Sick Of Weeds On Guntersville?

[Basswhippa]

This is blowing up the other forums with various articles.   Forgive if it has been posted here already.   Mother nature has dealt the Guntersville a bad hand this year and it looks like it's going to get worse for the north Alabama jewell.  The stars are aligning for a down time at Guntersville.   First the weather and weed death by mother nature.  Second all the tournaments and the mortality the summer ones produce..  Third the overexposure due to guides putting somewhat unrealistic expectation in the minds of out of town fishermen with photos  that only someone on the water every day can achieve.  Weekend anglers can't stay on fish like that in most cases.  Fourth, property owners are going to be working with the TVA to rid the milfoil, hydrilla, and I'm sure pads and eelgrass.   See ya'll down there in a decade.  Course it's been two decades on Wheeler, which was just as good as Guntersville back in the day.

 

Enjoy

 

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2014/03/sick_of_the_weeds_in_lake_gunt.html

[macmichael]

So sad

[FrankW]

Hi Basswhippa,

 

My local lake was a super Bass Lake when I moved here in 2000.  I had four years of great fishing until they killed off the grasses.  The lake was covered with hydrilla and pads with a river channel.  The last year before they killed everything off I caught two 8 pounders.  One in the spring and one in the fall.  Once the grasses were gone I just gave up on the lake for several years.  Last year there was budget problems and the hydrilla came back in some areas and of course the fishing has improved.

 

The problem is they don't just kill the hydrilla around the areas that home owners use but they killed every last grass and pads on the lake.  If they missed any they came back and killed them again.  The river channel is 25 to 30 feet deep and hydrilla won't grow in that depth.  But the river banks are shallow and there is no reason they couldn't leave the hydrilla on the banks.  That is where the fishing was best and far from home owners.   

 

I feel your pain. 

 

Frank

[gripnrip]

It probably is because of all the snobs that look out their lake view window and they don't want to see any weeds.  "It isn't very pleasing to the eye, Dear."  (as I say that through clenched teeth and arrogant voice)

[MCS]

Looks like FWC just announced they will get portions of Kissimmee

http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLFFWCC/bulletins/ad4741

[gulfcaptain]

I've seen it both ways, local lakes around me some are left to grow and others are blue stoned which turns the water a nice toilet bowl blue.  The blue lakes have fish but the ones that have a more natural balance due to the weeds, the lakes are healthy and thriving thus the fishing is better. Bad part, people don't like the weeds because they don't know how to fish them.  So it leaves more for me to catch.  Sucks when the ones who claim to be the environmentalists do more damage trying to control and eradicate the weeds then just trying to manage them.

[SirSnookalot]

No way to compare a Florida community pond to a natural body of water.  At one time my ponds produced a very good environment for fishing, not the case any more for 2 reasons IMO.  Our ponds no longer rely on rainwater to keep levels up, the Palm Beach water authority now "forces" us to buy their reclaimed water.  Since the onset of this program the fishing has gone steadily downhill.  The vegetation is pretty much gone, I do believe our HOA is a bit spray happy.  

[F14A-B]

Yea this eradication program is very depressing.

It really, really ruins fishing.. In this state they are even dropping old tires and its just has destroyed all potential for lake life...along with spraying.. It's just wrong! However it still continues in more ways than one to be sure..

[Brian Needham]

no matter the side of the isle you are on.....this is proof once elected people go full stupid.

 

fishing IS THE ECONOMIC ENGINE of G'ville.

 

all the hotels, gas stations, resturaunts, ect ect are fueled by FISHING at G'vill not skiers.

 

no grass, no G'ville.

 

where are the enviromentalist when you need them?

[RoLo]

In 2004, Lake Wales, Florida was the epicenter of Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Frances & Hurricane Jeanne

(Oddly, we hadn't had one hurricane since). The Hurricane Trio of 2004 literally denuded central Florida of all hydrilla beds.

Hydrilla beds were rolled up in huge balls and torn out by their root systems. This was a godsend for the Florida Wildlife Commission,

because it put them well ahead of the curve on weed control. Sadly, they've continued to exploit their unearned gift to this day, 

and 10 years later, the hydrilla in Lake Walk-in-Water has never returned. One day I found some new hydrilla sprigs,

and took my buddy Larry to my secret honey-hole. When I got on my numbers though, the hydrilla was gone, 

it was already eradicated by the FWC.  What Larry said that day still echoes in my mind: "Hey Rog, ya got anymore good spots like this?". 

 

More often than not, the Best management is No management.

 

Roger

[Brian Needham]

nature suppose to be natural.....

[FrankW]

Bad part, people don't like the weeds because they don't know how to fish them.  So it leaves more for me to catch.  Sucks when the ones who claim to be the environmentalists do more damage trying to control and eradicate the weeds then just trying to manage them.

While visiting family on Pickwick my brother-in-law took me fishing. He has a bass boat and has lived on Pickwick for years. We were fishing some coves down close to the dam and catching a few fish. As we came out of one cove I spotted some hydrilla and pointed it out to my brother-in-law. He said that there has been some showing up for some time. I asked him to go over to the grass as that was something I could fish. He pulled up to the grass and after looking at it he said "lets go, no way we could fish that mess". So off we went to other spots. It is very true that some people don't know how to fish hydrilla and they are missing out on a real fish magnet. I will take hydrilla over any other cover for largemouth.

Frank

[MemphisFF]

Where was this grass at we fished two days and found no grass jus a few small dead patches. Two days maybe 12 small 12 inch bass nothing significant. Dunno if this winter hurted the grass but last year I saw a lot of it.

Btw we fished today and yesterday it was tough