Grass

[jon the fisherman]

R14 - 1/29/2008 9:02 PM

beetlespin - 1/29/2008 8:36 PM
I don't know who told you that Watts Bar never had much grass in it..

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.

If it wasn't eliminated from the Bar, where is it? I have fished one end to the other, and have not seen one sprig. I am serious, what cove and area of the lake?

I know there is a little left on Melton hill, but it is in areas of very difficult access

 

[fishinvol]

Until this past summer, I had forgotten how much I love the grass!! Now I can't wait for all that nasty,scummy crap to hit the surface so I can bust out my frogs!! This summer I am determined to learn how to flip the grass. The grass definitely helps the fisheries, I can see where people ( swimmers and skiers) can get pissy about it, but I think it helps more than it hurts by a long shot!

 

[polo-dog]

I really don't think that Chickamauga will ever have to worry about the grass being killed off again because of all of the negative press and feedback that TVA has recieved. The other thing that has changed is that as OUT4FUN has said, we no longer have a Representative from the state of Tennessee that owns a home on the shallow flat on the South side of Chickamauga like we did back in the late '80's. Rumor has it that pressure was put on TVA by her and others to kill off the grass that was hard to control on that flat. I don't know if that is true but it sounds right to me. TVA also needed info to find out how to control the grass and we were the sad recipients of that experiment. If TVA or private entities can control the grass to a tolerable level for both boaters and fisherpersons that will be great. I have read some literature in the past that showed that (don't quote me) somewhere between 20-40% weed coverage was optimal for bass reproduction, recruitment, and growth. If the fishery can be managed to that end and all of us that use the water understand what the goals are and what the plan to achieve those goals is we can all get along better I would expect.

 

[Guest]

In other words if there is no grass you don't know how to fish. Don't ever go to a lake without grass, you would be wasting your time, be looking around like a lost ball in high weeds, saying where are the fish? I don't hear much on here about the 5 pounders being caught in the grass, mostly 1 pound slicks that won't measure. Or I hear we caught 50 someodd bass with 2 keepers. What would you do if you went to dale hollow, boat ride?

 

[Fishheadspin]

First of all it was a joke.....

you do not hear about 5 pounders being caught but trust me,,,,,they are being caught.

Go to Guntersville any weekend, if catch a good 15 pound limit you will finish in the top 40. go to chickamauga and catch 15 lbs and you stand a good chance at winning.

Having grass no doubt helps the fishing.

I fish a lot of lakes most of which do not have grass. every one offers up a differnet challenge. I am by no means the grass expert, but there is no doubt that grass helps the fish and the lakes it self.

 

[team-d]

Look at the bass fishing in Guntersville compared to the upper reaches of the TN river where the grass was pretty much eradicated - NO comparison. Had some pretty decent days on the Nick late last year as well and caught my biggest TN bass to date out of a mat of milfoil several miles long. As far as choking out the river and hurting the fish populations, it AIN't going to happen on this system. The majority of the TN river system is too deep to sustain milfoil, hydrilla, coontail, etc - again, look at guntersville - there are miles and miles of grass beds but way more open water and river channel. Late last summer I plowed through creeks with miles of nothing but grass, no open water anywhere except for the "snail trails" left by others who had done the same - there were bluegill popping and bass living under the stuff waiting for miss froggy to come bouncing over their heads.

 

[Fishin Fool]

Fishheadspin - 1/30/2008 3:52 PM

First of all it was a joke.....

you do not hear about 5 pounders being caught but trust me,,,,,they are being caught.

Go to Guntersville any weekend, if catch a good 15 pound limit you will finish in the top 40. go to chickamauga and catch 15 lbs and you stand a good chance at winning.

Having grass no doubt helps the fishing.

I fish a lot of lakes most of which do not have grass. every one offers up a differnet challenge. I am by no means the grass expert, but there is no doubt that grass helps the fish and the lakes it self.

Amen! Every lake has a challenge. What has been a good lake could turn into a great lake if a little grass could grow. A dead lake can turn into a thriving powerhouse if the vegetation is left alone. Like Polo and Team D have said, we'll never have a problem with grass here on the chick because of current and depth. A 30% to 40% coverage is way off, and actually ideal, but I doubt we'll ever reach it again. Just too much traffic and use on the water. Read the link below. I could post them all day!
http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050731/NEWS/507310350/1017

 

[Fuzzy]

