
5 minute read
Curly Leaf… Continued From Page 1
not get the tag invasive here in MO yet, but it is definitely a non-native, super aggressive, submersed plant species.
CLPW has an interesting life history. It starts to grow during September and will grow until water temps get below 40-45 degrees and then will over winter at 1-2 feet in height. Once water temps reach that same temperature in the spring ti will start growing again. This gives it a 2-3 foot head start on other plants like coontail, American pondweed, etc. CLPW has been documented to grow in up to 20 feet of water, but 1-12 feet is the most common. In Lake Thunderhead my estimate would be 8-10 ft will be the deepest that it grows due to clarity and light penetration. CLPW will start setting Turions, or seed like structures, during late April early May.
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CLPW will be the most prevalent during late May and early June. Most years in north Missouri it has completely finished its yearly cycle by the 4th of July and will be dying off.
Issues with CLPW are both biological and social. It will create a solid ring of vegetation from shoreline to 12 feet of water so dense that fishing it is nearly impossi- ble, and swimming is totally out of the question. It also grows so dense that largemouth bass will not be able to feed on crappie and bluegill in it. Once it dies off it also creates an issue with low dissolved oxygen in the lake. While aquatic plants are growing, they create oxygen but when they die off and decompose, they use oxygen and create CO2. Dissolved oxygen swings during warm water times are the leading cause of fish kills.
Treatment options are usually very expensive. Chemical treatment is the best bet in ponds, but it will cost roughly $1,000 per acre per year for a minimum of 3 years. That is not an option at Lake Thunderhead. Grass Carp as a management tool is also an option. Grass Carp love it. The issue is that we need to get enough Grass Carp to suppress growth but not too many where they create an issue with muddying the lake, while they look for food once they do their job. Grass Carp should not be able to spawn successfully in a lake setting so they will die off in roughly 15 years.”
Officer Loken presented his findings to the Fish Committee, along with Lake Man- ager Rodney Weir and Board President Cody Veach a couple weeks ago. The group listened intently and asked lots of good questions of Office Loken. In the end, everyone agreed with his assessment that introducing Grass Carp to help get this weed under control and keep it that way, was the way to go, and fast.


By about 3 days after his presentation, the Fish Committee had arranged and executed, with the help of a surprising amount of volunteers on such short notice, introducing 900 Grass Carp in the lake. They are already at work chowing on the CLPW. Grass Carp shouldn’t reproduce in our lake, which is a good thing, as we are in control of their population that way. Plus, they will not interfere with our sport or other fish population, as they really love to eat grass and delicacies (to them) like CLPW.
One thing to note here. The Fish Committee works diligently with our state biologist to optimize our lake’s fishery. No species of fish is introduced on our lake without extensive discussions with Officer Loken to determine the short and long term effects on our current and future fish population, and the overall effect the introduction would have on the lake in general.
Please, please do not ever take it upon yourself to introduce ANY fish of any kind into our lake. You might think it’s only a couple of fish, but a deadly pathogen might also be introduced, or from just two fish an entire population can emerge. Think Adam & Eve or Noah’s Ark for example. Some fish, could cause immediate and long term negative effects on our lake. Please do not introduce fish to the lake.
Now back to the CLPW. The lake is working now with the Department of Conservation to create a plan to double down on eliminating this plant. Expect to hear from them in the next few months regarding the possibility of spraying for them in early spring next year. We’ll also be stocking another 900 Grass Carp next year and 500 in 2025. We’ll work with the Dept of Conservation along the way to tweak the program so it’s most effective.
What can you do now if you have CLPW along your shore? You may pull it out and remove it from the lake. That will free up the area this year, but will not eliminate it next year, as it’s seeds will most likely have already dropped for the year. BTW, we fully expect CLPW to actually
INCREASE in the lake before the carp get it under control and/or spraying helps knock it down next year. The weed increases it’s coverage by 4 times over the prior year’s infestation. So for example, if you have a 4 foot x 4 foot area of it this year. It’ll likely be 16 x 16 feet next year. This explains why this was such an immediate priority. Much credit to the lake, Fish Committee and the Dept of Conservation for teaming up to fight this. The good news is that we believe we caught it early.
How did it get here? May have been migratory birds. Could possibly have been brought in via boats that haven’t been properly cleaned prior to coming to the lake.
Here’s a quick link on how to clean your boat (and this applies to ALL watercraft, not just fishing boats, particularly those with ballasts, etc) to help prevent introduction of unwanted species into the lake: https:// www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/preventspread_
watercraft.html
So, in sum, we have an unwanted plant(Curly Leaf Pond Weed) beginning to take hold in our lake. The Dept of Conservation, the lake and the Fish Committee are on top of it. No doubt the lake will be sharing further information on spraying for the weeds when that plan is fully developed. We’ll do our best to keep you informed as well. In the meantime, if you’d like more information, Officer Loken’s full information sheet is available in the office.
Oh yeah, one last thing. Please do not keep these carp if you catch them. They are over $5 a piece and they have work to do. In time, they will grow to be as large as maybe 40 lbs. At that point, as they age, they won’t be such good eaters. We may have a plan to cull the larger ones at that point, but that’s years away.
Tight lines everyone! But please catch and release these if you happen to catch one.
A very, very pricey taste
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