Thread: Lake Management discussion and questions??

Originally Posted by rebranger

They oughta erect some of the barriers like they are using on the canal going in to Lake Michigan, because once they get in, they're going to explode! I don't think there are enough commercial fishermen left to make a dent in them!
Yes we are blessed to have good management, but forewarned is forearmed. Pro active or prevention is best!

Rebranger
VERY NICE explanation of Asian Carp and how they destroy a fishery!
They have found Asian Carp DNA in Lake Erie, they don't know how bad it is yet...they have found Asian Carp in the tributaries and in the Ohio River also, so they have been making a steady move North.

I can remember a few years back when they were first found in the Mississippi...the States and Government had a chance to poison something like a 26 mile stretch of the river, that held mostly cats and something else, and stop the advance before it really got started...they couldn't decide and did not do anything, and here we are!

Right now, Lake Erie is booming...Smallmouth, Walleye, and other fish have never been bigger...look at some recent Smallmouth pictures, they look like overfed Largemouth...this is all due to the goby...this little invasive fish, is a slow moving, breeding machine, that is a easy package of high protein...the bad news is that it eats fish eggs and the entire bottom of the live food chain....so the problem that is going to hit soon, is that even though fish are getting huge, their numbers are slowly dwindling....and the goby keeps expanding along with the rusty craw that has wiped out all the natural craws, and the zebra mussels and others that are taking care of the microscopic food chain.

We have Snakeheads and Peacock Bass, and all other kinds of invasives, destroying the natural species and balance of fisheries in many States...what in the name of heaven have we done???
You're right, maybe commercial fishing the invasives will be the money maker for the future.

I told our story before, about what happened one year when we gave out some of the GPS locations of the cover we put in our lake, we tried to be nice and help people also...we figured it would benefit kids, elderly, and those who were disabled...I have never seen such a sad display of human behavior for other people who took the cover over, didn't allow the people it was put out for to use it, and destroyed the cover and fished it clean...the boat guys were just as bad, they anchored on the cover 24/7...it was eye opening and disgraceful, and we never made that mistake again!

At our lake, we have problems with illegal catches and a "Poor" State that cannot seem to enforce laws or even Patrol...at the Crappie Spawn, you have thousands of people actually fighting each other for spots in the Marina or other easy access points....people take a many 5-7 inch Crappie as they can get...I call the rangers on them all the time and take pictures, nothing...others idiots use Bream hooks that are so small they are swallowed and gut hook Crappie, Bass, etc, and people just rip it out and throw the fish back...I call the Rangers, nothing!....I watched a 20 year old kid one day catching small Crappie, he was throwing them back kinda hard...after a while I moved from my location on the bank and went past him...he had over 100 dead Crappie floating by him...he was smashing them on the rocks...I called the cops and amazingly he was arrested! People throw whatever species of fish, they don't like, on the bank to die...Rangers do nothing!
We watch people picnic on the banks...families of 10-20 people...they get done and just leave all the trash on the ground...I call the cops, nothing...I call the Rangers, nothing! So we spend an entire weekend picking up trash at the lake...the next week it looks like we never did anything!
People contacted the State because they feel it is unfair that we put in cover for the lake, and did not tell anyone where it was located, they want GPS locations so they can fish it!
I'll be honest and tell you that ALOT of people that fish at our lake "have left a bad taste in my mouth"!
But yet, we all continue to pick up trash, put in cover, and do the right things!

Now most of our lakes in Ohio are Blooming because of the nutrient loads...they smell like crap mixed with rotten eggs, you can't swim, drink the water in certain cities, fish, boat etc...luckily our lake is deep and flushes well, so it hasn't bloomed YET!
I wonder how much longer we have before things improve!

Originally Posted by lowe175

Here in Alabama we have a great fish and game program most of are lakes are in good shape. I hope we never have these problems. some of our lakes get a lot of pressure but there are plenty of fish to be had. I would like to know that we can do to keep it that way.

You cannot allow the lakes to "age"...you have to keep adding all kinds of cover...shallow breeding cover for fry, like laydown Christmas Trees, brush blocks, pallets, etc...then you need dense stand up cover, etc, in deeper water for smaller fish...and then larger cover for the Slabs...cover can be long lasting, wood, or other natural. They can all be mixed together, or grouped together...you have to also keep "Good" vegetation in the lake...then you let Mother Nature, do her thing!

We make cover every spring and place them deep and shallow.i thank God we don't have the same problems. Most people here do the right thing.I have run into some bad eggs on the water but not often but I have 4 big lakes and lots of small water sheds less than a hour away. We have a problem with over population in the small water sheds I try to get people to go fish these lakes but some of them you have to have a 4×4 to get to but that's a joke compared to the problems that you are facing.

