LAKE MINNETONKA, Minn. -- There's a sight and quite a smell that's luring people to a section of Gray's Bay.
A fish kill involving hundreds of fish have become more noticeable in the past several days at the dam that connects Lake Minnetonka with Minnehaha Creek.
"My brother-in-law he said 'Wow I don't remember there being all those rocks down there' and I said 'Those aren't rocks, those are fish,'" said Chris Eide. He has fished in this spot for decades and said he has never seen a fish kill there so large.
Austin Hudnall and Stephen Sopzzak also fish in the area during the Spring. They came to see what seems like a growing number of dead fish in the shallow water.
"It's pretty gross. It smells pretty bad down here," said Hudnall.
The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District is monitoring the situation. Spokeswoman Telly Mamayek said it's not unusual for a fish kill in this spot. She said that the dam separating the two bodies of water was open later last year than usual. More fish congregated in the area and when the water froze quickly, it depleted the oxygen in the shallow water, therefore, killing the fish. Now that the ice has melted considerably, people are now seeing what mother nature has covered up earlier in the winter.
"It's just the cycle of life there," said Mamayek.
She added that people should not touch the dead fish. Instead, leave them alone and let nature take its course.
She said the dam usually reopens in mid-April and once all of the ice is gone. When water levels rise, the fish will be carried downstream.