Oblivious to the rest of the world, I continued to vacuum away at my boat’s carpet. Lying on the floor, contorting my body in order to clean beneath the consoles, I spotted a small object I assumed was a sinker. I grabbed it and quickly realized my mistake; it was simply a zebra mussel shell, which I quickly sucked up with my Shop-Vac.
This boat had been dry and in storage for months, so any stow-away like the mussel was long dead. But then it dawned on me: What if it wasn’t?
I was cleaning the boat in order to deliver it to a buyer in Wisconsin. Like most areas throughout the north, Wisconsin long ago acquired zebra mussels in their waters. But what if they hadn’t?
A daily occurrence in my part of the world, and something I’d taken so nonchalantly many times prior, was actually not unlike what many environmentalists consider potential disaster. Zebra mussels, round gobies, exotic plants like hydrilla, Asian carp; we hear of such things and feel far removed, like news about Ebola. But we are far from disconnected. In fact, we might be the cause.
A recent article in B.A.S.S. Times startled me, bringing about this realization. Evidently, hydrilla is spreading throughout Kerr Lake (Buggs Island), and it’s not doing so naturally. In fact, the Army Corps of Engineers believes the spread is due largely to efforts of fishermen and hunters, convinced that further introduction of the plant is good for bass and ducks.
Through much of modern history, bass fishermen have differed with government agencies when it comes to the role that such plants have in maintaining quality bass fisheries, and the management of those plants. As a whole, lakes and reservoirs with high levels of aquatic plants are often very good bass fisheries and duck hunting locations. And, despite government agencies maintaining that reducing aquatic plants does little to harm a fishery, we as bass fishermen know that’s simply not the case. For the most part, grass equals bass.
But in this case, no one is going to win.
Backing up a bit, let me share a little history. I recently read a phenomenal book about Florida’s St. Johns river entitled “River of Lakes,” by Bill Belleville. In it, Belleville discusses the impact of one of the area’s most famous invasives – the floating water hyacinth.
As history goes, the plant was introduced near Edgewater, Fla. by a Mrs. W.F. Fuller. After admiring hyacinths on display at the New Orleans Cotton Exposition in 1884, Mrs. Fuller brought a few home for her garden pond. They soon took over, doubling in size every 12 days. In order to rid her property of the menace, Mrs. Fuller discarded the plants into the river out back.
Within a decade, over 78,000 square miles of the St. John’s was covered in water hyacinth. Their impact today throughout much of the South is staggering. In Florida, entire teams of government agencies attempt to reduce the spread of hyacinths, using environmentally threatening chemicals costing millions of dollars.
All because one lady thought they were pretty.
Exotic species have run rampant across this country; it’s estimated that over $100 billion a year is spent to control the invaders. Now I learn that bass fishermen, possibly those who read this very column, are likely spreading them intentionally.
Are you out of your mind?
Back at Buggs Island, the Army Corps of Engineers, in conjunction with state agencies on both sides of the lake, are now finding themselves in a bind. They know how quickly hydrilla can spread and are fighting even harder to curb such an occurrence, using both chemical treatments and grass carp.
Just about every bass fisherman in America has witnessed the impact of chemical treatment. And, being a realist armed only with proof based on my own observation, I offer the bold statement murmured by bass fishermen all across the country: Chemical herbicide treatments suck, harm the environment in ways far beyond what we’ve measured to this point and result in an overall poorer fishery nearly every time they are instituted. I don’t care what the applicators claim otherwise.
But in certain instances these applications are, in fact, necessary. You see, what we’re dealing with, when talking about hydrilla, hyacinth, Eurasian milfoil or phragmites, are exotic species, native to environments far removed from our soils, and capable of overtaking our waterways.
The other option often used by managers to control many submergent plants is sterile grass carp. This option, often viewed by the public as a safer measure due to it’s “organic” nature, is still far from a winner.
Grass carp are, indeed, very effective at controlling aquatic grasses. They are eating machines, often consuming their body mass in weeds every day at a young age, and reaching over 20 pounds in weight. But with all of that eating comes a very predictable result.
When hundreds of fish eat hundreds of pounds of weeds each day, they produce hundreds of pounds of waste product. Such material acts, in essence, like bags of fertilizer dumped into the lake. Uptake of these nutrients results in the production of increased plant biomass. And, with the carp grazing the lake floor clean like a herd of cattle, such increase is often in the form of algae blooms and reduced water clarity.
Also, don’t forget: grass carp are themselves an exotic species. Heck, the common carp, prolific in nearly every fishery across the country and responsible for the destruction of many native fishes’ spawning sites, was introduced into this country by government agencies looking for a suitable sport fish for stocking.
Boy, that went well, huh? Spare me the lecture of how we now know better.
In any case, the worst thing we can do as sportsman is to interject our own beliefs through the practices mentioned. If we could only go back to a simpler time, before any of these monsters came ashore, and preserve the environment we once had in this country, we would be light years ahead of where we are now.
But we can’t. We can only hold on and stop the bleeding.
Note: The U.S. Army Corps of engineers is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of violators in the Kerr Lake incident. I strongly support this measure and encourage your help.
(Joe Balog is the often outspoken owner of Millennium Promotions, Inc., an agency operating in the fishing and hunting industries. A former Bassmaster Open and EverStart Championship winner, he's best known for his big-water innovations and hardcore fishing style. He's a popular seminar speaker, product designer and author, and is considered one of the most influential smallmouth fishermen of modern times.)
