Prior lake Zebra Mussels

[Black_Bay]

I was checking out the DNR site for ice out dates and came across this.

http://news.dnr.state.mn.us/index.php/2009/04/10/dnr-urges-extra-precautions-for-prior-lake/

It was just a matter of time I guess.

[JBMasterAngler]

At least we know the water will be cleaner anyway In the short term it will make for better fishing. Although the people that live on the lake won't be too happy.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

At least we know the water will be cleaner anyway In the short term it will make for better fishing...

How do you figure?

[JBMasterAngler]

I guess I should rephrase that to the potential for better fishing will be there. If zebra muscles take hold they will filter out and clean the water...cleaner water will mean better weed growth, which means more fish habitat. Also theoretically, clearer water will make fish harder to catch, allowing more to grow to bigger sizes. Obviously zebe's are exotics and I wish they weren't here, but I also think that the notion that they can ruin spawning beds is propaganda to make people more aware (which I'm totally ok with if it works) of spreading exotics. If zebe's ruined spawning beds, then walleyes on lake erie would be an endangered species. Personally I think walleyes can spawn just as successful (do they spawn in prior at all?) on a clump of zebra mussels as they can on a rocky shoal. I also said short term because it may be a possibility they could have a long term impact on a smaller body of water like prior as opposed to somewhere like erie or the 'sippi.

[Adam Wolf]

My understanding is they eat a lot of the microorganisms that small creatures would eat, those natural creatures die off, working up the food chain pretty soon there is no food for fish. That is why the water is clear as well, there is less organic matter in it.

[goblueM]

zebes tend to knock out the base of the food pyramid by filtering out the organic matter and the plankton that eat it. This severely limits the food sources for macroinvertebrates and small baitfish, and in turn the larger game fish, and so on. really screws up the food web

they DO however generally make for clearer (not to be confused with cleaner) water, which can improve fishing in some cases by stimulating deeper weed growth and provides better hiding places for baitfish, and can also give game fish that are generally visual predators better success rates

[Sandmannd]

Thanks for the explanation on what they do guys, I was kinda curious myself what the harm was with them.

Hopefully they can control them.

[JBMasterAngler]

Sheephead are very willing feeders of zebra mussels...I'm gonna guess nobody will go with stocking them in prior for zebe control. In all honesty I think the extent of damage will be zebe's clinging to docks and boats, etc...which will make lakeshore owners pretty upset.

[half-dutch]

The biggest problem with zebra mussels are the massive infestations of colonies that get into everything, plug up water intakes, and discharges with the massive numbers of small, sharp shells they leave behind. Those shells are a hazard to fishing lines and quite dangerous to bare feet, too, and can blanket particular spawning areas making some types of fish reproduction difficult and some types of habitat unusable for important forage species. Empty shells can wash up on beaches sometimes in fantastic numbers.

The mussels themselves are very efficient filterers of "overly-fertile" waters, and can change water quality and clarity fairly rapidly which also changes the local food chains and fish populations. It is questionable whether they actually improve the water quality, but some experts claim so, and credit them in a great part for much improved water quality in Lake Eire.

The larvae are part of the plankton; all water in infested bodies should be considered contaminated with them. That can include coolant water that may occasionally remain inside outboard motors, as well as in bilges, live wells and bait buckets. They are transported to new locations by accident very easily.

Once established, zebra mussels have so far proven next to impossible to irradicate. Containment isn't working all that well either.

[chasineyes]

SO WHAT! We don't care that kids are overwieght, schools are cutting budgets, illegals are running rampant, child molesters are on the loose, companies are closing, people are losing jobs, taxes are being rasied, banks and now insurance companies are being bailed out...I could go on and on so I think I'll just stick my head back in the sand. Afterall, I don't fish much and never fish prior so WHO CARES.

(P.S. I'm being somewhat sarcastic)

[crappieflop1212]

Should be interesting to see how this turns out. I have always thought Prior has been a resiliant lake. It amazes me how the populations hold up to the pressure it gets.

[AceintheHole]

I have fisher Prior my whole life and in the last ten years that lake has gone right down the crapper. To many boats to many jet ski's and to many pretty green lawns that go right to the lake shore. This is the Problem with Prior. Used to be a great fishing lake now it's just a lake.

[CJH]

My brother used to water patrol out there (he's a deputy) and after doing that a few years, he said he would never set foot in that lake. All kinds of nasty stuff floating around and its a zoo.

[AceintheHole]

ZOO is right. Dirty pigs is what they are

[chasineyes]

ZOO is right. Dirty pigs is what they are

Must be all those outsiders. Certainly couldn't be the lakshore owners and spoiled rotten bratty children???

[AceintheHole]

Yea there the worst out of all of them.

[Sandmannd]

That's what happens when you have the big "metro" area lakes. Some, probably most, lake shore owners care more about the manicure of their lawn than what's best for the lakes. Then you got the "rich" kids out there doing whatever they want because Daddy has a piece of property on it.

I'm not bashing all, I have met a couple of kids (one off of here that lives on Minnetonka) that are very good outdoorsman and respect what they have.

[JBMasterAngler]

I fished prior for the very first time last september...lot's of bass, but nothing big. Yeah, the water is gross...especially the upper lake. First thing I noticed was all the houses on the lake, they were literally on top of each other! There had to be more houses per shoreline mile on prior than any other lake I've ever been on! I do however want to make it an annual september lake now though.

[AceintheHole]

Still a good fishing lake but not like it used to be

[Go2fish]

In the 2002 Prior Lake Lakefront Days bass tournament the winning bag was 38.91lbs on 8 fish....that is about as good as you will ever do in MN. I think Prior is pretty good fishing.

As far as the Zebra Mussles they will be rampant in every metro lake shortly unless some significant changes are made now. Everyone really went off on the Minnetonka Lake Association for putting together a plan for trying to keep zebra mussles out of tonka. Think they just got a lot more credibility, unfortunately if they are in Prior they are probably in Tonka.