Zebra Mussels

[toothfish]

I was watching a show called "Diver Down" on the Dish. It's a program about scuba diving. Anyway ..They were diving on wrecks on the St Lawrence river system. They said that the Zebra muscles were a "good" thing!  Because since they have been introduced into the river chain the water clarity has went from 15' to 60' because the muscles filter the water so well. This is the first time I have ever heard told that the Zebra infestation was a "good" thing!! Has anyone had any experience with this "good" thing??

[PIKEGUY]

I live right on Lake Pepin on the Mississippi River in Wisconsin. We had them bad for several years and I'm a little torn as to the problem with them.  They really cleaned up the lake and the fishing is really good the last few years. People say they are bad for fish but I really didn't see it. They are a bi*ch to walk on though...sharp sharp sharp. Now...I am NOT a biologist. All I'm saying is that I didn't see the harm in having them. Now they appear to be dying off and I assume it's because they became overpopulated and are running out of food....But I don't know

[dogfish]

Yes they do clear up the water column making the water look cleaner.  They filter a crap load of water per mussel.  Problem is will wipe out the food chain from the bottom.  They filter out the "phytoplankton" this is the tiny little plants sometimes only one cell big.  The "zooplankton" tiny little critters such as "Daphnia" feed on the phytoplankton.  Then your very small fish feed on the phyto and the zooplanktons as do many of your arthropods like your scuds and shrimps.  Then you have your larger fish feeding on smaller fish and arthropods and so on up the ladder. 
So they make the water look cleaner but in essence murky water is more nutrient rich for the aquatic life that lives in it.

[PIKEGUY]

Maybe that is the reason that I'm catching more big walleyes 4-8 pounds than the small "eaters". Maybe the lack of the tiny food is hurting more of the fry than anybody thinks

[toothfish]

So what will be the end result.....only mature fish left?? Is there any sign of a predator feeding on these muscles?

[PIKEGUY]

Thanks Mac,
real nice pun

That makes sense to me. Maybe I'm not seeing the small eyes because they're growing so fast lol. Or...better yet...we're so good we just go straight to the big fish waters.

[bigredonice]

Mussels are a good thing in smaller water bodies IMO.  They clear the water, allowing weeds to grow deeper, and that increases the productivity of a body of water, and more productivity = more fish!

[dogfish]

Bigred is correct the "cleaner"/clearer water increases the light penetration thus you get more macrophyte/water plants or weeds growing that will increase habitat for some fish species (ie. the return of the northern pike in Oneida lake of NY).  Still messing with the food chain can have an effect on the spot fish population of any lake.
Mac, good catch on the spelling, but if you want to get picky "marine" biologists deal with salt water only and if you refer to a limnologist or fresh water biologist as marine they would be sure to correct you

[PIKEGUY]

Picky Picky lol. I'm not going to complain about mussels as long as I have clean water and 7 1/2 pound eyes for now. I'll leave it up to the limnologists

[toothfish]

OK! I stand corrected...it's mussel not muscle. I knew some of you guys would have some first hand info on these little "mussels". Thanks!

[dogfish]

Well Mac I perfer my shellfish raw (spinal meningitis be damed) with a glob of horseradish or some hot sauce but I will second the cold frosty beverage 8) 8)

[billybono]

case in point onieda lake ny. the water has never been as clear. its like turning the lights on after it bieng off forever. nad there were summers when i was a kid where the water was like pea soup. it definatly has changed how i fish for walleyes


              billybono

[Muskie Matt]

1 zebra mussel filters 1 gallon of water every day. 

[spoonfed]

living near saginaw bay(lake huron) all my life i can remember 15-20yrs ago when at the park swimming you could not see your hand 8" under water.looked like coffee with some cream.the smell would sting your nose.we had a great perch fishery at this time.4 guys could easily catch 5gal bucket in 3 hrs of 9-10 fish.loved it.great memories.not much of a walleye fishery but decent.along came the zebras.today you can see 16 ft or more through the ice on a good day.great to swim in.perch fishing sucks to be honest.you can catch fish but 1 out of 10 trips is worth it.i will say the perch seem to be rebounding a bit lately.a few more and better size.6-9average and more and more jumbos but nothing like the old days.now walleye as you all probably have heard is one of the best in the midwest.size and numbers are strong.but we are missing something very important in the food chain.forage.extreme lack of it for the smaller fish(perch) because of less plankton because of the zebras.less minnies , alwife, smelt so on.its hurt all but the wallys it seems.been told the have been eating our worst invader (imo) the goby.salmon numbers are all but nill in the big lake.their number one forage is alwife. ???i often listen to my dad tell of his younger yrs how the fishing was.almost seems were heading back to those days but very slowly.

im not a bio or anything but ive watched it first hand on the water every year since i was 3.its not the only problem but a good portion.although it seems the long view for perch and wallys are good.natures ways of fixing things maybe.i can catch the quality my dad once did but i have to work alot harder for it now.and not the numbers.

[Crazy-Joe]

mmmmmm,Steam em in white wine or beer with some garlic,and butter.or put some olive oil in a saute pan till it gets hot,add mussels till they open,drain oil add some garlic,tomato sauce ,oregano,parsly,and alittle Cajun spice,let simmer for 5 mins and serve over pasta!Nice cold beer and your good!

[IceBalls]

There was an article recently in a scientific publication concerning the Zebra Mussel population in the St. Lawrence Seaway and their effect on the fish population there.  It specifically mentioned that the Northern Pike population had drastically declined, and those that are being caught today are much smaller than in past years.
Scientists think that, because the mussels cleaned up the water, the Northern Pike have left the area because they preferred the water make-up (pollution) the way it was before the mussels got there.  Apparently the Pike had happily adapted to the polluted water and now it's just too clean for them!!

[PIKEGUY]

That's interesting to hear. We are IMO seeing a drastic decline in quantity & quality of Pike in Lake Pepin since the mussels came. Walleyes increased Pike decreased. weird We used to get some BIG ones out of this system..now they're really few and far between

[GAMBELL]

The zebra mussels are not the only exotic mussel causing problems.  The Quagga (don't quote me on the spelling) mussel is causing more problems than the zebra mussell.  The Quagga mussel is bigger and go deeper in the lakes.  They are found as deep as 600 foot of water on the bottom.