbled on the carnage. ``The fish were piled up 4 to 5 feet all along the bank,'' said Donan, who often takes his sons fishing on the lake in his 12-foot boat. ``The whole top of the lake looked like feathers from the fins of the fish floating there. For that many fish to die at once, I was afraid someone had poisoned the lake.''
Donan, who lives in the bordering neighborhood of Eastern Park, estimated there were 500 to 1,000 carcasses, but his David, 12, insisted, ``There were at least 2,000.'' Paul, 9, was more impressed by the variety than the numbers.
``There was every kind of fish,'' said Paul. ``There were catfish, shad, brim, bluegill, small and largemouth bass.''
But despite the quantity or quality of fish, there was one in particular all the Donan males were focused on: Bubba.
``He was a legend,'' said Donan, claiming the fish's name was derived from an old TV commercial depicting a fish too smart to be caught. ``We'd always joke, `Look out, here comes Bubba.' People would say they had hooked into a bass that big, and everyone would be like, `right.' But we saw him, and this was a citation bass.''
Donan claimed the evasive bass was at least 6 pounds, and nearly 2 feet long, and he was briefly tempted to claim the prize. ``But that would be cheating,'' said Donan. ``Besides, he was kinda all bloated up.''
Donan said that even though fish kills are generally unpleasant, it was the loss of Bubba that made this one particularly hard to take. ``That's what made everybody sick.''
Well, not exactly everybody.
Susan Harell was mentally preparing for her big backyard party as she looked out the window of her lake-front home Tuesday morning. She was expecting 100 or so guests in a few days for a celebration for her son, Michael, and his new wife, Jennifer.
``I looked out absent-mindedly and thought, how pretty, magnolia blossoms covering the lake,'' recalled Harell. ``Then I thought, I don't think so, and looked closer. It was covered with fish, every kind of fish, some like 2 feet long. I didn't know the fish in there could get so big.''
In a self-described panic, Harell wasted no time in telephoning city officials. Several transfers got her in touch with Environmental Health, who handed the matter over to Solid Waste Disposal. ``They came out that day,'' said Harell, ``And it was a good thing. It took them three straight days out there in two boats, picking up dead fish. They were really good about it.''
Harell was grateful, but still shudders at what could have happened. ``I just thank God, it didn't happen on Friday, and that I wasn't having a fish fry. That would have been a disaster.''
Bubba was also not a prime concern for Yvonne Veillette, who also lives on the lake. ``The only big deal about it, is if you live here, and have to smell it,'' she said.
Veillette and her husband Mike returned from a vacation half-way through the clean-up, but she said, ``There were still plenty floating around. I always used to wonder why people fished here, but I see there are quite a few fish out there to catch. At least, there were.''
Her husband was more moved by the loss of the worthy underwater adversary. ``I saw him one day,'' he said, ``And I thought, what the heck is that? It's a monster. I hooked him a few times, too, but he got away.''
With the clean-up over now, and the lake-side party having turned out a success, the small man-made freshwater lake and its environs are pretty much back to normal. The Donans will continue to fish the lake, ``Mainly for catfish,'' says papa Donan, ``But it just won't be the same, without Bubba.''
by CNB