TOPIC: Invasive plants and animals

I've had a number of concerns about some of the critters coming our way. Recently I had a funny conversation with a fisherman friend about Asian Carp. I never wet a line to catch fish, so he was amazed we would have such equal passion about keeping Asian Carp away. My comment of "I don't want those stupid fish jumping at my classic boat, breaking off the stern light, flag pole or windshield." made him laugh.

Have any of you had to deal with Zebra Muscles? They are getting ever closer to my part of the world here in Minnesota. I heard a report about a month ago that an area previously infested, had gone dormant of muscles. The theory was that some natural predator existed in our waters that was eating them. Anyone else heard anything about that?

I have not seen much on Eurasian water milfoil lately.

Please share what problems you have dealt with or plan to work out with invasive species in relation to your classic boats.

They are taking this issue very seriously here in Idaho. All boats are inspected upon entering the state and they do spot checks at the boat launches. Last year they found over a dozen boats carrying either Milfoil or the Zebra Mussle and took care of them before entering our waters.
I keep my boat and trailer clean and if I launch at another lake I will wash the boat and trailer before taking it to another lake. Just as a precaution but I figure it can't hurt.

Come to Lake Minnetonka to see plenty of Eurasian milfoil. It blankets the water surfaces. Zebra muscels have now been found in most bays of the lake. Evidence of the flying carp have been found on the St. Croix River.

Andreas

Zebra Mussels have been a concern in CT for quite a while. The official DEEP recommendation is to power wash the boat with hot water after you haul out and before you drive away from the ramp. I asked them how we are supposed to do this considering that there is no hot water available at any of the public launching ramps. I have yet to receive a reply.

thompsonboat wrote:

Come to Lake Minnetonka to see plenty of Eurasian milfoil. It blankets the water surfaces. Zebra muscels have now been found in most bays of the lake. Evidence of the flying carp have been found on the St. Croix River.

Andreas

On the plus side, don't muscles clean up milfoil?

The asian carp are starting to show up in the great lakes of Iowa. Zebra mussells are starting to show up in different lakes also. Last yr I watched people pulling there boats out of the lake and out of about 50 on one sunday afternoon only 2 washed there boats down at the ramp, even though there was a free washdown station.When people were asked why they don't wash there boats down most of them said they didn't care or never heard of the problem. It just goes to show you how many really thoughless people are out there.The lake where I do most of my boating does not have a washdown area so I make sure to clean the boat when I get home. The mussels can really wreak havic with your water pickup on a motor. I found that out the hard way when I lived in Toronto yrs back and did most of my boating on Lake Ontario.It don't take long to cause alot of damage. Skip.

Skip,
Am I wrong in assuming that muscles are not really a problem if your boat does not sit in the water for several days?

They can't possibly be a problem for a boat that is moving, can they?

Todd

The zebra muscles can live on the hull of the boat for a couple of weeks out of the water.
At our lake it just tells you to drain the boat and wipe it down as there is no washdown station.
When I went to Clear Lake Ca. they have a very active zebra muscle program you have to get your boat inspected before you can launch and pay a $10 fee for inspection. This is good for a month if you do not live in Lake county. When I pulled out of the lakes the rangers made sure that you washed and wiped your boat down after you trailered the boat.

Think of a zebra mussel like a mosquito. As long as you are moving they can't catch you. Stop for about 10 seconds and you get bit. They can attach themselfs to your boat in about 30 sseconds.Saw a demonstation a couple of yrs ago in canada. Clean hull put in a tank with about 20 mussels. Didn't take long for them to attch themselfs to this hull and motor.It has been suggested that you wash down your hull with a mild bleach/water mixture, just on the lower hull. Always check your water intake for them. They will plug them up fast. Skip.

I wonder how long it takes for them to crust over a boat lift until it won't work.

I have seen boat lifts covered in them. If you raise it up about once a week and keep the upper part hosed off you shouldn't have any problems.

to ALL,

don't get "too tied around the axel" about SOME of the hysteria from the mass-media. =====> remember the Asian SNAKEHEADS of a few years ago, that were said to be a HUGE & INSURMOUNTABLE problem?

turns out that the little ones are LOVED by largemouth bass & other similar size fish & the BIG ones are "on the menu of" our large Blue & Flathead catfish. = problem solved.

yours, satx

Hysteria? Those F%^$^%$ Asian carp pretty much ruined our cruising on Illinois River. Our fish finder went complete dark. As they surrounded and jumped.

Hydrofoil algea/weed that crap grows fast and what a fine job of stopping the props. Florida , most fight to kill it, but one political group is wanting to use it, to help clean the contaminated soil in one lake. It makes no sense because than they will have to use huge amounts of poison to kill it.Hmmm Government......