Interesting discussions, taking it all in as always. if I could interject about "invasive species" and growing up in Upstate NY. They have a few lakes up there, might of heard of them, the "great lakes". They were polluted so bad you could eat a fish per every ten years or something. Then invasive species came over and we start to try to control them. Those dam zebra mussels and gobys are horrible! Now you can see down to 15 feet from the zebra mussels filtering the water and the gobys are fillet mignon to the fishery. I don't think you can complain from a boat load of 5lb smallmouth. I will concede that there is no doubt that some native species suffer, I know crayfish (Yankee talk for crawdad) have declined and I have not read what effect it has or not have had on salmon. I would say let nature take it's course, but it wasn't natural that those species showed up in the first place..or at least we helped them along with freight traffic. I would like to see some grass on Watts, but do understand that some control maybe necessary. I don't agree with spending my tax dollars (or license fees) because someone can't water ski or swim by their dock. It's not what I pay taxes for. I might agree to it if it affected other things (like everyones powerbill, moving material, etc..). Love these discussions when they are done in a sane manner...

 

[Bahama Rick]

Question? Is it legal to put chemicals into the water to kill aquatic grasses? I have watched a person across the slough go back and forth using a small "lawn grass seeder" spraying chemical pellets into the water so his boats and jet skis have a clear path out to deep water (I haven't told him that the little dust mask he wears while spreading chemicals is useless).

 

[Fishin Fool]

Fuzzy - 1/30/2008 6:55 PM

Interesting discussions, taking it all in as always. if I could interject about "invasive species" and growing up in Upstate NY. They have a few lakes up there, might of heard of them, the "great lakes". They were polluted so bad you could eat a fish per every ten years or something. Then invasive species came over and we start to try to control them. Those dam zebra mussels and gobys are horrible! Now you can see down to 15 feet from the zebra mussels filtering the water and the gobys are fillet mignon to the fishery. I don't think you can complain from a boat load of 5lb smallmouth. I will concede that there is no doubt that some native species suffer, I know crayfish (Yankee talk for crawdad) have declined and I have not read what effect it has or not have had on salmon. I would say let nature take it's course, but it wasn't natural that those species showed up in the first place..or at least we helped them along with freight traffic. I would like to see some grass on Watts, but do understand that some control maybe necessary. I don't agree with spending my tax dollars (or license fees) because someone can't water ski or swim by their dock. It's not what I pay taxes for. I might agree to it if it affected other things (like everyones powerbill, moving material, etc..). Love these discussions when they are done in a sane manner...

Glen you make a great point, one that I tried to point out last year. In 50 to 100 years species that are considered to be non-native may very well be accepted as part of the ecosystem here and in some cases even praised and welcomed. The Hawaiian islands were completely sterile at one point. Gradually birds, animals, and plants made it there and it became the paradise it is today. Pineapples were not a native plant to Hawaii, as sugar cane wasn't, but they are accepted today as part of the lure of the islands. Many, many plants, animals and so on are introduced to this country each year, some are great and add to the diversity and some are bad and we wish they would go away. I can't imagine anyone wanting a Snakehead population or invasive carp. I have seen the same cautions about zebra mussles, but in many areas they are saving the waters from pollution and are loved by the residents. I have a theory about zebra mussels and shellcracker populations, but I'll save it for another thread! Milfoil may not have been a native species but in aging lakes I think it serves the purpose of providing cover for fry, that other wise would have no cover due to natural rot of fallen wood, stumps, ect. I think milfoil is (and was) coming along at just the right time to fill a gap. Had it been left alone 30 years ago I think we would have had a fishery that would have matched any in the nation. I think with the "come back" of the plants on the chick we will see the fishery only get better and better in each succeeding year. Those factors, along with conservation and education, will create a paradise for fishermen here in the next 20 years that we can't imagine right now. That is IF we don't allow the same thing to happen that happened back in the early 80's.


To Bahama Rick's question, I don't think that anyone can spray without getting a permit to do so. I would check with TWRA or TVA, but I am sure that adding something like that to the water would only be legal under permit.

 

[Carl Guffey]

If you see someone putting anything in the water, don't call TWRA or TVA, please call TDEC (Tennessee Department of Enviroment and Conservation) Chattanoga Number 423-634-5745, Nashville Number 615-687-7000 report it immediately with a exact location and time (gps coords. if available.. These people will jump on it in a hurry and they have teeth.

Yes, you can have to much grass on the chick....Fish don't live all over the lake they live and feed in the littoral zone. Basically the first section of bank to the channel, water depth 0 to 30 '. There is a reason that fish are caught in mid lake off humps. If a fishery's littoral zones become to over grown with aquatic plants it will hurt the fishery. Example: Guntersville, fishery was actually on a down turn until a multi-user plan was developed to open up some of the areas. These areas are reopened(boat lanes) on a rotating multi-year sequence. With open water available the G will only get better....

