Hey Boaters! Don't forget this!!

[Dutchman]

I went kayaking on Croton pond this weekend. My wife and I were shocked at the vast amount of ZEBRA muscles!:eek: JUst a reminder to ALWAYS flush your motor when you get home.Or before you go from lake to lake.We can't seem to stop the spread of these little monsters, But we can at least slow them down:mad:

[Hook N. Sinker]

I wonder if zebra muscles are a good thing, not a bad thing. They remove pollutants, make the water clearer, allow plants to grow deeper and fish to breed more. I think some fish and possibly the heron eat zebra muscles also.

[fishandhunt]

HnS:

Several points...

They do not remove toxins they store them in their bodies like anything else that ingests them. The grow, die and then return the toxins back to the same place. Only fish I heard that eats them is the sheephead. One bird that does eat them is the Bluebill (Greater & Lesser Scaup) and their numbers have been mysteriously declining over the past few years.

While water clarity is improving there is talk that blames the decline in the Lake Erie Walleye population to this trend. Seems the lake spawning walleyes like to spawn in darker water so the move deeper and deeper in the lake.

More or less the Zebra Mussels compete with aquatic invertebrates for food and may be winning the battle. These invertebrates are what feed the fry of many species which begin the food chain right on up to the largest game fish. Eventually the fish will adapt or be eliminated.

The shell of the Zebra Mussel is sharp edged and will last along time before breaking down once the mussel dies. They grow very rapidly and on top of each other providing an ever increasing mass of sharp shells. Nearly ever rock in Saginaw Bay is covered with Zebra Mussels.

How does a clear lake full of sheephead that your afraid to swim in because you may be cut to ribbons sound?

Mike

[jimbos43]

What size does a sheepshead have to be to get a master angler patch?:mad:

[stelmon]

I don't get it. Do they swim up to the motor's. How do they get on them?

[jpollman]

I'm no biologist but I believe that their larva attach themselves and are then transported to the next lake you go to. I'd think that if you don't go directly to the next body of water they would die and it wouldn't be a problem. However, if you go right to the other lake (which may not be infested) they come off and "BANG" that lake now has the problem.
As far as them cleaning the water, they do filter the water to make it clearer but that is about it. I don't see how they could "REMOVE" toxins. I'd agree with the above post that they would just store them until death then release them as they decay. It may seem like a benefit to make the water clearer, but the clearer the water, the more sunlight can penetrate. That causes MUCH MORE weed growth. This too may seem good but it can get out of hand.
Like I said, I am no biologist but this is just some info I have found by reading about the Zebra Muscle problem.
I may be totally incorrect but the info seems to make sense. So if I'm wrong, go ahead and blast away.
Just my .02 worth.

Tight lines all

John Pollman
aka Budster
Rochester Hills

[Dutchman]

Stelman the eggs of the zebra mussle are microsmall. They get into your motor through the water pump. And I have been told they can survive for quite awhile in the pump.Then when you go to another lake you flush them out when you run your motor.Basicly they have been planted buy boaters who don't or won't take the time to flush after boating.:(

[stelmon]

Thanks Dutchman

[Winterover]

Not only do they travel in the water of your boat motor but they can travel in ANY water you transport from one lake to another, minnow bucket, cracked lens on your boat trailer or anyplace else you could get standing water.
They are starting to build up at Tippy too. While fishing there last weekend I pulled in several, at one point I hung up on some old line & when I pulled it in there were about 100 attached to it. All of them I pulled in I threw up on shore and then crushed them when I got out of the river. I don't think it made a dent in the population but it made me feel better:)

[fishall]

They can survive for a week in a boat.

More and more Whitefish are being found with Zebra Mussels in their bellies. The problem is that the shells break up slightly but are not excreted. Eating only the mussels will lead to short lifespans.

And they're <ouch!> sharp little buggers too.

[Hook N. Sinker]

They said on TV that one reason the smallmouth bass population is growing to much and so quickly is because the zebra muscles are clearing the water and allowing greater plant growth. Maybe it's bad for walleye but good for bass.

It's hard to say what a pollutant is these days. It is not always mercury. Might be ammonia, phosphate, or organic compounds. I heard shellfish are useful for detoxifying such materials and are used in water treatment plants for that purpose.

Aren't walleye grown in a hatchery because they are so heavily fished that natural spawning processes cannot produce enough to meet demand?

[dortmand]

Hey hook & sink....

FYI. The walleye in Lake Saint Clair are natural fish. The Lk. St. Clair advisory committee use to stock but have not for awhile now. They were only adding about 1% to total population, .e.i. not real effective ... It's estimated that approx. 5 million walleye run through the Detroit River each year and only approx... 100,000 are caught (kept)... approx 2-5% of total population...

[FischInMich]

Interesting theories guys.

Lake St. Clair has always been a good smallmouth lake on the Canadian side, but over the last ten years, it has become a smallmouth factory all the way around............it has however also become more difficult to locate the odd walleye though. Zebra mussles are definetely the contributing factor here, along with gobies which the bass love to feed on. Good or bad? Like anything there is always a pro and a con so I really can't say.

FISH ON!!!

[shooter921]

Dutch, I was wondering the same thing, thanks here also.