Several videos recently surfaced on social media depicting a significant number of dead fish, including dozens of largemouth bass, floating dead or struggling near the surface around hydrilla beds and lily pad stands at Lake Welsh, a 1,269- acre power plant lake in Titus County. Several of the bass look to be in the 6-8 pound range.
Kayak angler Matthew Scotch posted the narrated videos on Facebook on July 6. “There are dead fish as far as you can see up here guys,” Scotch said. “All dead bass. Dead and dying.”
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fisheries biologist Tim Bister of Marshall has seen the videos. He suspects the fish kill was spurred by low dissolved oxygen levels. Summer water temperatures on Welsh have been known to nudge the triple digits around the power plant outflow.
