CTFishTalk.com: Zoar zebra mussels - an eye opening trip - Connecticut Lake Reports ( CT Lake Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

Sorry for hijacking the thread, BigEd.

I'll send you a PM, rvolkers.
_________________
Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

Wanna Fish · Joined: 30 Jan 2012 Posts: 662 Location: Earth I Think

"Keyboard Warriors"

Gota love it. I know PECO very well and I don't think his intention was to insult but to show another side of an opinion. Fished with him quite a few times this year and "HE" is more than welcome on my boat anytime.

I fish with many experienced anglers. Both Pro and Con on the Zebra Muscle issue.

On the aquatic side I think it improved Twin Lakes. The four or five times I fished there this year were banner Bass days. Same for years prior. This year I noticed that the clarity of the water diminished substantially. Either the Zebra Muscles aren't doing their job or they've run their life cycle and are gradually dying off.

On an economic side Moored Boats and Power Companies will suffer most. Neither of which will go away due to the ZM Problem and their damage they cause cause.

In conclusion, growing up in the Valley along the Housatonic River System the Zebra Muscles can't possibly have an impact as to all the tons of pollutants that were dumped in the Naugy and Housy for many years. With all the PCP's that were poured into the rivers, they may actually help. Growing up as a kid I used to hold my nose driving up Rte 8 and 34 due to the stench the pollutants caused. The river system may have cleaned it's self to a point to sustain Salmon, Trout, Pike and Bass but you can't ignore the fact that tons of toxic waste sit below the sediment. The same sediment and water that is pumped in and out of a number of man made lakes such as Candlewood.

Unless a natural predator, Invasive Species is introduced into the river to quell the Zebra Muscle problem Big Brother will find a Chemical Resolve to the problem creating another Toxic Waste Site in years to come.
_________________
Don't hold your farts in! They travel up your spine to your brain and thats where shitty ideas come from.

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

Coincidentally, my wife and I just watched a National Geographic program in which they "drained the Great Lakes" using computer imagery. Near the end of the program, they mentioned the impact of zebra mussels in the lakes, including the blooms of certain kinds of algae caused by increased light penetration caused by increased water clarity caused by zebra mussels. Interestingly, to me at least, they interviewed a biologist who said, and I'm paraphrasing here, "The ecosystem of the Great Lakes evolved over thousands of years and is strong enough to evolve for thousands more. The question isn't, 'How do we change the ecosystem back?', but, 'What is the ecosystem now?'"
_________________
Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

Crest Daddy · Joined: 20 Jan 2011 Posts: 994

I have seen them below the derby dam.
Not in numbers like the pics posted though. I'm guessing there is a good use for them that nobody has thought of yet.
Chum maybe? Blackfish bait?
Gotta be something
_________________
Trust me. Use waxworms !

Wanna Fish · Joined: 30 Jan 2012 Posts: 662 Location: Earth I Think

Fished Indian Well today. Saw a number of boats being pulled from the water. Talked with a dozen dock owners and yanked a few branches from the bottom from snags. Not one sign of a Zebra Muscle. There must be something in Eichners Cove causing them to reproduce like that!
_________________
Don't hold your farts in! They travel up your spine to your brain and thats where shitty ideas come from.

ripline · Joined: 26 Feb 2012 Posts: 121 Location: Shelton

fishville · Joined: 19 Oct 2008 Posts: 87

My understanding is Zebra Mussels in Ct are going to be mostly isolated to the Housatonic Valley. And even then only to waterbodys with exactly the right chemistry.
Got to love Ct's ecosystem. Seems like alot of nasty invasive s that decimate other states barely cause a ripple here.
Not that we shouldn't do all we can to prevent there spread.