Thread: Zebra Mussels

At one time they got so bad in the Mississippi they covered nearly everything.When the water would be up for a while then drop it was amazing how much stuff was covered with them. I thought they were going to destroy the river before the Asian carp ever came along. But lo and behold I started noticing them in some catfish bellies and it seems like they have tapered off some now.So I guess the catfish decided to eat some of them,then again the catfish have always ate mussels and these things drove out some native species.

Really best to not transfer anything from place to place....lot of different parasites and stuff that do not need a ride.

Fishing all up and down the Arkansas River in bass tourneys about 10-15 years ago they where so bad you had to throw a crankbait with a long steel leader or just bumping them with 20lb test would break you off. Then we got a year that we had no flow during a very hot summer and the water warmed into the mid 90's and it killed them off. Those things are bad news!! They have completely changed the fishing on the Great Lakes.

Originally Posted by Old Sarge

Fishing all up and down the Arkansas River in bass tourneys about 10-15 years ago they where so bad you had to throw a crankbait with a long steel leader or just bumping them with 20lb test would break you off. Then we got a year that we had no flow during a very hot summer and the water warmed into the mid 90's and it killed them off. Those things are bad news!! They have completely changed the fishing on the Great Lakes.

I did not know what happened, just did not see as many on the Arkansas River . In the late 1990's we saw a Blue Catfish boom on the river below Dardanelle . They were full of Zebra Mussels when landed , looked and felt like they had a bellly full of rocks . Then we stopped catching loads of Catfish and stopped seeing Zebra Mussels . Rumors had it the Mussels had been poisioned and along with them the fish. Asked a biologist why the big decline in Catfish and he said he did not know . Told me several had asked the same question and will need to do testing to find out . Warmer waters makes sense if Zebra Mussels are temperature sensitive .

The danged carp ate the zebra mussels food source. When the mussels declined and so did the catfish's food source of mussels.

Just a 100% guess.

Originally Posted by BigRiverMarine

The danged carp ate the zebra mussels food source. When the mussels declined and so did the catfish's food source of mussels.

Just a 100% guess.

Dang, Bill. You are a regular Sherlock Holmes!! Now we gotta figure out how to eradicate those carp.

I think the carp will eventually eat themselves out of food.

Just another 100% guess. Lol