New Iowa Bilge law

Haha! That thing is a novel ecosystem unto itself!

MI-nick wrote: i recently read that bluegill are considered an "invasive" species in Japan...hard to think of a more harmless fish...

This does seem a bit odd at first, but most invasive species are harmless in their own range. There is a lot of research on how and why invasive species cause so much harm. Most of it has to do with them being able to operate outside of natural processes that keep them in check in their home ranges, such as predators, competitors, or disease. They also tend to have some life history characteristics, such as large numbers of offspring, that can give them an extra boost.

So even a species like bluegill that are harmless in their native range can become a serious problem once they enter a habitat or ecosystem that 1) cannot control their numbers and 2) is easily exploited by them.

Definitely some very interesting ecology!

81nautique wrote: Humans being humans.

Couldn't agree more.

quinner wrote: Keeping invasive species from spreading is "silly laws"??

Silly in a way if they think that a 75 dollar fine for water in the bilge will fund the clean up not to mention that even with a dry bilge the ballast tanks could be full

i recently read that bluegill are considered an "invasive" species in Japan...hard to think of a more harmless fish...

GlassSeeker wrote: I know of 1. Lake Davis California, Northern Pike illegally introduced to the lake and a years long fiasco to get rid of them. Draining, poisoning, Rotenone --= Fiasco is putting it mildly. But the Pike seem gone so far. edit=I forgot the detanation cord, yep they blew them up too.

Ah yes! Good call! I know that Northern are a major invader out west. Same is true for Rainbow Trout. Still seems strange to consider them an issue since that is what we often want to catch out here.

Large predators should, all things being equal, be relatively easy to remove because they are relatively few and slow growing, as compared to zebra mussels or invasive plants. I have some friends that are working on a project in the WI northwoods to try to remove invasive smelt from a lake by heating the whole lake up (smelt have limited temperature tolerance). I'm not 100% sure how it is going... I also know some folks that trapped the crap out of a lake to try to remove rusty crayfish. I don't think they got 100% of them out, but they don't seem to be the problem that there were before.

In my line of work there is a lot of theory about how some of these things work. The jargon is "alternative stable states." Basically it goes like this: Adult bass eat crayfish. Crayfish eat bass eggs. Small bass and crayfish eat the same thing. If crayfish get into a lake with few fish (that is, few predators and competitors) they can take over. Once they take over they can keep fish numbers down for the foreseeable future. If you remove enough crayfish and bring back enough fish, often by changing fishing regulations, you can tip the balance in favor of the bass and switch a lake over so that it is the fish that dominate and keep crayfish numbers low. That is the idea anyway. It is often very hard to tell exactly what is going on in a lake, and there can be lots of other factors at work.

But again, best idea is to keep these things from spreading in the first place. Anybody who enjoys the lake(s) they use (especially if you own property on it since it can seriously affect the value!) should be concerned about what is living in it and how to keep it clean and healthy. Preventative medicine is best!

Hansel wrote: I know a lot of people that study aquatic invasive species. Many of these invaders are pretty nasty, so doing little things like making sure your boat is clean, etc. is about a million times easier than trying to clean these things out of water bodies once they establish. In fact I can't think of a single successful removal of a major aquatic invader at all... A number of years ago I worked a summer in the WI Northwoods doing research on Rusty Crayfish and Chinese Mystery snails, both of which are pretty bad up there. On the plus side, they both taste pretty good!

I know of 1.
Lake Davis California, Northern Pike illegally introduced to the lake and a years long fiasco to get rid of them. Draining, poisoning, Rotenone --= Fiasco is putting it mildly. But the Pike seem gone so far.

edit=I forgot the detanation cord, yep they blew them up too.

P71_CrownVic wrote: OverMyHead wrote: Some people just seem to prefer the path of greatest resistence. We call those "people", politicians. Most of these half wits enforcing these silly laws believe me when I tell them I don't have a plug to pull. Of course, these are the same type of people that don't understand why my boat makes a slightly bigger wake at slow speed than others. Idiots. I also get a kick out of those stations they have at boat launches where they think they are going to pressure wash my boat when I pull it out. Think again...

1.Not sure I follow, you do have a center plug right?
2.If you can't turn your idle down then drop your boat in and out of gear so you don't throw a wake.
3. I would gladly use a wash station if there was one available at our ramps. Beats crawling under the trailer picking off weeds.

The milfoil on the South Lake side of Lake Cochituate is bad, Natick doesn't treat with chemicals . In some areas if you jump in or fall skiing(I do this a lot!! ) it's like swimming with spaghetti !

My local lake got hydrila last summer. Someone probably transplanted it with their bunk carpet. It can live 7 days out of the water.

Chinese Mystery Snails? Is that like Chinese Mystery Meat? Do the snails meow?

Full strength
I only flush with fresh water(kinda hard to run full strength vinegar thru the system) when I get home and spray some vinegar in the Bilge and let it sit. Wipe the outside down with full strength vinegar when I pull it out of the water.
I know if I am going to a different lake and let it dry for 7 days before.

What is thecratio of vinegar to water?

out west it's the quagga and zebra mussels.

invasive species is a big problem. water hyacinth is the worst for boaters. it took over a ski site of mine.





quagga


Some California Game wardens prepare to inspect for Quagga Mussels.

Some people just seem to prefer the path of greatest resistence.