Zebra Mussels

I was at a mussel briefing last night and they said Kansas is really having trouble with them. Which of your lakes have a "noticable" population? They just discovered them at a 2nd little lake around here.

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by rudapa &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">I was at a mussel briefing last night and they said Kansas is really having trouble with them. Which of your lakes have a "noticable" population? They just discovered them at a 2nd little lake around here.</td></tr></table>
Eldorado is probably the worst - they're everywhere!!!!!! http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/doh.gif

They showed a picture of Eldorado and it was covered. Any others have a noticable population and do they do any special control for Eldorado?

Perry is infested. They drop the lakes during the winter to expose alot of shoreline. Not sure how much it helps though.

Ive seen some bad banks at Eldo http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/sick.gif

Funny, cause that's what they are talking about doing to fix Zorinsky here. So it helps but doesn't kill them? How does the draw down affect the fishing?

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by rudapa &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">Funny, cause that's what they are talking about doing to fix Zorinsky here. So it helps but doesn't kill them? How does the draw down affect the fishing?</td></tr></table>
I know around here they draw down some lakes in order to expose a lot of bank that holds a lot of cover. This serves two purposes. It allows cover in the form of grass/buckbrush etc to grow and prevents smaller fish from hiding in said cover over the winter. They do it in a few lakes that have stunted fish in hopes of cutting down on numbers.

i actually think cheney is the worst but they dont have any bass fishing so not much gets said. el dorado is probably second worse and the mothership for all of them being transferred around the state. I caught a rock at milford in august that had 3 on it. dont like seeing that. and yesterday at the milford outlet i snagged about a 10lb asian carp. couldnt get the bit#$ on shore or i would have taken pics. definetly an asian carp though

i bet most lakes in Kansas has some Zebra Mussels in them http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/crying.gif http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/crying.gif

Every lake I fished in in MO had signs stating that the lake was "infested" with them

yes they say cheney has more than eldorado , just they are in the larve stage right now, but when el dorado was at it's worse , the fish were easy to pattern once you new what too look for , my partner and I would tear them up , I do not think they clean the lakes as well as people say, but if you know what to look for they help you locate fish, but when el dorado had them on all the trees you had to fish with 60 lb braid, some places in Lake of Ozarks have alot also, a year ago I fished there and cut off several nice fish, they cut mono like a hot butter knife

i haven't seen them yet on milford, but i know they are there

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by bigfishingstud &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">i bet most lakes in Kansas has some Zebra Mussels in them </td></tr></table>
I've always wondered if waterfowl, shore birds, pelicans and gulls can transport the larvae ?? Sounds logical to me and the fly all over the state to different bodies of water.

First ask yourself how many jet skiers and pleasure boaters were at the meeting. Not very many probably. How many of the same people like to travel to different lakes and have no idea how Zebra Mussels get transported???? Then, to get a good idea of how many people that boat are really concerned, how many bass fishing guys wash their boats down and do the best they could possibly do to prevent the spread of the damn things? Bass fishermen are probably the most aware of whats going on but we still have guys that will run from lake to lake crappie fishing or whatever and don't take the time to disinfect their boats and trailers. The birds aren't the major factor here- it's the people who don't even give it the time of day. If LaCygne was infested how long do you think it would take before Miami Co., Gardner, Hillsdale, Lone Star, Grand again, Ozarks, Truman, every little lake in between would be infested. Why? Where do 99.9% of bass fishing guys go in the cold months? Only a matter of time guys, only a matter of time...... http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/praying.gif

Just a matter of time with out a doubt

it's a damn shame

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by KS_Bassin &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
I've always wondered if waterfowl, shore birds, pelicans and gulls can transport the larvae ?? Sounds logical to me and the fly all over the state to different bodies of water. </td></tr></table>

The Army Corp briefing I attended said that waterfowl could carry them, but at such a small number that it would be insignificant. The females release eggs and a male needs to be near to fertilize. So if you dropped 2 mussels in lake acres apart there would be no real threat of them reproducing. The main thing is water from one lake to another in the summer when their microscopic fry are in the water and of course a boat or equipment that has set in infested water and been colognized then moving to another lake without being cleaned/disinfected.

Has the lowering of the water levels in the winter been an effective means for keeping them under control? I see pictures of Eldorado and it is an eye sore to say the least, is that still the case?

they are not as visible as they once were at el dorado , but 2 years back we had a dry season and the lake got 7 foot low , they were an inch thick or more on ever tree, but when winter came they died and fell off do to the low water, they are still there just not as high amount of adults yet

How'd it affect the fishing?

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by rudapa &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">They showed a picture of Eldorado and it was covered. Any others have a noticable population and do they do any special control for Eldorado?</td></tr></table>

Actually you cant even see them out at el dorado much anymore. We had a huge low period (8 feet low a couple winters ago) and it killed a bunch of them. the water is back to muddy again because of it and the fishing has went back downhill.

You can still see some if you turn rocks over and stuff, but nowhere near what it was in 03-05.