Aquatic Herbicide spraying at Harrison Bay

[the maddog]

Took the 5th wheel camper Monday to HBSP and got situated on a campsite facing the main channel side of the lake. Went back with firewood and other supplies on Tuesday evening and found they had stapled notices to trees all along the slough about a notification of chemical treatment to the vegetation in the water, I drove around to all other public access areas connected to HBSP and found the same notices placed frequently everywhere that I could see. Just thought all you bassin guys and gals would want to know as I have seen the subject of weed growth spraying a not so popular issue here on the Forum. This week was spent entertaining Grandmommy and family at the campsite, great food on the grill and firepit, beautiful sunsets and back to nature relaxation....next week is Maddog's FishCamp week as I plan to go in search of crappie that should be starting inshore from the deep water...hoping that the cool nights after all this rain will turn 'em on!!!emoFish

 

[bigfish21]

You can add Dayton Boat Dock to that list also. Pulled in there Saturday evening and found the same notices with the same date stapled to trees.

 

[Jmax]

Guys they do this every year and yet look at it. emoScratch I can't really tell it is doing anything. If they have to spray each and every year and that is all the results they get then I really do not see we have a problem other then the water being polluted with the spray. emoRolleyes Jmax

 

[Buoy-Master]

Careful Jim...that just might push the button he's looking for. A massive kill!

 

[the maddog]

Yea, I agree that is only an attempt to keep a check on the vegetation growth not to become overwhelming, I was'nt trying to alarm anyone but I did notice that it affected wildlife habitation somewhat. I had made friends with a snow white heron that would come really close after calling to it, there was another large goony bird that fed constantly in the shallow grass and an osprey nested across the slough that would dive and catch small bass with ease, the critters all seemed to disappear by Thursday. My sister and her husband did alot of kayaking in the area and said that all the minnows and small bass seemed to have vacated the vegetation also, guess thats why my birdy buddies left but it did get crowded with people camping by Friday night with alot of kids throwing rocks and sticks in the water. The way the notice reads, everything should be diluted to more normal levels in 7 days and maybe the minnows will come back.

 

[the maddog]

I've got to give TVA credit on their timing of dropping the lake water level about a foot to crest the vegetation to the top to expose it for the spraying effort. with 2-3 inches of rainfall coming in the next 48 hours, all will be good for fishing the area again soon. I'm gonna be at HBSP for another couple of weeks, but may move the camper to the other side of the road on the dockside next week...Jmax if you get out walking come by and say Hey, you'll probably hear me 'Hootin' about darkthirty each evening...looking foward to meeting the Arkansas Irishman!

 

[churly]

If you knew what the chemicals side affects are and how much got dumped in our lake last week, you probably wouldnt be so chipper about it. He nuked the crap out of Harrison Bay, CFP, Dayton, and especially soddy creek near the water intake for that city's drinking water....

Google "dangers of reward, komeen, endothol, diquat"

 

[kingcab]

Agree with Churly,tva does not care what goes into our waterways as long as the rich are happy.Sad we have to live under these conditions.

 

[BRamsey]

I hate to sound negative but i'll bet it's just a matter of time before they kill it all again. I really hope it doesn't happen though.

 

[churly]

Yep. And even sader that only a few of us are fighting, while the rest seem oblivious. Call your local reps. I have and will continue to do so.

 

[488.5]

kingcab - 9/17/2012 7:01 PM

Agree with Churly,tva does not care what goes into our waterways as long as the rich are happy.Sad we have to live under these conditions.

Hmmmm .... I didn't know that "The Rich" had anything to do with it? Sounds to me like you're jealous of some other people's success and are just using this as an excuse to vent your own personal financial frustrations .......

 

[Buoy-Master]

488.5 - 9/19/2012 6:13 AM

kingcab - 9/17/2012 7:01 PM Agree with Churly,tva does not care what goes into our waterways as long as the rich are happy.Sad we have to live under these conditions.

