HOA Killed Lillypads

[MrFrost]

The local pond that I frequent three to four times a week, used to be a great place to fish, rarely if ever did I experience days where I couldn't get bit on something.  I noticed the fishing getting worse and worse and just chalked it up to high heat, and bright sun.  But last week I started to notice the lillypads right on the bank were turning brown, and shriveling up.  I thought it was odd, as it's too early for the fall covnersion, and the lillypads off the bank seemed to be doing just fine.  I was talking to a guy that lives on the pond and he said the HOA sprayed the lillypads that were reachable from the bank (between 0-10 feet) to kill them probably two to three weeks ago.  I've only been fishing since the end of May, so I'm not sure what affects killing the pads will have, but I am starting to think that the fish are nowhere near the bank anymore, which is where they'd normally be stacked.  

 

Any idea how long this will hurt the fishing here?  Just wondering if I need to cross this place off my list of ponds to hit.

 

 

[A-Jay]

I can't say for sure but I've never experience Better fishing after a weed kill.

Sometimes it has little to no effect.

Other times  - it's like the Dead Sea  - for a while.

May depend on the size of the body of water.

Not to be the harbinger of bad news, but there are a few smaller lakes that I didn't fish for 2 season.

After they were 'sprayed' the bass & bait took a couple of seasons to 'come back'.

A-Jay

[MrFrost]

I am thinking you may be right.  At first I was bothered, but that just means I need to find a new spot to call "home."  May not be as conveniant, but change is usually good.

And thank you!

[GReb]

Ive experienced the same issue at several small lakes and ponds and the fishing takes a sharp downturn each time. It’s unfortunate that people destroy the living habitats for all species just to get rid of snakes. 

[DINK WHISPERER]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

I can't say for sure but I've never experience Better fishing after a weed kill.

Sometimes it has little to no effect.

Other times  - it's like the Dead Sea  - for a while.

May depend on the size of the body of water.

Not to be the harbinger of bad news, but there are a few smaller lakes that I didn't fish for 2 season.

After they were 'sprayed' the bass & bait took a couple of seasons to 'come back'.

A-Jay

I went through this on my ex favorite lake, Istokpoga after they killed or removed just about all the productive vegetation. My question is where does said fish and bait go on a primarily shallow, vegetation lake? Do they die, live in open water, what? I know they disappeared on my lake but never understood where they went or what happens to them. 

[GReb]

7 minutes ago, DINK WHISPERER said:

I went through this on my ex favorite lake, Istokpoga after they killed or removed just about all the productive vegetation. My question is where does said fish and bait go on a primarily shallow, vegetation lake? Do they die, live in open water, what? I know they disappeared on my lake but never understood where they went or what happens to them. 

Strictly a guess, but I’d think the baitfish population suffers due to lack of cover to protect them. Also these plants provide food sources for baitfish. Add that to whatever negative effect it has on oxygen levels and it’s all points towards a less healthy fishery. 

[A-Jay]

Just now, DINK WHISPERER said:

I went through this on my ex favorite lake, Istokpoga after they killed or removed just about all the productive vegetation. My question is where does said fish and bait go on a primarily shallow, vegetation lake? Do they die, live in open water, what? I know they disappeared on my lake but never understood where they went or what happens to them. 

I will openly admit right here & now - I have no clue.

What I do know is that I'm not catching bass anything like before the spray.

It's like they died - but I never see any carcasses anywhere.

One of my favorite go to lakes was recently blasted.

It's the place I'd go to 'test' baits & presentations because of the sheer numbers & seemingly always cooperative bass there.  That was 2 years ago - the place is still Toast. 

Great for water skiing & jet ski's and riding around in circles in a pontoon boat 25 feet from shore - but as for the bass fishing . . . .

#forgetaboutit.   

A-Jay

[MrFrost]

The theory on the water I'm talking about, is that the fish are all stacked up in the center, as the center is literally almost half pads also, but none of them are brown or shriveling, which leads me to believe they sprayed from the bank.  The south half of the pond is in a townhome subdivision with the HOA, and the north side is in a subdivision without an HOA, so I am going to check that side to see if there is any signs of pad death also.  Maybe this will drive the fish to one side?

2 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

What I do know is that I'm not catching bass anything like before the spray.

It's like they died - but I never see any carcasses anywhere.

One of my favorite go to lakes was recently blasted.

It's the place I'd go to 'test' baits & presentations because of the sheer numbers & seemingly always cooperative bass there.  That was 2 years ago - the place is still Toast. 

This is exactly what I am experiencing.  Time to find a new honey hole!

[DINK WHISPERER]

1 minute ago, A-Jay said:

I will openly admit right here & now - I have no clue.

What I do know is that I'm not catching bass anything like before the spray.

It's like they died - but I never see any carcasses anywhere.

One of my favorite go to lakes was recently blasted.

It's the place I'd go to 'test' baits & presentations because of the sheer numbers & seemingly always cooperative bass there.  That was 2 years ago - the place is still Toast. 

Great for water skiing & jet ski's and riding around in circles in a pontoon boat 25 feet from shore - but as for the bass fishing . . . .

