Groups fight to keep foreign fish at bay

[Ahnkochee]

the state has always discharged sewage into the lake. as a matter pf f act before they moved the pipe underwater that point and the bays around the discharge were some of the best fishing on the lake.

Not always but close enough (dam built 1906, sewage dumping starting in 1928) but this discharge hasn't had a positive contribution to the lakes ecosystem. I can imagine the habitat being much more healthy without the dumping of sewage. I fished the lake since at least the early 70s. I used to fish right outside the "sewage waterfall" which used to flow into the stream directly from the treatment plant and always had a strong smell of chlorine. The tilapia loved that sewage flow and would literally mass in such number on the surface that they were practically a solid mass from shore to over twenty yards out. We would troll gold Rapala minnows just outside the tilapia mass and catch plenty LG Bass. This flow may have concentrated the fish in one location but I don't believe it added anything positive to the chemical balance of lake waters. I don't believe it had any positive effects on LG Bass reproduction. Now the discharge is 44 feet below the surface in same area but where are all the tilapia or bass in area like before? This sewage only helps the salvinia, and water hyacinth to grow out of control. Only the regular spraying of herbicides keeps these plants currently in check. Eliminate the sewage dumping and eliminate the need for herbicides which also has to be detrimental the water's health.
Every time the waters are released during times of heavy rain this nutrient rich water runs downstream and into Kaiaka Bay with negative effects. 2 million gallons of sewage dumped into any ecosystem is never good but especially so in a finite water system like Lake Wilson.

[BASSTRACKER]

ya i recall the days of being able to walk on the tilapia there they were so thick, and watching people load 5 gallon buckets full of them with only a treble hook and weight on the end of a line. to each there own but i don't know how anyone could think of eating them sitting there fishing in the sewage! i agree the sewage can't be good, but maybe its not all bad. the lake seemed much more prone to being nutrient rich back then, greener water. i know the shad feed on the plankton that feed the nutrients. of course those nutrients that fed the bloom could have come from doles fields too. but it wasn't uncommon to have shad schools 40-50 ft across and wall to wall busting. these past few year and i know the herbicides did severe damage to the shad and nearly wiped out the bluegill. but these past few years your lucky to see shad schools in the 10 ft range and more common to see smaller 3-5ft pods here and there scattered. are you sure they are still spraying? theres nothing left to spray , figured the state doesnt have money to waste on spraying a problem that doesnt exist right now. all in all its still not enough forage for too many fish the more aggressive the fish like the red devils the more the system is out of whack! just like any aquarium person can tell you the smaller the tank the greater the damage

[Ahnkochee]

I remember the days when the shad were so thick I'd snag them on the trebles of lures I was trolling. I have no doubt the Red Devils are having a negative impact on our shad population as well.