Quote Originally Posted by Cray View Post
Tal, it's like fishing Toledo bend without the stumps. Runs north and south from Kentucky to Alabama across Tennessee. Have seen lots of reports on here and Facebook about the poor fish. The lake has become infested with flying carp. The consensus seems to be that they are eating all the food shad normally feed on and that is taking away the main forage for the crappie. I'm no biologist and it could be something else but something is causing it because those reports are coming from the length and breadth of the lake, not just one isolated area.
Speaking with a biologist, he says it is not the carp but rather the Zebra Mussels. He says the mussels are filtering the water and is causing the disappearance of the grass and weed beds which is detrimental to the entire ecosystem. I was glad to hear him say that as I don't believe the carp have hurt the crappie. We still catch crappie along the Mississippi River and the carp were in there first and have a presence as big as any other body of water.