BlueBack Curiosity

[sprestwood]

I'm wondering if any of you folks who are using bait catching methods (castnets, dipnets,whatever) have caught blueback herring in the Chickamauga Resivior and verified it according to TWRA's
River Herring Key?</p>

thanks anyway</p>

</p>

 

[fishinvol]

I don't know of blueback's living in the Tennessee river. Closest thing would be a skipjack I suppose.

 

[SpurHunter]

Have not heard of it, and hope we dont! They are a terrible species to have invade a fishery. I believe they are in Parskville right now, hope they stay there.

 

[Guest]

They are in Hiawassee Reservoir (in NC), not sure if they are in Appalachia or not. But both of which feed the Hiwassee River into Chickamauga.

 

[EricM]

I've not seen any that I know of, but when I was with my TWRA fish biologist friends they explained that it is very difficult to tell them from others unless you look at the stomach - if I remember correctly the peritoneum is black.

 

[craazyboutbass]

Are blueback really a bad species... what do they do that hurts a fishery?

 

[tndoe270]

Yeah what do bluebacks do? I know they are plentiful in Lanier and their fishery is great for spots and rockets.

 

[Strato-G]

Gates were open @ Parksville this month, hatch was good, I'm sure they are down the Hiwassee by now.......

 

[TAzGa]

craazyboutbass - 5/27/2009 7:33 PM

Are blueback really a bad species... what do they do that hurts a fishery?

From the TWRA website:


http://www.tnfish.org/InvasivesExoticSpeciesTennessee_TWRA/BluebackHerring_TWRA.htm



Blueback herring are members of the herring/shad (Clupeidae) family and are very similar in appearance to alewife. The lower jaw of both species extends past the upper and they are more elongated and streamlined than are gizzard or threadfin shad. Both species also lack the dorsal fin thread common to gizzards and threadfins. Although a blueback's eye is smaller on >6" specimens, the only sure way to tell the difference between them and alewife is to dissect the body cavity. The lining of the visceral cavity of a blueback will be dark while an alewife's is pale.

TVA collected the first East Tennessee specimens of blueback herring from Melton Hill Reservoir in the fall of 1998. The TWRA collected one specimen from the Cove Creek Embayment of Norris Reservoir in 2007. We hope to limit the spread of this exotic/invasive species since they will upset the balance of fish communities.

Bluebacks have been suspected of causing problems with the largemouth bass fisheries in Lake Burton and Nottely Reservoir in Georgia and with the walleye fishery in Hiwassee Reservoir of North Carolina. The method of introduction into these systems is thought to have been via anglers using live bait.

As stated in the fishing regulations, "It is unlawful to possess or transport the following animals; blueback herring...."



And this is from a PDF on that website.... scary emoEek

Associated with the rapid expansion of blueback herring in Lake Burton was a
concomitant decline in largemouth bass abundance. Changes in largemouth bass
population dynamics included a 50% decline in electrofishing catch rates, a 60%
decline in young-of-year density, and a 60% decline in angler success despite relatively
consistent fishing pressure over time. Food habits analysis of adult blueback herring
and one-month old largemouth bass from Lake Burton indicated strong dietary overlap
between both species and significant predation by blueback herring on hatchling bass.
In an attempt to reduce the herring population, a bioenergetics approach was used to
calculate predatory stocking rates. Brown trout and walleye were subsequently
stocked into selected reservoirs at densities ranging from 20 to 35 fish/acre. To
mitigate the effects of predation on hatchling bass, bass spawning habitat in selected
cove sites around Lake Burton was enhanced to provide more suitable substrate for
nesting and sheltered areas for young bass.

 

[Ronnie Garrison]

Bluebacks cause a lot of problems in most lakes - they eat the food bass fry need to grow in their first few months of life as well as eating the fry. THe Georgia DNR is having to stock largemouth in one north GA lake because the bluebacks illegally introduced by fishermen have decimated the largemouth population. And they compete for food with other baitfish that bass can use for food better then bluebacks. They get big, too, too big for most bass to eat.

Lanier is a special situation and the bluebacks have probably helped the spot population, but how long has it been since you heard about the good largemouth catches the lake used to be famous for? Unfortunately, some fishermen think they will make other lakes like Lanier and introduce them - and they cause many problems.

Bluebacks are in Clarks Hill and the bass went wild about 10 or 12 years ago, with record stringers being brough in. But that is pretty much over now, and you seldom see them any more. Many bass there are now skinny - just cant seem to get enough to eat, even with all the bluebacks.

On another Clarks Hill note, I saw my first spot caught from that lake a couple of weeks ago. That is not going to be good for that lake, either.

 

[Shankopotamus]

I'd like to know the true story myself. I thought the DNR introduced bluebacks into Lanier to sustain the striper population? I hear many complain about spots hurting the LMB population, and now the bluebacks doing the same? But, spots eat bluebacks, and LM won't? </p>

That just doesn't add up for me.emoScratch </p>

 

[sprestwood]

Thank all for the comments. I worried because I prefer living live bait, and the possesion and transport of live bluebacks is illegal. I caught an alewife and eventually determined it was not a blueback through the snout length/eye socket rule. They are just a few locks away and could easily travel.