Lucky Dog
Well-known member
Aman!!!!!!
Nickajack's water level is up and down all year, yet they are full of grass
Grass
- Thread starter bent rod
- Start date
Help Support Chattanooga Fishing Forum:
Aman!!!!!!
Nickajack's water level is up and down all year, yet they are full of grass
G
Guest
Guest
I fished Chick from '73-'00. Yes TVA sprayed and pelleted, but they never complete eliminated milfoil. It was still around in the late 80's, still around in the 90's, and was still around when I left the area in '00. I saw it with my own eyes. PS, I still make it back to fish the Chick about 10 times per year (along with another 10 trips to WattsBar).
The fishing was good in the early 80's due to the water levels (holding back of water vs constant spill and lots of fluctuations). Better water level management by TVA is what has brought the fishing back and has nothing to do with milfoil making a return.
http://afs.allenpress.com/perlserv/....1577/1548-8675(1998)018<0998:VILBRI>2.0.CO;2
Variation in Largemouth Bass Recruitment in Four Mainstream Impoundments of the Tennessee River, Michael J. Maceina and Phillip W. Bettoli.
"Thus, weak year-classes were produced during wet early-summer conditions after largemouth bass hatched, whereas stronger year-classes were produced during dryer early-summer conditions. [bold]Late-summer aquatic plant abundance[/bold] and water level fluctuations during April–May while spawning was occurring were [bold]NOT[/bold] related to largemouth bass recruitment in these four reservoirs."
If TVA applied enough SONAR to kill all the milfoil, the water would be toxic from all the fluoride. Fish populations would have crashed due to the high levels of fluoride. SONAR is nasty stuff, I know, I have sprayed it, along with most other aquatic plant killers. The permits are strict. If TVA did do a complete kill, they would have to bought enough tons of that stuff that company that makes SONAR would have been on top of the fortune 500.
For those that are wishing for massive amounts of milfoil, if you get your wish then don't complain about only being able to catch small bass. Cause that is what will happen, nothing but stunted bass will occur.
20-40% coverage with natural grasses is all the green that you need for maxing out the habitat. More than that leads to stunting, less leads to unfulfilled habitat.
If you don't believe me, ask Mike Jolley. He fully understands this, as we have talked numerous times on this very subject.
G
Guest
Guest
I live in that region now, and they are trying to remove milfoil and restore the native grasses, as the milfoil being an exotic, takes over and doesn't have as much habitat value. Native grasses support much more diversity of life and also a denser population.
The snakeheads seem to enjoy the milfoil though.
I Even Remember a Large Protest by The Fisherman I rode with my dad and we all circled all the TVA buildings with banners on all of the fishermen's boats I am sure that plenty of you who have been fishing for years in the area will remeber that and yes they did spray and sonar all the vegatation
DoubleB
Well-known member
Is it possible that it could have been a combination of the 2? Spraying and water levels?
Hell, let's just fish.
Hell, let's just fish.
TR20bh
Well-known member
Fishin Fool
Well-known member
I'm not going to get started as I have before on this subject. I fished the chick from the late 1960's to present day. Prior to the destruction of the weeds it was NOTHING to have a 100 bass day. Many, many of them keepers. I even had a farvorite way to fish the weeds and can still recall seeing the big wakes close in on the lure from the weedlines. I personally saw airboats and helicopters dropping pellets in and around my favorite fishing holes. A year later the water was completely sterile. No plants, no fish (that I could see), very little shore growth. I was told by a TVA engineer that TVA had used a product called SONAR, along with short term spraying to eliminate plants. I can only tell you that that was the year I hung my rod up for many, many years and didn't fish the chick because it wasn't the same lake. I can see growth coming back in areas that I used to fish 30 years ago. In no way was this a "natural" event any more than anything else the government "tells" us about. For those of you that haven't noticed there seems to be a creed in government circles; "screw it up and then claim you never did it to begin with". I don't want to write a book here but I could. Enough said. They destroyed a fishery back then, we just have to make sure they don't do it again.
G
Guest
Guest
Please find me the evidence that SONAR affects bottom substrates for any amount of time longer than 5 years. I would love to read it, however I don't think it exist. The reason SONAR is not commonly applied is the toxicity from the fluoride gets into the drinking water supply. Again please share that research with me, I would love to read it.
Watts Bar has milfoil in it, not much as it never had much, but there is some in there (well at least a month ago when I last fished there). I don't know about Tellico, never really fished there.
