Quote Originally Posted by RoadToad View Post
Fish kills of this nature are a pretty common phenomenon. What happens is, when the snow on top of the ice blocks out the sunlight for an extended period, the plants in the pond begin to die off, decreasing the oxygen content, and releasing compounds into the water that are extremely toxic to fish. Once enough fish have died off, the water is poisoned even further, killing off all the rest. Trust me, if this is what happened, there are NO fish alive in that pond, and if KDFWR says that's what happened, I don't understand why you think you know better than they do. Unless you want this pond to be a swimming hole and nothing else, you need to quit standing in the way, and let them fix the problem.
Also look up phytoplankton. Phytoplankton are a vital food source to your fry, small baitfish, etc. Phytoplankton are photosynthesizing microscopic organisms that inhabit the upper sunlit layer of almost all oceans and bodies of fresh water and are the foundation of the food chain. It's what gives lakes and ponds the green color that they have. In winter, ponds and lake look much clearer due to such a smaller presence due to shorter periods of sun (shorter days) and when snow and ice prevents them from getting enough sunlight to carry on photosynthesis. Extremely low numbers of phytoplankton means your smaller fish die off, which has an effect all the way up the food chain to your larger fish.