Originally Posted by INTIMIDATOR

Rebranger
VERY NICE explanation of Asian Carp and how they destroy a fishery!
They have found Asian Carp DNA in Lake Erie, they don't know how bad it is yet...they have found Asian Carp in the tributaries and in the Ohio River also, so they have been making a steady move North.

I can remember a few years back when they were first found in the Mississippi...the States and Government had a chance to poison something like a 26 mile stretch of the river, that held mostly cats and something else, and stop the advance before it really got started...they couldn't decide and did not do anything, and here we are!

Right now, Lake Erie is booming...Smallmouth, Walleye, and other fish have never been bigger...look at some recent Smallmouth pictures, they look like overfed Largemouth...this is all due to the goby...this little invasive fish, is a slow moving, breeding machine, that is a easy package of high protein...the bad news is that it eats fish eggs and the entire bottom of the live food chain....so the problem that is going to hit soon, is that even though fish are getting huge, their numbers are slowly dwindling....and the goby keeps expanding along with the rusty craw that has wiped out all the natural craws, and the zebra mussels and others that are taking care of the microscopic food chain.

We have Snakeheads and Peacock Bass, and all other kinds of invasives, destroying the natural species and balance of fisheries in many States...what in the name of heaven have we done???
You're right, maybe commercial fishing the invasives will be the money maker for the future.

I told our story before, about what happened one year when we gave out some of the GPS locations of the cover we put in our lake, we tried to be nice and help people also...we figured it would benefit kids, elderly, and those who were disabled...I have never seen such a sad display of human behavior for other people who took the cover over, didn't allow the people it was put out for to use it, and destroyed the cover and fished it clean...the boat guys were just as bad, they anchored on the cover 24/7...it was eye opening and disgraceful, and we never made that mistake again!

At our lake, we have problems with illegal catches and a "Poor" State that cannot seem to enforce laws or even Patrol...at the Crappie Spawn, you have thousands of people actually fighting each other for spots in the Marina or other easy access points....people take a many 5-7 inch Crappie as they can get...I call the rangers on them all the time and take pictures, nothing...others idiots use Bream hooks that are so small they are swallowed and gut hook Crappie, Bass, etc, and people just rip it out and throw the fish back...I call the Rangers, nothing!....I watched a 20 year old kid one day catching small Crappie, he was throwing them back kinda hard...after a while I moved from my location on the bank and went past him...he had over 100 dead Crappie floating by him...he was smashing them on the rocks...I called the cops and amazingly he was arrested! People throw whatever species of fish, they don't like, on the bank to die...Rangers do nothing!
We watch people picnic on the banks...families of 10-20 people...they get done and just leave all the trash on the ground...I call the cops, nothing...I call the Rangers, nothing! So we spend an entire weekend picking up trash at the lake...the next week it looks like we never did anything!
People contacted the State because they feel it is unfair that we put in cover for the lake, and did not tell anyone where it was located, they want GPS locations so they can fish it!
I'll be honest and tell you that ALOT of people that fish at our lake "have left a bad taste in my mouth"!
But yet, we all continue to pick up trash, put in cover, and do the right things!

Now most of our lakes in Ohio are Blooming because of the nutrient loads...they smell like crap mixed with rotten eggs, you can't swim, drink the water in certain cities, fish, boat etc...luckily our lake is deep and flushes well, so it hasn't bloomed YET!
I wonder how much longer we have before things improve!

Excellent!

The most ironic thing about silver and big head carp is in many blind taste tests over 90% of people say they are far and away better and tastier than tuna...but they won`t buy it because of the `carp` part of the name...

So what are some of the things you guys do at your lakes???
What kind of conservation, inforcement, etc, does your State do???
How well is your lake managed???
And how is the Crappie population and fishing??

These are some small things we can do. 1. Clean you boat before you go to a new lake to prevent invasive plans and fish. 2. Don't keep more fish than you need. 3.Pick up trash. 4.Place cover if you are a loud in you waters.5. Go vote so you can get things changed. 6. Take a kid fishing and show them how to be a reasonable outdoorsman. Feel free to add to that

The Corp and MDC work together to manage Pomme De Terre here in Missouri. The MDC puts out a large number of cedars most years in late February or early March. The Corp raises the water level 2' in mid April and holds this level or higher depending on rain, till sometime in June before they lower the lake to normal pool. This floods the willows and brush along the banks and provides the fry a chance to escape predators and feed on the insects, algae etc. Add in all the brush and beds us locals place and the standing timber and there is something for the fish at any age.