OXBOW, Miss. River fed Lakes Declining??

[rebranger]

I don't know what has happened, ecologically, but none of the Miss River fed lakes have been very productive for the last several years. Could it be the 2011 flood? I'm not the only one to observe this phenom. Folks who fish more different Oxbows & more often than I have observed it also. I'v been fishing the River fed Oxbows for 60 years and never seen it this slow for sport (bass, crappie, bream) fish. Could it be the Gars, Asian Carp? Anybody have a link to any recent "Fish Inventory" data? I'd like to compile a comparasion chart for the last 15 years.
Anybody remember Moon Lake back in the 1950's? There were trolling boats galore!! Some held as many as 20 people. You would pay for a spot on a boat & they'd take you out!! Or the "Pay to Fish" Piers? Then the Lake died, nothing!! I hear it's come back a little tho..
Looking for thoughts, inputs, theroies, explanations here, Please!!!

[MO' MONEY]

The gar have gotten so thick at most lakes, its impossible to troll. Your lines stay knotted up, and I'm sure they have a lot more competition for food with that many predatory fish in the water. I agree, they have declined a good bit. Some lakes more than others.

[feelay]

Handi ain't visited the oxbows yet, so it must be specks fault.

[rebranger]

I have been thinking about putting on a Bow Fishing tournament to try to help get rid of the Gar & Carp. What do ya'll think?

[feelay]

I think there aren't enough bow fishermen in the entire world to put a dent in the gar or carp populations on even one lake, much less the oxbows fed by the Ms river.

[canebreaker]

Fishing tournament for Gar & Carp?
Rule 1: you fish as a team, team can't weigh in unto a 55 gallon drum is filled.
Rule 2: fish can't be released back into the water, live or dead.
Rule 3: bait or style is your choice.

[MO' MONEY]

I have been thinking about putting on a Bow Fishing tournament to try to help get rid of the Gar & Carp. What do ya'll think?

The mosquitos would literally suck you dry, if we did happen to kill every gar in the blasted lake, it would fill right back up when the water came up again. Its just one of those things that is so out of hand it won't ever be permanently fixed. We have considered doing the tournaments before, but it would need to be much larger scale than that to even have an impact. Wish there was an easy fix for it.

[jimfish]

I think it would be a blast to shoot with a shot gun,hone your skills for dove hunting.Asked Gw in ark . about it and he said they didn't care but you got to use steel shot.

[MO' MONEY]

that would be a blast. With those carp you may melt a barrel off the gun!

[RTJ214]

I built my sons a bow boat last year. It is very scary the numbers and size of the asian carp that are in the river oxbows.There is no way these things aren't affecting the food supply of crappie and bass.I know the carp are suppose to be filter feeders but we have caught a few on jigs and minnows.
We do our part to kill as many as possible.
You can't imagine how much fun we have had with this ole boat built out of junk.We call it "NITE LITE"