Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Lake Michigan and Huron completely filtered by mussels every 6 days

Aint no way those mussels filter Lake Michigan in 6 days.. As for Zebra mussels, they are good in some ways. We have a Lake north Of here called Lake Winnebago. Forty years ago the lake just stunk with green algae, and it still does to some degree. It is a walleye perch fishery and has never been better. The sturgeon are doing very well too and that is a relief casuse it has a huge sturgeon population. As for Winnebago , the water is clearer but not clear, clear. The changes seem to be that the catfish and smallmouth bass numbers exploded Bad? Good? Neither but the lake did change and it instill is pretty green out there. Lake Michigan was always a clear lake as far as I can remember back to 1979. The report says Steelhead do eat them ( not the 24hr Steelhead, although , maybe he does and would explain a lot) Lake Trout also eat Gobies and Lake Trout bag limit was 2 per day for a long time. Now we are getting reports of enough Lake Trout to justify a 5 daily bag limit. Bad? Good? If the lake gets too clear, the mussels will die off in a hurry. Like other posters said, it will balance . Nature always does. Even Timber Wolves in WIs. are chaining the land for the better, sadly less deer , but a healthier forest for sure. Oaks, Hemlocks, White Pines are coming back cause of the wolf . Still no young cedars though. We will just have to eat less King Slamon and a few more smoked Lake Trout. Life could be worse.

I forgot to mention the smallmouth fishing on lake Erie, but it too is beyond fantastic, it almost gets boring catching 3-5 lb fish, but throw in a couple 6-7 pound fish and it is unbeatable, don't give up on your lakes, they will come around, it just takes time and a change in tactics, clear water means lighter lines and more detailed baits, remember the natural feed base is changing and so must the baits you use.

They've built a thriving population amidst the ecosystem of dumped stolen cars, motorcycles, bicycles and washing machines.

make it a law that it is illegal to eat those mussels all the while calling them a delicacy.
And talk about how eating them will make your wingwang bigger and more virile.

Chinese folks will have them cleaned out in no time.

LOL, that's the best plan I've heard.

Exactly. Things change and adapt. And get better for many species and worse for a few.

Bad thing is there is a 7 billion dollar industry geared the the species that are endangered...

Commercial fishing was dying on those lakes long before zebra mussels came along.

Not about commercial fishing. It's related to the sport fishery and the tourism industry.

The entire food chain starts with the algae, which feeds the smaller bait fish and bugs. Sterile lakes produce few critters.

Lakes are becoming sterile?
Got some real limonology experts here.
Some people gonna bitch about the ice creme being too cold.
People complaining about invasive specie impacting other invasive specie.
Tourism business will adapt fairly quickly. Commercial fishing not so much.