Hmmmm .... I didn't know that "The Rich" had anything to do with it? Sounds to me like you're jealous of some other people's success and are just using this as an excuse to vent your own personal financial frustrations .......

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Are you serious?!?! What a remark. Have you even read the concerns placed in this thread and many others? But since you mentioned it....$ talks and you know the rest.</p>

 

[team-d]

TVA didn't drop the water to help with the weed spraying, they have an operating guide to follow and do their best to stay sighing that guide dependent on many variables, the biggest of those being mother nature. Every year at the first of September Chickamauga is slowly dropped to provide "cushion" for the normally heavier precipitation of the fall and winter seasons. Now that mother nature has dumped a bunch of rain on us you can see the level has spiked up, so now they will move as much water through the system as possible in the most efficient way possible (i.e., generating power and trying to not spill) in an attempt to get it back down into the operating guide curve. It's a complicated system that works very well for all users of the river, not just us bass anglers. If you look at the operating guides from last year you can see how well the system worked during the heavy rain events in March, April, and late November. Had the lake not been drawn down there would have been major flooding and we could have all cruised through downtown Chattanooga in our boats.

That said, I hate that there is weed spraying going on in our lake. I love fishing the grass and love what it does for the ecosystem. I don't want to be drinking and bathing in water that purposely has chemicals dumped into it. Unfortunately they are doing this "legally".

I also want to thank Churly and everyone who have put in so much time and effort toward making sure those who are spraying are following the rules, whether we like them or not.

And now I step down from my soapbox... I'm team diarrhea, and I approve this message...

 

[MagicMan72]

488.5 - 9/19/2012 6:13 AM

Hmmmm .... I didn't know that "The Rich" had anything to do with it? Sounds to me like you're jealous of some other people's success and are just using this as an excuse to vent your own personal financial frustrations .......

WOW what a response, if you think the people at TVA making decisions are rich you are naive. And if you think that the rich at TVA, and lawmakers and the spraying company give a shit about this lake, our fish, your kid, my kids, me, you or anyone else but their own pockets I dont know where you've been. I dont know where a remark like that comes from in a thread like this but obviously you dont care either. And you have no idea what they are putting in the water any more than I do.

 

[churly]

488.5 - 9/19/2012 9:13 AM

kingcab - 9/17/2012 7:01 PM

Agree with Churly,tva does not care what goes into our waterways as long as the rich are happy.Sad we have to live under these conditions.

Hmmmm .... I didn't know that "The Rich" had anything to do with it? Sounds to me like you're jealous of some other people's success and are just using this as an excuse to vent your own personal financial frustrations .......

if the lakeside homeowners didnt complain about the grass being unsightly, there would be no spraying going on.

 

[MagicMan72]

If I was a lakeside homeowner I would want something done around my dock also, but I would try to find a better way.

 

[Fishin Fool]

The fact is, rich people are the ones driving the effort. If you think fighting an issue because it was started by a certain economic group is being "jealous" then apparently you haven't bothered to read the numerous posts made over the years on this subject. Most middle class people don't own big homes on the lake. They are concerned with working, paying bills, and an occasional trip to the water to fish, and even now that is being threatened by well heeled folks. What is the old saying; the guilty dog barks first? If you have something useful to say about this issue, fine, but to suggest that " you're jealous of some other people's success and are just using this as an excuse to vent your own personal financial frustrations" is stupid.
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488.5 - 9/19/2012 7:13 AM

kingcab - 9/17/2012 7:01 PM Agree with Churly,tva does not care what goes into our waterways as long as the rich are happy.Sad we have to live under these conditions.

Hmmmm .... I didn't know that "The Rich" had anything to do with it? Sounds to me like you're jealous of some other people's success and are just using this as an excuse to vent your own personal financial frustrations .......

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[finbully]

TVA is not paying for the spraying, nor are they applying the poisons to our waterways. Landowners, marina operators and local governments are doing this.

 

[MagicMan72]

Does TVA not have to OK it also?

 

[blueheron]

** Political rant removed by admin**