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June 23, 2008
Des Moines, Iowa — The flood of 2008 was so bad
that even fish had to be rescued.
 More
than 90 catfish, including many trophy-sized flathead catfish,
were rescued from a tail-water area below the Saylorville spillway
on Sunday. As the water receded, the fish were trapped in a pool.
“There’s no doubt we would have eventually lost all of these fish
if we had not moved them,” said DNR Conservation Officer Brandon
Bergquist.
The fish averaged between 30 and 40 pounds with some estimated at
tipping the scales at close to 60 pounds, according to Bergquist.
The DNR was advised of the trapped fish by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers which was inspecting under spillway early Sunday morning
when they came upon the pool.
Some less desirable species including carp, buffalo and fresh
water drum, were left in the pool on Sunday and most of those fish
were dead by Monday afternoon.
It took four DNR law enforcement personnel between five and six
hours to move the catfish to the safety of the Des Moines River.
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