OXBOW, Miss. River fed Lakes Declining??

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!!!

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.

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

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?

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.

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.

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Originally Posted by 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?

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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.

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.

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

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.Attachment 133390
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"

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Originally Posted by 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.

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Jim , It is a blast. You can go thru some shells quick.

There are a lot of bow fishermen.The tournaments usually draw about 20-25 teams.It is unreal the number of fish a good 3-4 man team,shooting from a well prepared boat,can kill in one night.I've seen as many as 1500-1700 fish needed to place well.

In Mississippi you have to collect the fish and use them in some manner.It is illegal to waste them...we donate ours to a hog farm or bury them as fertilizer.

Over here in Northeast AL, it's a big sport! Lots of young guys doing it. Friend got a 60# gar the other night. On Lake Guntersville & Wheeler they have a tournament about once a month. The TVA has disallowed commercial nets & fish traps, after allowing them for 40 years; thus there's a few commercial fishermen hunting a "honey hole". I think a commercial fisherman tournamet might go. The one they had on Kentucky Lake last March seemed to be a success.

Question for anyone…
In all river lakes I see tons of fry and fingerling Asian Carp in schools everywhere, with their silver sides flashing why aren’t these fish being eaten by crappie, bass, stripers and the rest of the adult fish population. It seems that with all this food available the stocks of game fish would be healthy but I do not see it based on recent reports from these lakes.

Are you sure they aren't silver side minnows?
In all rivers, lakes I see tons of fry and fingerling too. Not sure of what they are. I guess I'll try a cast net the next time out.

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Originally Posted by 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.Attachment 133390
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"

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Good goobley moobley!!! Them's some big arse light bulbs!!

Fried fish for sure! Fish think they have died and gone to heaven with them lights! Can't imagine the bugs it would attract in the delta

As to the original question. I blame just about everything bad on the Corps of Engineers with all those dam dykes!!:scratchhead

May be the lack of pole limits on the lakes:popcorn

The lights are 400w HPS...51,000 lumen each.I know it's hard to believe but the bugs stay in front of the lights.I have yet to use any bug spray.If you could go with us one night and see the number and size of the rough fish that game fish have to compete against for food,you would understand why they got a little thin in the skin.There really needs to be a use for the asian carp.I believe the only hope of controlling these fish is commercial fishing.

There is a market for the asian carp up north but not here. The best I can think of is the dumpster or the garden.

They eat good if you clean em like a redfish. I've shot some and my buddy cooked em. I bet those lights are awesome!

According to Miss Game, there's supposed to be a plant at Sunflower, Ms that buys them (AC) for about $0.20 a pound.
I want to sponsor a Bow Fishing tournament this fall!

I wonder if there is still enough commercial fisherman left to have a tournament? The one on Kentucky Lake seemed to be successful.

Not sure how many commercial guys are left but bow fisherman are everywhere.If the price gets good enough on them I'm sure the commercial interest will rise.I am a member of a really good bow fishing forum...shoot me a pm and I'll hook you up with them.be a good place to get the word out if you are serious about a tournament.

I asked a Ky Fish/Wildlife biologist about fishing some of the oxbows in Ky on the Miss River from my kayak. I wanted to enjoy the cypress oxbows and do a little fishin. He told to save my time and money, the Asian carp had ruined these lakes.

The 3 oxbows I fish were all really good last year. The river has been so high all this year they havent gotten right to fish but for a week or so on a couple of different occasions this year. The only chance I had to hit one of em up so far this year we had a good day.

Handi has a good point,I fish the harbor here in Vicksburg when the river gets right...so far it ain't been "right" very many days at all.They were just starting to "turn-on" when it jumped back up,then started falling 2' a day.Conditions just haven't been right for my style of fishing.My style is they got to be biting pretty dang good before I'm able to catch any...