Eurasian Milfoil…

We have a few 500 acre lakes over here by Milwaukee which can be nearly 75% choked out by Eurasain Milfoil. I know this stuff exsists on the Mississippi as well but I don’t believe it’s as much of a concern thanks to the current.

Every state that has this stuff (from Washington to the East coast) is completely freaked out by it and the state DNR’s are vesting many resources to get rid of it. This stuff spreads like wildfire, it’s non-native, it causes many problems with boating, swimming, and reduces other aquatic plant growth.

I don’t think I’ve said anything you all don’t know already so where am I going with this…

Well (I know I’m going to get hammered for this ), I really dig this stuff . I know a few lakes where this stuff is plentiful (Eagle Lake, Racine County for one) and I love fishing it. For one, the boat traffic is way down because of people not wanting to deal with the weeds. Second, most casual fisherman I talk to HATE this lake b/c they can’t get their trolling motor through the stuff (obviously not the guys w/ the 74-101# thrust motors). Third, if you can find any type of edge, be it from the weed mowers or natural, you’ll typically find a wad of bass.

I just found out this week that the WI DNR is going to kill off this lake once again to try to rid it of milfoil . The fishing is so good there.

OK, I do understand completely why the land-owners and recreational users of a milfoil-infested lake want it gone. But I’m going to miss having it around to flip…

What’s everyone elses take on milfoil infestation? And, are there parts of the Mississippi River which they are freaking out about?

This is NOT Eagle Lake, but there are parts that will look very similar during the late summer…

It’s done wonders for metro lakes like Waconia, Minnetonka, Prior, etc. I love it, but it is not easy to fish. They are talking about trying to kill off Tonka by poisoning a couple bays each year. Its too bad.

I love the stuff too. My favorite local lake/pond is getting hammered from the banks by “livebait” fishermen. I fish from the bank there too, but when the weeds kick in the bobbers make it look like a christmas tree out there. And those of us who love to fish slop for pigs have the water to ourselves!

I grew up in the Burlington area so I was around for the turnaround of Eagle lake, when you say kill off do you mean kill off the weeds and fish or just the weeds, they just killed the lake off (fish) 12 years or so ago, man that lake was awesome for ice fishing 10 years ago.
Jay

I also love milfoil. I think it also helps water clarity out in some cases because it filters out some of the particulate matter. I also like it because many of the “traditional” fisherman on a lake struggle with it. It presents a new set of challenges to fish.

Bassman

I believe “kill off” weeds with chemicals (and the smaller panfish). I haven’t heard anything about them killing EVERYTHING like they did 12 years ago. That lake was SMOKIN those few years after it re-opened when they did that though.

Well, I guess I am on the fence. I love traditional Cabbage beds. Coontail and Curley pondweed, American eelgrass and all the native grasses are what I belive coe to fishing success. The milfoil is not native but honestly neither are smallmouth bass to most of the rivers and lakes around us. I am sure you are all googleing to see if I am correct so I Will ust say that they ere transplanted and the the eastern side of the us is where it s most prevelant. Back to weeds.. The milfoil is an awesome weed because it can adapt to almost any watershed nd do very well. It provides great cover for yearlings and helps the oerall fertility of any body of water is infests. That being said it can and eventually will weed out for the lack of a better term prairie lakes. The only ones that can sustain his infestation are deep reserviors and glacial lakes. The shallow pond style ( prairie lakes ) wil completely weed out and in the fall when the weed dies of will cause high mortality. For those not following. When weeds die they go from releasing o2 to releasing co2. For a lake as weed choked as many will become, you will see very large fish kills. The northern states are not as suceptable as the southern but there will become a breaking point. There in lies my primary concern.
jc

I will second that JC!

I LOVE milfoil!!!!!!!

It is great on Minnetonka come summer……that applies to both bass and muskies.

I have yet to see a lake’s fish population suffer because of milfoil…

You just have to fish it different!

This discussion is very much like the discussion I have seen on Zebra Mussels. They are considered a nusience but bass fishing is outstanding on the great lakes thanks to them. They clean the water and this helps weed growth and the bass explode.

I know there are down sides to both milfoil and zebras but I can say I’m not losing sleep over it.

curly pondweed aint native either……

I would have argued the fact if you were not accurate. I guess that since it has been around over 100 years I assumed it to be a native vegetation. I guess it just goes to show that we have had issues with exotic plants for quite some time.
jc