Thread: Asian Carp in Lake Martin

There are creatures in Lake Martin that were put there some years ago by DW&F (?) to control some noxious alien submergent vegetation. The fish are supposed to be sterile (Non-reproductive). Still, they grow to be well over three feet long, and they apparently eat more than plants and algae - the reason that got them there in the first place.
I hooked one on a fly rod popper two years ago - 20 pounds or so - and the popper had absolutely no semblance to a clump of weeds! And they thrive in shallow water - which is now where the bass and sacs are trying to spawn.
Biologists say they are harmless to gamefish - ever tried to make a baby with a giant "something" in the bedroom with you? I doubt the sacs, bass, redears, etc, don't do too well either with one of them around.
Aliens should be eliminated, not "controlled" by the introduction of another alien. Poison the grasses - kill the lake temporarily if need be, but don't introduce something new to get rid of something that has been introduced earlier. Remember nutrias and water hyacinths?
My opinion only.
Pete

The ones they put in Lake Martin are sterile grass carp. Same family but different species. They feed primarily on aquatic vegetation. They are proven very effective with little to no negative effects. These Asian Carp are an invasive species that catfish farmers introduced into their ponds in the seventies to help control algae. During the floods of the nineties they escaped into larger river systems including the mississippi and the red. These unlike the grass carp are not sterile and reproduce rampantly and have large appetites. They eat alot of algae that baitfish depend on and it trickles down to effect the larger population including sacalait, bass, etc. Obviously the grass carp did not hurt Lake Martin's fish population because they had a small city of boats around that famous duck blind for a month and a half. Anyways works not fun and fishing is! Everyone have a great day.:D

They make great bow fishing targets. We used to mop them up in Caney Lake. Once upon a time a trophy bass lake that the grass choked and carp ate bare. I hear that it's bouncing back now. I did my part fo sho.

Well. "grass" carp may be sterile, and they may eat grass MOST of the time, but they get huge. And they like the shallows - where our fish of interest are and have recently been trying to reproduce without interruption from some leviathan. Or several of them!
So they eat grass - and fly-rod poppers. The chinquapin population - judging from reports from the lake's regulars - has dwindled in recent years. And unlike the bass and sac-a-lait stocks, that doesn't appear to be because of overfishing.
Bring your bow, Tiger - and LOTS of arrows!
Pete