I hear they want to let loose the asian freshwater killer shark to get rid of the carp. Sounds like a plan.

Dave the Wave wrote:

Hysteria? Those F%^$^%$ Asian carp pretty much ruined our cruising on Illinois River. Our fish finder went complete dark. As they surrounded and jumped.

Hydrofoil algea/weed that crap grows fast and what a fine job of stopping the props. Florida , most fight to kill it, but one political group is wanting to use it, to help clean the contaminated soil in one lake. It makes no sense because than they will have to use huge amounts of poison to kill it.Hmmm Government......

I hear they want to let loose the asian freshwater killer shark to get rid of the carp. Sounds like a plan.

This sound a lot like that Burl Ives song..I knew and old woman who swallowed a fly....

Or like the Cat in The Hat Comes Back, where the pink stain gets bigger and bigger until everything is pink. We don't have Voom to clean this up though.

There is a fellow here in town who does a lot of boating on Lake Peppin. He says his think tank came up wit a way to net the Asian carp and use them commercially for pet food, but the government said no go. They had done research showing it would pretty much eliminate the problem in rivers by making them a free for all to commercial fishing.

Green Bay and surrounding lake Michigan have had the zebra for quite a few years now. The biggest concern was that they would foul water inlets for municipal supplies and the cooling inlets of the nuki plants but all the problems were remidied, at least you never hear much about them now. The water got real clear because the zebras scoff up the algae. I've gutted perch, sheephead, carp and catfish, walleye and they all had tiny zebras in their stomachs. A bad drawback is that when they die off and the tiny shells wash ashore and make swimming beaches really hard on the feet.

Currently in Utah, we have 3 known Zebra or Quagga mussel infestations in local reservoirs. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is attempting to police local boaters by setting up free washing and decontamination stations near affected reservoirs. The sad truth is, Mr. Joe Boater usually passes the stations thinking that somehow their boat is special and cannot get infected with a mussel. The sad truth is, those little buggers can attach and live on that boat hull for weeks or even months out of water. Utah has implemented a certification process for boaters who take the time to decontaminate their boats after each outing. Washing down your boat to prevent the spread of invasive species is a necessary evil, just as not dumping oil or gas into a lake is a necessary evil.

mrusson wrote:

just as not dumping oil or gas into a lake is a necessary evil.

The DNR better never see my 1941 Evinrude 33HP then.

THis is a growing problem accrossed the country of that there is no doubt but asking us to paste stickers on our boats or we get a fine is a bit much in my eyes. I picked up 100 stickers so my customers and my boats will not get a ticket. I will be making lexon tags that can hang in the boat so we comply. WHen I got the stickers from the DMV they gave me a instruction sheet and thayt clearly states that they would not be giving tickets until Aug 1st 2014 BUT thats not what the DNR guys are saying at all. They are going to check the boats and if they are not displayed they will issue a ticket. In Fact they are hiring more DNR officers here in minnesota to step up inforcement of this. I have been told if you leave your plug in your boat you will get a ticket, If you come to launch your boat and the plug is in the boat you will get a warning. They want to make a law that makes it illegal to transport a boat with the plug in it. There is a whole book about invasive critters and how to deal with them. In this book they say that all boats must be washed at the boat launch to strip them off the hulls and keep in mind they are in a larva stage and you cant see them with the naked eye. They talk about a period of quarinteen before a boat can enter another lake, Regarding this fisherman will get really bent at this because its 2 weeks. How far the state of MN will go to persue this is unknown but I will be attending meetings on this. All Marina owners have to take a class now regarding this as it is now.

Most of the really old boats, especially wood ones, I have, don't even have a drain plug. Depending on how they decide to enforce this, I'll just 'glass over the plug and eliminate it. I seldom use the plug to drain anything out anyway. Water shouldn't be IN the boat...Right?

Enforcement of this seems to have fizzled out.

I was talking to a friend who said she had been swimming and ended up in a patch of zebra muscles. She said to her sister who was going to a party at a different lake that evening that she should change swimwear. Seems that muscle larvae can live 21 days out of the water.

If we are going to have to worry about spreading these pests simply by having a swimming suit or life jacket that has dried out in the car/boat for a week and then used again in another lake......we might as well give up now. This, coupled with the lame attempt states are making to curb infestation, is a recipe for disaster.

I'm just curious how I'm going to keep them from crusting up the tracks into my boat house.

I think I remember one of the gang from the CGOAMN (Classic Glastron Owners Assn. of Minnesota) writing in their forum that the officials in up there repealed or rescinded (?) the law about displaying the stickers on your boat, but I believe they are still asking that all bilge water be removed from the boat before leaving any body of water. Not sure about requiring the washing hulls down, etc...

