My 17 Acres in East Texas has gone from promising fishery to choked in less than a year. I've seen it develop grass before and the cold weather kill it back. This time seems different.
We just got 50 grass carp but I'm not a big fan of taking a few years to control it.
we have a huge flood plain - 1800 acres, so we get a lot of flow through.
Step 1 is to identify the problem I'm thinking hydrilla - what say ye? And what do we use for control?
https://photos.app.goo.gl/4fDGm3TCeNm9xEWw7https://photos.app.goo.gl/4DQqJoXVi9Z6khjS7
Pics won't open for me....
doh!
edited the links - try again?
thanks
If not Hydrila, then coon tail. No idea how to get rid of it easily. There are chemicals out there to kill it, but they do a number on your DO, when the grass dies.
+1
Grab a handful and crush it. If it smells bad, it's Chara
Shows what I know. I thought chara grew closer to the bottom.
Chara or possibly nitella. If crunchy & smells like garlic, chara.
I've got chara (smell test) and Tilapia seem to help keep it under control. No grass carp, not sure how effective they'd be with chara.
How deep does chara grow, and will it top at on the surface?
This stuff is growing mostly near the shore and thick up to about 4-5 ft. Occasional strands are showing out to 6 or 7 ft.
if you crush it, it doesn't smell.
I think I am agreeing that this is coontail.
How would you guys treat 17 acres with STRONG waterflow?
I am thinking start at the upstream end, see how it reacts and then move to the deeper/downstream areas in a few weeks.
You think your lake is bad now wait till those grass carp eat everything and you start getting blue-green algae blooms, it will happen.
Some grass is definitely better than no grass. The trick is finding a happy medium. The grass provides cover, produces oxygen during the day and uses up excess nutrients.
A few grass carp will help thin it down, but the key is how many are necessary to give you the level of control you need. Too many and you've wiped it all out, opening the door for other issues (BGA for one).
The stocking experts can give you much more insight on how many, but the key is to be patient when you decide to stock them.. and make sure they're sterile and wont reproduce. You may have to tweak those numbers after a while (either adding or removing a few).
If they were legal in Louisiana, I'd go with tilapia, but if it gets really cold where you are, you'll be restocking every year.
Any advice on best approach to herbicide for coontail in 17 acres?
thanks