history of grass on ky lake and what happened to it

[WTM]

didnt want to hijack the other thread but this pretty well explains what happens in some years. in short you need clear water, no floods and less grass carp.

i remember in the early 80's my cousin and i would dig and dive for lake shells. the water was really clear down to about 15ft deep.

read the question and answer comments as well. there is an explanation on the planktonic algae which should answer the "slime" question.

 

[TNGunsmoke]

It would be interesting to see the charts updated to include data from the last 5 years as well. It's a good explanation from them up through the production of that video 4-5 years ago.

 

[DayDay]

I clicked on the additional comments but nothing happened. Is a facebook account required to see the comments?

I remember lots of grass at times in the mid to late 80's fishing in areas of the Tennessee River about 10 miles south of I-40. There was grass in the river as well as in the creeks.

 

[WTM]

I clicked on the additional comments but nothing happened. Is a facebook account required to see the comments?

I remember lots of grass at times in the mid to late 80's fishing in areas of the Tennessee River about 10 miles south of I-40. There was grass in the river as well as in the creeks.

dont click just scroll down. i dint have a faceytweets account and it let me see them.

 

[DayDay]

dont click just scroll down. i dint have a faceytweets account and it let me see them.

I copied the link and opened in my "InPrivate Window" and was able to get the full information and comments. Maybe an issue with cookies or something else running in my browser.

 

[rsimms]

I haven't watched the video, but I clearly understand the environmental factors that slow down or benefit aquatic vegetation. Back in the early 1990's there was a massive loss of Eurasion milfoil on Chickamauga Lake - from more than 7,000 acres coverage down to almost none. Most folks blamed TVA and their spray boats. However I felt like the lone voice in the wilderness who said TVA wasn't to blame. I duck hunted on the lake a LOT back then. One December, near Christmas, when milfoil growth (and root strength) was at its lowest point, we had a HUGE flood. A very unusual occurence in the dead of winter. With TVA flood gates wide open and river flows approaching 200,000 cubic feet per second, I sat in in a duck blind one day and watched as literally TONS of milfoil went floating downriver. My partner and I sat and marvelled at the never-ending stream of huge rafts of milfoil drifting past our blind. Caught at it's weakest point, the flooding and massive flow literally ripped the milfoil out of the bottom by the roots. The following summer is when milfoil coverage on Chickamauga Lake was at its lowest point in decades and in the ensuing years, the bass fishing crashed. BTW, that's when I switched from being a bass fisherman to a catfisherman.

 

[WTM]

I haven't watched the video, but I clearly understand the environmental factors that slow down or benefit aquatic vegetation. Back in the early 1990's there was a massive loss of Eurasion milfoil on Chickamauga Lake - from more than 7,000 acres coverage down to almost none. Most folks blamed TVA and their spray boats. However I felt like the lone voice in the wilderness who said TVA wasn't to blame. I duck hunted on the lake a LOT back then. One December, near Christmas, when milfoil growth (and root strength) was at its lowest point, we had a HUGE flood. A very unusual occurence in the dead of winter. With TVA flood gates wide open and river flows approaching 200,000 cubic feet per second, I sat in in a duck blind one day and watched as literally TONS of milfoil went floating downriver. My partner and I sat and marvelled at the never-ending stream of huge rafts of milfoil drifting past our blind. Caught at it's weakest point, the flooding and massive flow literally ripped the milfoil out of the bottom by the roots. The following summer is when milfoil coverage on Chickamauga Lake was at its lowest point in decades and in the ensuing years, the bass fishing crashed. BTW, that's when I switched from being a bass fisherman to a catfisherman.

thats pretty much it. bassmaster did a story on chickamaugua a couple of years ago that pretty much reflects your sentiment.

the last big bunch of milfoil and other grass that i saw on ky lake was right before the 2011 flood. it was messy. personally, i could do without that much milfoil or hydrilla.

 

[WTM]

we

It would be interesting to see the charts updated to include data from the last 5 years as well. It's a good explanation from them up through the production of that video 4-5 years ago.

have not had the hydrology to grow any in the last 5 or so years with all the high water. i hoping to see some emerge in august with lower water last year and so far this year. the biggest problem now is the grass carp. in the pockets where i used to see grass i am seeing these things. 50-100 pounders can eat 50-100 pounds of grass. id say that a lot. the down side is when they poop out half of what doesnt digest, it creates algae.

 

[BigCityBubba]

thats pretty much it. bassmaster did a story on chickamaugua a couple of years ago that pretty much reflects your sentiment.

the last big bunch of milfoil and other grass that i saw on ky lake was right before the 2011 flood. it was messy. personally, i could do without that much milfoil or hydrilla.

I remember a couple of years after the flood it got real bad again. I could be losing my mind. I used to fish boat docks allot and it became impossible because of the milfoil. This was in the Sulphur Creek /Turkey Creek part of the lake. You could not get into the back of Sulphur creek because it was so thick.

 

[bluball]

I haven't watched the video, but I clearly understand the environmental factors that slow down or benefit aquatic vegetation. Back in the early 1990's there was a massive loss of Eurasion milfoil on Chickamauga Lake - from more than 7,000 acres coverage down to almost none. Most folks blamed TVA and their spray boats. However I felt like the lone voice in the wilderness who said TVA wasn't to blame. I duck hunted on the lake a LOT back then. One December, near Christmas, when milfoil growth (and root strength) was at its lowest point, we had a HUGE flood. A very unusual occurence in the dead of winter. With TVA flood gates wide open and river flows approaching 200,000 cubic feet per second, I sat in in a duck blind one day and watched as literally TONS of milfoil went floating downriver. My partner and I sat and marvelled at the never-ending stream of huge rafts of milfoil drifting past our blind. Caught at it's weakest point, the flooding and massive flow literally ripped the milfoil out of the bottom by the roots. The following summer is when milfoil coverage on Chickamauga Lake was at its lowest point in decades and in the ensuing years, the bass fishing crashed. BTW, that's when I switched from being a bass fisherman to a catfisherman.

I have a buddy who saw there spray boats on ky lake 2yrs ago.

 

[bluball]

we

have not had the hydrology to grow any in the last 5 or so years with all the high water. i hoping to see some emerge in august with lower water last year and so far this year. the biggest problem now is the grass carp. in the pockets where i used to see grass i am seeing these things. 50-100 pounders can eat 50-100 pounds of grass. id say that a lot. the down side is when they poop out half of what doesnt digest, it creates algae.

There is milfoil in northetn ky lake from what the bass guys are saying,ones that stop by the shop.North of paris landing from what they are saying.