#forgetaboutit.   

A-Jay

This is exactly my frustration! I'm not catching size or numbers anywhere even near what I was before the spray. But as you stated, I never saw a single carcass either. I've asked a couple FWC officers about it and their response was that the majority of them may have left through the spillway that's periodically in use on this lake. I find it hard to believe that the fish just all packed up on such a huge body of water and left through the spillway... but I'm no expert.

[MrFrost]

19 minutes ago, DINK WHISPERER said:

This is exactly my frustration! I'm not catching size or numbers anywhere even near what I was before the spray. But as you stated, I never saw a single carcass either. I've asked a couple FWC officers about it and their response was that the majority of them may have left through the spillway that's periodically in use on this lake. I find it hard to believe that the fish just all packed up on such a huge body of water and left through the spillway... but I'm no expert.

I'm wondering the same thing...if the fish are dying, where are the carcasses, because I haven't seen a single one.  This body of water has been taken over by grass and pads, but that's what made the fishing so good, so I'm wondering if they did only spray what they could reach from the bank, are the fish actually all stacked up in the center?  Unfortunately, this pond does not allow boats of any kind, even un powered, so I can't get to the center even if I wanted to.  

[GReb]

4 minutes ago, MrFrost said:

I'm wondering the same thing...if the fish are dying, where are the carcasses, because I haven't seen a single one.  This body of water has been taken over by grass and pads, but that's what made the fishing so good, so I'm wondering if they did only spray what they could reach from the bank, are the fish actually all stacked up in the center?  Unfortunately, this pond does not allow boats of any kind, even un powered, so I can't get to the center even if I wanted to.  

Does a kayak count as a boat?

[DINK WHISPERER]

11 minutes ago, MrFrost said:

I'm wondering the same thing...if the fish are dying, where are the carcasses, because I haven't seen a single one.  This body of water has been taken over by grass and pads, but that's what made the fishing so good, so I'm wondering if they did only spray what they could reach from the bank, are the fish actually all stacked up in the center?  Unfortunately, this pond does not allow boats of any kind, even un powered, so I can't get to the center even if I wanted to.  

Here you go, you're all set now. Definitely not a boat... right?

 

[Sam]

I always fished Lake Cherokee in Richmond and caught so many two to four pounders each year that it was a pleasure to fish the lake.

 

Then the HOA put in aerators and the grass grew like weeds.

 

The grass took over the lake making the fishing even better, but bothering the pontoon boaters who had to stop many times on the lake to remove the grass.

 

So in their infonaut wisdom, what do you think they did? They purchased a number of grass eating carp (they swear they put in only 30) and two years ago the grass disappeared. And so did the great bass fishing off the dock in the small cove.

 

If I catch a two pounder I am happy. No more days of reeling in 20 bass in an hour. Nope. You can fish off the dock for hours with different baits and presentations and no takers.

 

Like your lake, where did the bass go? Probably in the middle. Probably near the aerator bubbles. But not along the bank or in the mouth of or in the cove.

 

This makes us have to wait to see if the bass population comes back and if your lily pads and my grass return.

 

I don't fish Lake Cherokee much any more. A waste of time. But I do sincerely hope your lily pads and my grass would return so the bass can once again enjoy the waters and make for some really good fishing.

[geo g]

If they sprayed all the veggies then look for any structure like a drop off, a dock, a down tree, rocks or rip rap.  All these will hold fish but they might be skattered instead of all hunkered down in one area.

[A-Jay]

12 minutes ago, geo g said:

If they sprayed all the veggies then look for any structure like a drop off, a dock, a down tree, rocks or rip rap.  All these will hold fish but they might be skattered instead of all hunkered down in one area.

That sounds like it should work - 

Does that work for you fishing in a small body of water recently sprayed with weed & grass killer ? 

I must be doing something wrong . . .

A-Jay

 

[DogBone_384]

Braintree and Canton, MA, treated their local ponds that were very good bass ponds.  Sunset Lake in Braintree still hasn’t recovered after two seasons and Canton reservoir is 3/4 barron. Fishing is good in Canton way back where there are still weeds/pads.

 

I guess it’s called progress. I wonder what fish in said ponds call it !?!?!?

[MichaelCopeland]

4 hours ago, MrFrost said:

I'm wondering the same thing...if the fish are dying, where are the carcasses, because I haven't seen a single one.  This body of water has been taken over by grass and pads, but that's what made the fishing so good, so I'm wondering if they did only spray what they could reach from the bank, are the fish actually all stacked up in the center?  Unfortunately, this pond does not allow boats of any kind, even un powered, so I can't get to the center even if I wanted to.  

How deep is the pond? If it's not too deep, at least not too deep a little ways out from the bank, maybe you could get you some waders to see if you can get out far enough to fish the lilly pads out in the center. At least some of them. Could be a way to test your theory of the bass stacking up there. ?

[geo g]

2 hours ago, A-Jay said:

That sounds like it should work - 

Does that work for you fishing in a small body of water recently sprayed with weed & grass killer ? 

I must be doing something wrong . . .