 

[Bahama Rick]

Thanks for the phone #s I will keep them handy.

Bahama Rick

 

[sprestwood]

Another consideration for environmental conservation is to educate those, who mostly do not have fishing licenses about the dangers of putting non-indigenous species in an ecosystem. In simplicity if any lifeform that is not in an ego system should not be put there and his removal should be considered if feasible. Ecosystems have their natural balancing that sometimes has fluctuations there also natural. But nonetheless the original system always seems to work better rather than anything that is modified. There heavy fines for stocking non-indigenous this species not enough people know about those signs or even why we're there.

 

[jon the fisherman]

sprestwood - 2/3/2008 5:38 PM

Another consideration for environmental conservation is to educate those, who mostly do not have fishing licenses about the dangers of putting non-indigenous species in an ecosystem. In simplicity if any lifeform that is not in an ego system should not be put there and his removal should be considered if feasible. Ecosystems have their natural balancing that sometimes has fluctuations there also natural. But nonetheless the original system always seems to work better rather than anything that is modified. There heavy fines for stocking non-indigenous this species not enough people know about those signs or even why we're there.

I wonder if they consider the chemicals used to kill the grass as "non-indigenous"?

 

[Guest]

Doc1 you need to come to few weigh-ins if you think Nickajack wont produce keeper fish because of grass. Thats ridiculous! The last 2 years in a row, the CBA Classic has been won in the grass. Yes Chickamauga is producing some nice strings also, but its because a lot of folks have spent the last 20 years putting out brushtops, and learning how to fish 20 feet deep. Grass is good with some proper management. Chemicals is not the answer, though. As far as the boaters and jet-skiers go, if there is grass present, it is an indicator, that the water is relatively shallow, and they shouldnt be there anyway, with a few exceptions.</p>

Good grief</p>

 

[xroadsbasser]

Now Wormhook, you can't tell me that you aren't tired of having to pull that nasty grass off your crankbaits and jigs every time you cast. I am beginning to get tired of it.....and the other day, I actually had some of that slimy stuff clinging to the runners of my trailer when I pulled the rig up the ramp....GROSS.....and my left hand.....it has bothered me ever since the fall due to several evenings when I "wore their @$$es out" on a frog and strained the middle fingers on my hand I hold the reel with...guess I am gonna have to go see my doctor about it....so there's a medical bill I am gonna have to pay because of this dang ole grass!!

 

[Fishin Fool]

xroadsbasser - 2/4/2008 8:37 AM

Now Wormhook, you can't tell me that you aren't tired of having to pull that nasty grass off your crankbaits and jigs every time you cast. I am beginning to get tired of it.....and the other day, I actually had some of that slimy stuff clinging to the runners of my trailer when I pulled the rig up the ramp....GROSS.....and my left hand.....it has bothered me ever since the fall due to several evenings when I "wore their @$$es out" on a frog and strained the middle fingers on my hand I hold the reel with...guess I am gonna have to go see my doctor about it....so there's a medical bill I am gonna have to pay because of this dang ole grass!!

I totally agree. Throwing a top water lure into those pockets between the weeds on a cloudy, warm spring or summer evening and twitching it is a recipe for getting your arm torn off. I had blisters on my hand from the unwarranted attacks by those nasty fish last summer, fishing top water in the weeds.....not to mention how much my heart rate climbes when they blow weeds and water all over the front of the boat! It's gotta stop!

 

[xroadsbasser]

Dang Fishin Fool, I wasn't even thinkin about the heart attack and stroke risk involved after the heart rate elevation due to my frog being massacred from a slimy 5 pounder. After further evaluation, I believe total eradication of aquatic vegetation is the only answer. I can't believe people are allowed to put themselves into harms way fishing that ole slimy stuff. From now on its grubs and silver buddies for me!!

 

[Fishin Fool]

xroadsbasser - 2/4/2008 11:23 AM

Dang Fishin Fool, I wasn't even thinkin about the heart attack and stroke risk involved after the heart rate elevation due to my frog being massacred from a slimy 5 pounder. After further evaluation, I believe total eradication of aquatic vegetation is the only answer. I can't believe people are allowed to put themselves into harms way fishing that ole slimy stuff. From now on its grubs and silver buddies for me!!

See. It just takes a little research and reading to make a convert! Welcome to the NO GRASS club!

 

[Guest]

When are you gonna elect officers of the "No Grass Club"? I think Mr. Thorton wants to run for president, he has a lot more at stake than anyone, he can't sell million dollar lots when the buying clientell can't get to the waterfront lots or if they do a fly over and see miles of grass. He probably won't use chemicals, he may just dig it up.