Whats the deal with alot of the small lakes outlawing public boats? Been hearing a little local lake that is about to open here ( Blind Pony) will no longer allow anyone to bring there boat because of the zebra muscle problems. Also was told a lot of other lakes are discussing it. I have never seen a zebra mussel, I understand they stick on the sides and bottom of boats or in inlets on them. My question is how long will they stay alive without water? I understand the problems they cause but wouldn't a person think maybe birds spread them just as much? Just my opinion......
Outlawed on Lake Paho in Princeton due to the fact that they have catfish rearing ponds and they don't want the inlet tubes clogged.
They say 3-5 days generally: http://www.mdc.mo.gov/nathis/exotic/zebra/ It's not just the ones on the hull, though, their larva get transported in bilge or livewell water, where they might stay alive a lot longer. I think we are about to see a whole lot of new regulations in Missouri and Kansas to slow zebra mussel spread. I don't know if birds can spread them, but there was a recent study that showed that the strict boat regulations had significantly slowed their spread compared to their neighboring states, and a lot of states are looking to follow their example.
You know what I said there didn't make much sense.. What I meant to type was: "I don't know if birds can spread them, but there was a recent study that showed that the strict boat regulations in Minnesota had significantly slowed their spread there compared to their neighboring states, and a lot of states are looking to follow their example." The proposed Kansas regulation mean that I would have to dump my bait every time I leave the river, making my shad tank almost useless.
The steps taken as advised by the MDC are simple with just a little extra time to do. I'm on the river a lot and due go over to Mark Twain Lake on occasion and don't mind the little extra work involved. Have seen in the upper pools after the water has dropped a bit the zebra mussels everywhere claiming new ground and now being sun dried :smile2:... They're very prolific and I see our MDC as being pro active and trying they're best with these non native invaders at educating the boaters, to take the extra little time needed to prevent their spread.
I know the zebra mussels cause problems with equipment; I've even had trotlines get covered with them, but when you can find a zebra mussel bed, fish it hard; it's a favorite place for blues.
From what I am seeing here, they are not going to let people bring there privates boats to some of these lakes no more. Instead you will have to rent boats if you want to go out on the water. I do believe in them trying to teach people on how to keep from spreading them around.
Maybe we should just kill the Zebra Mussels off with Bio Bullets? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/4673638.stm "Dr David Aldridge and his Cambridge University zoologists have devised a 'Bio Bullet' technique to get a toxic compound past zebra mussel defences."
The bottom line is you may be responsible and no one is saying you are not. But there are other people that would not take the proper care to clean there boat in order to go to a non infected body of water. Now do you see where they are coming from. If they say you have to rent a boat well then rent the boat or fish from the bank. It's not no big deal. Sure yes birds may spread them just as easy and I'm sure they do. But I bet a non educated person with water in boat/motor spreads them a heck of a lot faster then birds.
Yeah, they need to study that pretty carefully before they start dumping it in the water, but at least they are working on it.
Yeah, at the rate the Asians are spreading and taking over local waters, we won't have to worry about the zebra mussels
they are thick in our navigation system here in oklahoma. i have pulled up a chunk of wood that my rod had got hung up on an there were hundreds on it. it seems like i first notice them six or seven years ago. they were and still are being brought up on these barges traveling the nav. system.
