Inspecting for Zebra Mussels

[MOPanfisher]

Thought I would give a quick explanation of how easy it is to miss a zebra mussel when inspecting your boat, or dock for them.  The photo below is a young "adult" zebra mussel.  I was asked to inspect a large vessel for them today, fortunately also had an MDC agent along, as I simply didn't see the little things, I was looking for larger ones.  Took the Agent about 10 seconds to find them, and then you could see them all over the hull.  The the company's credit they are going to do the right thing and take the vessel to be fully de contaminated, via hot water power washing, and a 5 day dry time along with heavy bleaching of the bilges.

[Phil Lilley]

Wow

[jim m]

easy to see how they could be in the bilge pump system and overlooked

[dan hufferd]

I would bet the water jacket is a good place to grow those things

[terryj1024]

Wow never knew they started out so small thank you.

[Ham]

That's why I think the people that fish lakes without them should enjoy this honeymoon. I think they will end up in all the major lakes in the area. it might be 5 years or10 years or 20 years or 30 years, but they'll be in your lake too.

 

[skeeter]

Those "Wake Boats" we anglers love so much with the onboard bladders and tanks that they pump water into in order to throw those huge wakes that come over your bow, gunwales and transoms, are the "Prime Movers" of the Zebra Mussel.  Those tanks and bladders never fully dry out and can support the mussel(s) for weeks until the boat is launched again, the ballast tanks and bladders re-filled and then pumped out again taking the hitchhikers into new bodies of water.   

[MOPanfisher]

I have expected for years to find them on Pomme, so far we have been lucky, at least we have not been able to identify any on/in the lake.  The Zebra mussels were originally brought to the US by ballast tanks in big ships, so it certainly wouldn't be surprising to have them transported in the ballast tanks of a wake boat.  There are ways to de-con them but I seriously doubt that anyone does it.  I am not gonna give up on keeping them out, honestly am still not sure why they are not in Pomme, Stockton, Truman, or Table Rock,  keep expecting to see a report of finding them.  I also keep expecting to hear the silver or bigheads in LOZ as they are below the dam, thinking someone will be throwing a net for shad and transport them to the lake, but again, haven't heard of any.  Sure would change the ideas of riding a tube behind a boat as being fun.

[Dutch]

I don't know how they aren't in the other lakes yet.  I'm sure that some guys fish more than one of them and have the little hitch hikers on their boats or trailers when they leave Bull Shoals and switch to other lakes.  For that reason alone I have quit fishing Bull Shoals.  I don't want to be the guy who takes them to Pom or Stockton. 

[MOPanfisher]

I know several guys who have gone from LOZ one day and then to Pomme or Truman the next day.  Although it is much more likely that some one would transport the veligers than even a tiny one if boat was only in the water for a day.  I heard a report that zebra mussels were confirmed in Truman recently but haven't heard any more on it.  Certainly no the end of the world for fishing but would rather live without them.