Fish-A-Thon 2011: Team Catch Us If You Can
Jason Teames, Clint Teames & Chris Cameron
Water: Lake Ray Hubbard
ISSUE: Lake Ray Hubbard is a healthy fishery for the most part, according to local fisheries biologist, Tom Hungerford (TPWD). However, there are two very real risks which TPWD is on the watchout for, and is asking anglers to help.
The risk of harmful invasive species is a danger in all fisheries. In the case of Lake Ray Hudson, the two major ones are infestation of Zebra Mussels and Giant Salvinia which have both invaded nearby fisheries. You can help keep them out of the lake.
Zebra Mussels are native to lakes in southeast Russia; however, they have been introduced to United States’ fisheries by means of ocean going vessels using The St. Lawrence Seaway. They have since spread to many fisheries throughout North America. To date, only one Zebra Mussel has been found in Lake Ray Hubbard, according Hungerford. However, nearby Lake Texoma has a major infestation problem. It matters because Zebra Mussels are filter feeders, feeding on zoo plankton. This of course robs forage fish (like shad) and young of the year sport fish (like bass) of a major food source. While a reduction in shad numbers might seem appealing, what feeds off forage fish? Game fish such as largemouth bass and stripers do! Less forage fish in the water, means fewer and smaller game fish.
Giant Salvinia is an aquatic fern native to Brazil. It is a large free floating plant that forms huge floating mats. Besides making fishing and boating difficult, if not impossible, it blocks the sun from native plants and algae in and under the water. Native plants do a better job of oxygenating the water. Salvenia also prevents the natural gas exchange between the body of water and the air, causing stagnation which leads to death of many species of fish, plant, and insect life beneath the water’s surface. Even after its death, Giant Salvinia continues to have a negative impact on the waters it has invaded. As natural decomposers go to work, the water is further robbed of oxygen. Salvinia infestations can mean a dead lake in a short time.
Solution: Clean, Inspect and Dry. As stated before, Lake Ray Hubbard is essentially free of these two invasive species, but nearby waters are infested with both. A primary means of transporting these two species is on boats and equipment used by anglers who fish both waters. Anglers can help to avoid another fishery from becoming infested by carefully inspecting their boats and equipment after leaving any body of water and cleaning the same prior to entering another fishery. For detailed instructions on this please see this pdf on the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point site.
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