Thread: Stick Marsh

Originally Posted by Bigslab11

Don't be scared to educate yourselves more on the vegetation management in lakes and waterways I work for one of the biggest outfits in the state and there is way more science that goes into it than u could ever imagine! There has recently been a infestation of a new plant into rivers and lakes in central Florida called"ludwigia grandiflora" without control it could and will possibly be worse than hydrilla!

Really I think you have it backwards, youguys are the ones who need to educate yourselves on how to manage a fishery andits ecosystem, not just on how to kill vegetation. Look at your above statement:"without control it could and will possibly be worse than hydrilla”, well actually if kept at a healthy levelshydrilla is very beneficial to a lake and ecosystem, its where the beginning ofall life starts, acts as natures perfect nursery. That’s where the term managementcomes in, unfortunately here is Florida our so called management sees hydrillaas the mortal enemy and feel it must be eliminated at all cost, no one would argue thatif left unchecked it poses many issues, but when kept at acceptable levels thelakes and fisheries flourish. Also if that was all that was sprayed it wouldn’tbe as devastating to our fisheries, but what I have witnessed over the lastdecade or so, especially here at Lakes Poinsett and Winder, is now that all thehydrilla has been eradicated the spraying hasn’t stopped, they continue tospray all throughout the year spraying bullrush, pads, hyacinths, and basicallyeverything in sight. I have witnessed it many times and seen the tragicaftermath. These two lakes not all that long ago whenthere was still some vegetation had some great fishing, now that they becomevirtually void of all offshore and now shoreline vegetation have become nothingbut a muddy cesspool, there is no longer any quality fish. And these aren’t the only lakes that have been decimated by overspraying in our state, talk with anyone who lives by Lake Istokpoga, once one of the bestfisheries in the country is now unfishable, all caused by over spraying. Here area couple excerpts from the following links:

http://www.ms-sportsman.com/details.php?id=2483
Hydrilla as habitat:
There’s no doubt about it: withsome hydrilla there are benefits to fish and fishing. The leafy plant providesextensive surface area for algae to grow, which in turn provides food forabundant invertebrates like insect larvae, crayfish and grass shrimp. Theseinvertebrates are food for fish like sunfish and a variety of minnows that inturn are forage for other sportfish. It is easy to understand why many fishconcentrate around hydrilla.
Besides concentrating fish,particularly bass and sunfish, hydrilla also makes for easy fishing. Hydrillausually holds fish in shallow water where anglers are more effective. Fishingis also better in clear water, and hydrilla can clean the water. By slowingwater movement, suspended sediments settle to the bottom. By taking up plantnutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus that cause algae blooms, hydrilla canalso suppress algae.

http://sfrc.ufl.edu/allenlab/Popular%20Articles/Hydrilla.pdf

Hydrilla can have beneficial effects for
fish and wildlife. Substantial research has
shown that moderate hydrilla coverage (say,
10 to 60 percent) of lake surface area provides
quality habitat for bass and high catch
rates for anglers. This is especially true for
large Florida lakes, including some of the
state’s most high profile fisheries like
Tohopekaliga and Istokpoga.
Waterfowl populations in Florida also
benefit from hydrilla, with duck hunters targeting water bodieswhere hydrilla occurs.
For these and other reasons, any negative
ecological and economic impacts of hydrilla
should be weighed against potential benefits to
fish and wildlife.

Rock- glad to see some fire. My 2 cents:

Proper management of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) is essential to create and maintain habitat for the inhabitants of the lake ecosystem. In a"natural" less eutrophied system, hydrilla for example may come to a healthy equilibrium with the lake, providing optimal habitat. However anthropogenic nutrient inputs (such as excess Total Nitrogen TN and Total Phosphorus TP from septic systems, fertilizers, agricultural runoff, etc) necessitate active SAV management strategies.

Spraying is cheaper than mechanical harvesting, that's why they utilize this technology. With that said I disagree whole heartedly with spraying, as it kills the plants creating (BOD) oxygen demand and organic sedimentation/deposition, this chokes out existing SAV. Long term organic deposition facilitates in-lake sediment nutrient cycling which promotes algal growth and contributes to diminished water quality. Degraded water quality decreases habitat and hurts fishing. Solution: Cut down on nutrient (TN and TP) inputs that fuel uncontrolled AV growth. Easy to say very difficult to do.