IS CALIFORNIA OVER REACTING????

[calincalif50]

  Some northern lakes in Cali have closed thier ramps  to southern Cal lakes if the lake has positive proof of the QUAGGA Mussel.  Casitas a premier hvy bass lake is considering closing it ramps to fisherman, possibly any boat outside the rentals. Seems the mussel is wrecking havoc (albeit in what way I don't know) on several southern Cal lakes connected to the Colorado river chain.

Do you have a Quagga problem in your area? They've been in the Great lakes since the 80s
Are your lakes suffering from the same problem?
Did your lakes have a plan to halt or reduce the problem.  Let us know

[docav]

here is more info on it. doug

Hot on the heels of the news that California's Lake Casitas could face a closure to combat the spread of the invasive quagga mussel, several Northern California papers are reporting that some lakes are now off-limits to visiting boaters from certain locales.

The Lake County Record Bee reports: "The spread of the mussels are so important that starting Feb. 1 the East Bay Municipal Utility District is placing boating restrictions on many of the lakes in its jurisdiction. Boaters from Southern California, San Benito County and Santa Clara County are now banned from Lake Camanche, San Pablo, Briones, Lafayette and Chabot. All other boaters will be required to pass an inspection before they can launch their boats."

The story even raised the specter of what might happen in the case of Clear Lake. Could it face similar restrictions, which would severely impact the area's tourism- and fishing-dependent economy? Could we face a future where major tournaments like the FLW Series, Stren Series, or Bassmaster Elite Series no longer visit Clear Lake? Pretty scary.

[Benthook120]

Just read this thread. Is this the same as the Zebra mussel? My next question would be what good would shutting down the lakes do if the problem is already there, I mean its not going to make the problem go away is it? The infestation has probably already taken place in most lakes already so what good is shutting down the lakes going to do? We've been dealing with the Zebra Mussel here for years, I guess its a good thing the Gobies (another univited invasive species) eats them.

[T1A]

. Is this the same as the Zebra mussel? 

That was my question also?

[jstrozier]

Just read this thread. Is this the same as the Zebra mussel? My next question would be what good would shutting down the lakes do if the problem is already there, I mean its not going to make the problem go away is it? The infestation has probably already taken place in most lakes already so what good is shutting down the lakes going to do? We've been dealing with the Zebra Mussel here for years, I guess its a good thing the Gobies (another univited invasive species) eats them.

Goby's do alot of damage themselves. They have been killing tons of herring and other birds because of some disease the are prone to  get during fall I think

[J B]

I am more concerned with Californians going out of state spreading the mussels.There's a lot of good reading on westernbass.com on this issue. I urge everyone to read it. It could be a vision on what is in store for bass fishing, recreational boating and lake usage in general. There is an article that catch and release will kill the mussels. Might be a good idea to pick up a bottle and treat livewells and bilges. Personally I think it is too late but it will not hurt our cause if we show the lake managers we are working to help.There is a team back east that is working on some kind of plan to intorduce a virus or some such thing that disrupts the cycle. All water users need to get on board and be aware of what is going on with this invasive species