Orlando, FL--Florida faced drought; Texas faced floods. How did fish fare?

While fish kills occurred in Florida last summer, short-term droughts are probably helpful to Florida’s freshwater fish, Florida officials say, by exposing lake bottoms and promoting vegetation that provides fish habitat. Anglers were largely cheering the long-term benefits, for example, of the drought on Lake Okeechobee.

For Texas anglers, the higher-than-normal rainfall was good news, officials say, because fish can move to new habitats and re-colonize areas, such as upstream of small dams. Floods also add stream nutrients, clean them out and restore habitat.