FYI zeeeeeeeeeebra

[jonesen]

Zebra muscles are in Mille Lacs, it very important to check your equipment(boats, Trailers...)this year when leaving this lake, lots of guides use mille lacs and then follow the hot bite around the state, I would hope that these guides that travel the state will take the lead in preventing further spread of this and other invasive species by spreading the word about these critters.

[Musky Buck]

I'd like to add the lake alexander/ shamineau folk. I've been putting into Shamineau before to see a wet boat/trailer pull in and asking them where they were and they pipe in Lake Alexander, which has or had a milfoil issue. Right on joneson, be diligent everyone.

[b1gf1sh1]

some information to those who care.

i mainly fish infested waters so i'm not exactly dilegent when i know i'm just going back there again anyway. but if i know i'm going somewhere else these are the steps i take to ensure i'm not going to transfer bad animals.

i turn my water heater up as high as it goes, mine is 160 degrees but 140 is good, attach hose to inside spicket..sp?.. and flush out my live well and spray the entire hull and trailer and anything else, i.e. electric winch, electric motor etc.. down thouroughly. then i drop my trailer jack down so the bow (front) is lower than the stern (rear) and spray my bilge down and let extra run up to the bow. jack my boat back up and let drain. then i shampoo, and clean vinyl/detail, the entire boat with the same temp water with very thick gloves. then i run the hot water through my motor to flush it out. it's a lot of work but owning a boat is a huge responsibility these days, and i realize that. 140 degrees will kill anything i need to worry about. hope this helps.

[propster]

Not just guides, all of us. Still pi**ed at the spread of milfoil, but when it first started there wasn't the education about it unfortunately.

[cbrooks]

If a lake gets contaminated with milfoil or other invasive species is it permatly infected? What does the DNR do about it?

[guideman]

There isn't much the DNR can do once the infestation has started. They can't drain the lake and start over. Guides that fish a number of lakes should be responsable enough to properly clean their boats.

However, the number of weekend anglers doing the same thing is far higher than the number of guides fishing. Fisherman as a group, need to educate themselves about these hazards to make sure that they aren't spreading them to all of the lakes that they fish.

Rusty crafish were introduced into Lake Vermilion over 30 years ago, by tourist from the Ohio river watershed, not by guides. After 30 years they show no sign of ever leaving.

Once you have them, they are here to stay, unfortunately.

"Ace"

[cbrooks]

I fish Plantanganet a pretty regularly last year and the DNR had a person at the boat landing who explain what you could do to prevent invasive species. So now I always clean off my trailer drain, my live well, pull my plug and I even check my fishing equipment to see if there is seaweed on them. It seem like they had a person there every other week or so which is good. It sounds like milfoil and rusty crawfish can really damage the lake big time.

Hopefully in the near future biologist will find a way to combat these species.All it takes is one person to transport it.

[jonesen]

Ace

No one is picking on the guides, it would be nice if the guides (who are on the water and at the landings a lot) took the lead and spread the word as much as possible about this problem.

No one knows what the zebra muscles are going to do to the Mille Lacs fishery, only time will tell. It's the first major inland fishery to be infected with the zebra's.

[b1gf1sh1]

Quote:

No one knows what the zebra muscles are going to do to the Mille Lacs fishery, only time will tell. It's the first major inland fishery to be infected with the zebra's.

i don't want to downplay the problem of zebras. this comment is based on information i've gathered over the years since the st. croix got infected. zebra's clog drains, inhabit docile native mussels' habitat basicly killing them off by crowding them out, they infest boat hulls and everywhere else when they stay in the water. they clean/filter the water they inhabit which is not a bad thing. because they are so prolific they clean/filter more water and do it better. my beef with them is killing off our docile native species. the main issue with the state and other orginizations seems more geared toward the billions in damage to pipes/sewers, boats, docks and whatever else they clog up.

the great lakes have some pretty large reefs forming which is actually helping the fisheries, especially walleye and the trout's. (i'm sure it's helping muskie too but i never heard anything) and the water clarity/quality is majorly improved in the infested areas. the croix does have some small reefs forming but they are vast areas and not built up very high yet. the water clarity goes from a couple feet to three feet in about a mile then even more the further you go down river. the negatives far outweigh the possitives that's for sure, but i would like to add ''at least there are some possitives associated with zebras''... that can't be said with other stuff.

[Shawn Kellett]

The threat of zebra muscles is the biggest stated reason why they're trying to make people pay to launch on Minnetonka. I sat through one of their "presentations" and it's kind of funny how their "solution" is pretty uninformed.

Remember to drain your boat and add a splash of bleach for good measure.

[jonesen]

On Lake Vermilion The Sportsman's club helps out at the landings to inform folks about invasives, this year the club donated $1000 which was matched by the DNR. Plans are to hire a college kid or two for the summer to help spread the word at the boat landings.

[sheephead2]

If you don't use your live well do they still get in it????????

I never use my live well except for storage and throwing my pop cans in it....

[b1gf1sh1]

Quote:

If you don't use your live well do they still get in it????????

yep. into the drain/fill tubes. plug those on the hull and your good to go.

[Mid-Lake Rock]

Sheephead,

My deadwell is used primarily as a recycling facility. I still try to get her cleaned out when going to different lakes. I take the garden hose and point it directly down the drain in the well and let her rip. Then shoot some in the intake. Takes a few minutes and your good.