A-Jay

 

You only have so many choices when fishing a small body of water.  If you have no veggies left, the next place I would go is ledges and drop offs.  Drop offs can be just a matter of a few feet, but they will hang out close to these depth changes.  These are common in our small man made lakes and hold fish almost all year long.  Then I would look for other types of structure.  

[MrFrost]

16 hours ago, GReb said:

Does a kayak count as a boat?

I have wanted to put a Yak in here since I started fishing in May, but there are signs basically prohibiting entering the water at all.  No swimming, wading, boating of any kind.  

16 hours ago, DINK WHISPERER said:

Here you go, you're all set now. Definitely not a boat... right?

 

Ha ha ha, the sign definitely doesn't say no duck rafts, lol.

11 hours ago, MichaelCopeland said:

How deep is the pond? If it's not too deep, at least not too deep a little ways out from the bank, maybe you could get you some waders to see if you can get out far enough to fish the lilly pads out in the center. At least some of them. Could be a way to test your theory of the bass stacking up there. ?

Unfortunately, contour maps show it to get to 10 feet.  One big drop off goes as deep as 20 feet.

[Preytorien]

I'm with an unfortunate number of folks on here that can also raise their hand and say it's happened to me too. 

 

Had a great small "lake" - about 20 acres, it had decent amounts of grass, nothing major, a few pads here and there, and great fishing. Many days of 30+ 2-4lb fish. Here in Indiana the DNR requires public bodies of water to be stocked to assist in controlling mosquito larvae. 

 

Then the HOA decided those weeds "attracted mosquitoes for egg-laying habitat" even though the fish ate them quite effectively. Most of the time I fished there I never bothered applying bug repellent, never needed it. Upon their advice from an "expert" they put in about 40 carp one spring day, supposedly sterile (triploid), and the grass was gone by the end of summer. The fishing has never recovered. The lack of shoreline vegetation an the bottom disturbance by the carp has ruined any sustainable protection for the baitfish and the bass population has gone with it. If you go out there with a microscopic hook, tiny bobber, and red worms you can catch as many 4-5 inch bluegill you could ever ask for, but the bass are few and far between. 

 

I can't for the life of me figure out why HOAs continue to choose carp. They're invasive, they dirty, they're destructive, and despite the fishery claiming they're sterile, I've seen more than one instance where some sort of reproduction is happening - I know for a fact no more were stocked, and yet there are very small carp and very large carp. Maybe I should just spool up my heavy/low geared frogging rig with 80lb braid, thread a bunch of sweet creamed corn on a big catfish hook and rig for catching some carp now and then. 

 

 

[TnRiver46]

They spray the grass in the Tennessee river and most other lakes in the entire state. It's ridiculous 

[geo g]

The spraying of weeds does not change the number of snakes and frogs in a body of water.  It just makes them easier to detect and brings them in closer to the shore line where there is a better chance for interaction.  A healthy ecosystem will have a supply of all these organisms.  Don't spray everything, it just throws the entire system out of balance.  These people should be penalized for doing this to our lakes.  Controlled spraying is one thing, wiping out all the greens is another.

[Tracker22]

We have a state run lake down here that they sprayed last year. This year the pads are twice as thick. I’m convinced that the only way to rid pads is to draw the lake down to nothing. The HOA is wasting their money.

 

[the reel ess]

MURDERERS! Oh, The Humanity!!!

38 minutes ago, Tracker22 said:

We have a state run lake down here that they sprayed last year. This year the pads are twice as thick. I’m convinced that the only way to rid pads is to draw the lake down to nothing. The HOA is wasting their money.

 

If you drew it down, they would grow in the newly shallow water. They'll grow as deep as good sunlight can reach. And they'd probably come back in the shallows when they raised it back up. 

[N Florida Mike]

This is an interesting subject. I am the lake director of my lake's H.o.a. We used to have a resident that sprayed the lake for free. He did it between 1985 and 2011 and only had 1 fish kill, which was the last time he sprayed. But it was a bad one. I think he killed most, if not all of the bass over 3 pounds. When he treated, nearly every weed in the lake would die. For some reason, he only had a fish  kill the last time.

I have been on the lake after weed treatments, during the affects from it, and as the weeds begin growing again, all the way to nearly taking the lake over. 

A few things Ive noticed:

When the weeds get really bad, the baitfish thrive because they can hide. The water is at its clearest at this time because the excess weeds clean the water. The fishing is good also, esp. on weed edges. Once the lake is treated, the lake has less clarity and the baitfish have less cover to hide in. The fishing success drops because the fish are focusing more on live , easy to catch prey , and all of a sudden it's hard to find bass because now the weed edges are gone.Also, the water clarity drops, which means you have to usually change baits/colors. But at least in my lake, the fish have never dissapeared. And we have stocked with grass carp, and used sonar for eel grass control. This year, even with a monthly treatment, the fishing ( esp. for bigger fish ) has been very good. I have seen ( heard actually ) a reduction of bullfrogs this year , and the frog fishing has been nearly non existent.

But overall The lake has continued to be very productive since I first came on the scene in 1974.

As for fish disappearing, I bet they are holding somewhere in your lakes, just in a different area with some kind of good bottom structure, or in deep holes .