Water levels manipulations is not a natural factor, as man controls how much or how little water flows through the reservoir. Water passes through Watts Bar relatively quick, and has fluctuations in water level, both of which make it harder for aquatic plants to make the massive beds.
beetlespin
Well-known member
I don't know who told you that Watts Bar never had much grass in it. I grew up in Spring city and I spent a ton of time on the lower end fishing and skiing from the mid 70's to late 80's and during the 80's it was full of milfoil.
Water level fluctuations on watts bar, chickamauga, nickajack, and guntersville aren't significant enough to stop weed growth. They sprayed the shizzat out of the milfoil. I remember it well. I am not personally a grass fan so I don't care either way.
Water level fluctuations on watts bar, chickamauga, nickajack, and guntersville aren't significant enough to stop weed growth. They sprayed the shizzat out of the milfoil. I remember it well. I am not personally a grass fan so I don't care either way.
G
Guest
Guest
If you referring to me, "Not much", as in not as much as compared to Chick, G, or Ft.L. It still had areas of heavy growth. th20bh is the one that said it was eliminated from WB, which you and I know to not be true.
WOBBLE HEAD
Well-known member
Well I don't know what the studies will show about SONAR. But...I was fishing back then when we had grass....I saw spraying going on..... I had it dumped on me from the air. And the grass and fish were gone as soon as it happened....It's took over 20 years to come back.....
This seem to be the oppion of many on here who are old enough to have been fishing back in the 80"s......Theres no dout how the grass and fish were killed if you fished in the 80"s.......
This seem to be the oppion of many on here who are old enough to have been fishing back in the 80"s......Theres no dout how the grass and fish were killed if you fished in the 80"s.......
TR20bh
Well-known member
The milfoil that is in the Tennessee River system started in the Spring City boat dock slough many years ago and was "planted" from an aquarium brought in from Florida. At one time, the milfoil was so thick in SCBD slough that you could almost walk across it. It made swimming in it dangerous. When it got to be pretty thick, it was transplanted to other parts of the lake and from there it eventually spread throughout the system. The man that brought it in from Florida is dead now and I'm not calling any names.
G
Guest
Guest
What the Drum King says is true, and as you know water goes downhill and now everything from spring city on down has a millions of acres of it, if it isn't controlled it will eventually take over everything, it is just like the kudzu in the south, can't get rid of it, it won't be long untill the only way to go down river is in the barge lanes, you will have millions and millions of lake and river surface area that you cannot fish. The nick is about half way clogged with it and look at guntersville, there are some small trails thru the stuff that you might fish but look to each side of these trails and see thousands of lake surfae area that you cannot fish. I hope TVA or someone will kill it all out so that future generations will have some water to fish in.</p>
G
Guest
Guest
Doesn't really matter as someone else would have transfered it.
Fishheadspin
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2005
- Messages
- 943
i am with Doc1, i have been fishing guntersville a lot lately and i am sick and tired of catching all those 5 pounders out of that stupid grass. they run down in the stuff and then it feels like they are 10 pounders. Reeling them in sucks
and all that grass does is give the bass places to hide and all the baitfish seem to reporduce much better in that stuff too! so the bass are getting way too big and too strong to reel in!
we need every lake to be barren so that the fish have nothing to eat or no where to hide. that way they will be starving to death, never get bigger than 12 inches long and weigh less than a pound. Just like Chickamauga was during the middle and late 90's.
then we would never have to worry about our kids having their poor little hearts broken by an eight or nine pounder when it jumped and threw the lure back at them. All because of that stupid grass!!!
If you believe that you will can believe that the grass is going to choke out the TN river too.
Sorry i had to do it!!!
and all that grass does is give the bass places to hide and all the baitfish seem to reporduce much better in that stuff too! so the bass are getting way too big and too strong to reel in!
we need every lake to be barren so that the fish have nothing to eat or no where to hide. that way they will be starving to death, never get bigger than 12 inches long and weigh less than a pound. Just like Chickamauga was during the middle and late 90's.
then we would never have to worry about our kids having their poor little hearts broken by an eight or nine pounder when it jumped and threw the lure back at them. All because of that stupid grass!!!
If you believe that you will can believe that the grass is going to choke out the TN river too.
Sorry i had to do it!!!
2jigs
Well-known member
beetlespin
Well-known member
Even I am starting to like the grass. I had a blast rat fishing Nickajack last fall and had a good time down on Guntersville three weeks ago. I had grown to like it on Watts Bar in the 80's and just as I learned to fish it they killed it all. I believe it is good for the fishery. Its not much fun for swimmers and jet skiers though. I hope I get to go down the the G this saturday.