At best they may slow it down some but with the number of people who move things from body of water to another are ignorant of the problems who is to say, the bathing suit, floatie, tube, cooler, sponge, water sock,frame tube on the trailer and a hundred different items do not have something hitch hiking alone. I only go on the Allegheny and Crooked Creek Lake anymore but yes I am careful. Look at the Gypsy moth problem we had in the past. The massive spraying programs that did more harm than good. I am a retired exterminator i know something about bugs. As I was sitting in my truck one day watching little birds eating adult moths off the side of a building I could see there were natural predators for the moth. Instead of having the forest defoliated for a year or two it went on for years killing off out timber. Timber that could have survived a year or two but not several. There is no real long term answer by us. The world is constantly changing but she still survives. Nature adapts if given time.

Yes, the Minnesota legislature repealed the sticker law. No sticker required on your boats in MN. They did keep the law that the drain plug must be out while running down the road. It's also against the law to be transporting invasive species on your boat and trailer. So ya better clean her up after you take her out of the water. I know of several people that have been ticketed for not obeying these law.

And for those boats that do not have a drain plug (like mine), you must remove any water from the bilge before departing the launch ramp area.

The DNR inspectors are great people and they are doing a wonderful job of educating the boating world here.

Andreas

The drain plug on the Evinrude Playmate is way off to the the side and not at the low spot on the transom. Basically used only if you store the boat outside without a cover. It wouldn't completely fill with water. Not surprisingly, I had a devil of a time getting it out. Because the plug is so useless and the boat has a bilge pump, I'm sure this is the first time it has ever been removed in 47 years.

Zebra mussels have been in Michigan for a long time. Quaga mussels are worse. The water in michigan is now clear so it looks nice but fishing salmon stinms. The quaga eat the algea instead of baitfish. Now there is no food for the salmon. Bummer!

The muscles aren't going to be as bad as Asian Carp. I can always take my boat out of water to keep muscles off, but Carp come flying at you.

and what about this bad boy ? This is why I wear pants swimming !
www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/07/testicle-eating-fish-found-in-illinois/

to ALL,

i'm eternally fascinated at how STUPID that the government is: In FL, they have a BIG problem with PYTHONS.

a member of the Seminole tribe (who had a long period of military service in SE Asia) suggested notifying the local Viet, Lao, Thai, Kymer & other local emigree groups (who eat pythons & other snakes in their home countries), suggesting that the pythons were permissable to harvest for food/leather/etc at any time.

this was NOT acceptable to "certain elements of" the state government, as they said that KILLING the snakes was CRUEL, "would enrage
the animal rights groups" & "might promote poaching of other species"!

NOTHING was done.=====> the more i learn about politicians, the better i like venomous serpents, poisonous spiders, cockroaches & scorpions.

yours, satx

satx78247 wrote:

the more i learn about politicians, the better i like venomous serpents

aren't they the same thing?

Cut their heads off. snakes literally and politicians at the polls.

riceman; rovert-lorigan,

EXACTLY SO.=i think of politicians as ROACHES, as if you can shine a light on their misdeeds, they run for cover.

yours, satx

riceman; robert-lorigan,

EXACTLY SO.= i think of politicians as ROACHES, since if you can shine a light on their misdeeds, they run for cover.

yours, satx

Politicians never seem to be any good at problem solving. If something ever gets fixed for real, it is usually some no nonsense, blue collar guy who acts alone, cures the problem and moves on with little fanfare. Curious how very few mechanics, carpenters, cops, plumbers, barbers, bakers or electrician ever get elected. Maybe the game needs new rules. (no lawyers in politics)

Be nice to your elected officials, they're the best that money can buy.

Campaign finance reform.....don't give them any money. They'll only use it to annoy us with ads on TV.

does Romney have a yacht? (boat content)

I have a pic of obuma with his but I think we should watch the politics. It tends to piss people off when you attack their candidate. It's a cartoon boat, I'm sure he does not have one.

That reminds me of a funny protest I saw on the news years back. People wearing captain's hats and brass button sport coats holding signs saying yachters against wind power. As I recall....many yachts have SAILS!!!!!LOL

Furthermore, if you are so bad at driving your boat that you might hit the wind farm towers out in the sea, you should not be driving a boat.

As far as politically....I think I'm going to have to vote for myself.

jepstr67; 63 sabre; robert-lorigan,

asWill Rogers said, "WE HAVE THE BEST GOVERNMENT THAT MONEY CAN BUY."
(truer words were never spoken.)

yours, satx