Lough Corrib Pike Abortion

DryFlyFishing

What do people think about the lough corrib weed cutting boat that is cutting the weed in March and April when the pike have spawned in the weed over the past three years... therefore killing all the spawn? and therefore very few small pike to eat the perch fry... and the perch have doubled in numbers year on year the past two years... and the trout are getting smaller...

the trout are getting smaller because the perch are competing for food with them...

just looking for your thoughts on this...

I would suggest cutting the weed from september to january... and not during the spawning season for pike or perch march -june -- and not during the growth stage... so only after september

Ryan!

Why are they cutting the weed?

DryFlyFishing

Ryan! wrote: »

Why are they cutting the weed?

http://www.invasivespeciesireland.com/files/public/Case%20Studies/Case%20Study%202%20-%20Lagarosiphon%20major%20in%20Lough%20Corrib.pdf


take a look at the the photos....looks more like pike spawn to me as it looks like its march/april look at the trees... no green... perch spawn in may + green trees also there is to much spawn in that photo to be perch... looks like a 8lb + pike spawned




http://www.wrfb.ie/news/press/press_release_body.php?no=23

coolwings

I wouldn't argue against removing that Lagarosiphon weed any hour of the day, or any day of the year.
It's in Corrib and it's going to make fishing a lot worse.
The more of it removed the longer it will take to do the damage it has done elsewhere.

As the conversation with Edward Longshanks in Braveheart went - but if we shoot into the battle our archers will kill our own men - and the reply - yes, but we will be killing theirs too.

A few thousand fish is a lot, but is also a small price that can be paid by fertile lough the size of Corrib. Imagine what annual harvest a farm of that acreage would produce, then convert tonnage to of fish numbers. The lake can renew that quantity in a short time.
Pike can grow back, trout can grow back, there are millions of perch. But lagarosiphon major weed entanglements will prevent any fishing for any kind of fish where it takes over.
In other words getting the weed out of all of it's known locations is the more important issue. Just possibly that particular alien invasive specie genie can be shoved back into it's bottle.

DryFlyFishing

coolwings wrote: »

I wouldn't argue against removing that Lagarosiphon weed any hour of the day, or any day of the year.
It's in Corrib and it's going to make fishing a lot worse.
The more of it removed the longer it will take to do the damage it has done elsewhere.

As the conversation with Edward Longshanks in Braveheart went - but if we shoot into the battle our archers will kill our own men - and the reply - yes, but we will be killing theirs too.

A few thousand fish is a lot, but is also a small price that can be paid by fertile lough the size of Corrib. Imagine what annual harvest a farm of that acreage would produce, then convert tonnage to of fish numbers. The lake can renew that quantity in a short time.
Pike can grow back, trout can grow back, there are millions of perch. But lagarosiphon major weed entanglements will prevent any fishing for any kind of fish where it takes over.
In other words getting the weed out of all of it's known locations is the more important issue. Just possibly that particular alien invasive specie genie can be shoved back into it's bottle.

i agree the weed needs to be killed... but do you not think the weed should be cut before the pike and perch spawn and also not cut when the pike and perch are growing until September? .... already have it cut..... during autumn and winter....???

anyway cutting the weed does not kill it... but that should be another thread...

ironbluedun

Of course the weed needs to be cut.... DFF whatever about the way you air your views, you do seem genuinely concerned about this issue…..ok they are cutting the weed and I believe they are correct to cut it as much and as often as they can….I have one question and I am not trying to be inflammatory….what did the pike and perch spawn in before this laga weed was introduced….you feel that the pike and perch are spawning only in this laga weed??? I don’t pursue pike or perch on the Corrib so I don’t know where they currently spawn to be honest….you see my point is surely if the laga weed is largely, and not totally removed then the pike and perch will revert to spawning in their traditional spawning grounds?? reeds flaggers etc etc?... I do agree that there are more perch in the Corrib than previous years and I have caught a few of them on mayfly nymphs, but other loughs are also experiencing an explosion of perch this year, so it could be other factors…
it is inevitable that the introduction of the laga weed would have some affect on trout and other fish stocks.., this happens with all invasive species look at what happened to the bream and roach on the Shannon when the zebras arrived…and the zebras are in the corrib now too….in these times I believe that there are going to be more and more invasive species and some of them may or may not affect trout stocks as I have said the carp are on their way along with a whole host of other invasive species….really with the current inadequate fishery management situation we have its up to the fisheries boards to manage the situation, but they don’t have the resources to manage the game fisheries properly…. but look that is a whole massive debate itself. They must continue to remove the weed as much and as often as they can.
Sadly this weed is a very serious issue for the trout. The under resourced fishery boards wont be able to get it all out so it is a matter of harvesting and trying to keep some form of control on it..that action itself will have some side affects....given the choice more perch i can live with a lough choked by that horrible weed i cant.........
I could not agree with only cutting the weed in the winter months it needs to be cut in spring and summer to control it...leaving it free to expand and thrive is a bad idea......

DryFlyFishing

the problem is the cutting boat is not cutting the weed all the time... as they dont have the money to cut all the time..

so why not cut the weed in the months that they should be cutting it instead of waiting for the pike spawn to be on that weed...

and you of all people know that any fish that has a habit of laying its eggs stuck to a plant will find the most protected area and that is why all pike or perch would lay there eggs on Lagarosiphon major ... it is the proffered weed...

so the weed needs to be removed before the pike spawn...

Resons:
*they are killing millions eggs / potential of pike fry
*there are not enough jack pike to eat the perch fry now
*perch are doubling in numbers year on year
*perch will eat themselves to death.. the perch will get week and get a disease due to competition for food and lack of it...
*A trout can not compete with a hundred perch for food.. trout size average is half or more and will be smaller
*perch are moving into deeper water in search of food... why... because
they are eating all the shallow food...

Result:
*buzzer/Mayfy/olive etc.... hatch are going to be decimated....
*millions of perch dead...
*Lake goes toxic
*all fish dead


but at least the weed will be cut... are you kidding me......



The weed is cut before the perch spawn... and no jack pike to kill the fry... why not cut it before the pike spawn

the lake will be toxic in the next 3-6 years with the 100% perch increase year on year..

2 years ago 200% total perch population in relation to 2007
1 year ago 400% total perch population in relation to 2007
This year 800% total perch population in relation to 2007



Cut the weed before the pike spawn and after september...and stop destroying the lake....

Also introduce the thousands of jack pike that have been clinically aborted...

And

Net the lake removing the percentage increase of adult perch that the boat caused.. and give or sell those perch to other perch water systems that were poached to decimation...

and climate change needs to be factored in... one bad year .... kills the perch.... and everything else, probably sooner than later...

ironbluedun

DryFlyFishing wrote: »

the problem is the cutting boat is not cutting the weed all the time... as they dont have the money to cut all the time..

Exactly, now you are getting there. The weed should be cut all the time summer and winter….what about a licence fee to raise funds to cut the weed??…its madness really the FB do the work with poor funding. The gillies, tackle dealers, hoteliers, B&Bs, pubs, restaurants, poachers etc etc sit back and take in the €€€€€€€€€€€€€…and don't forget the mutton-head fish mongers that kill smoke and sell trout for the €€€€€€€€ what are they doing about the weed? answer: complaining........the days of free wild fishing are gone…the wild fisheries have to be managed and that costs shillings until so called 'anglers' wake up and pay things wont change…the problem is money being used correctly and not wasted…that is the issue.....put your money where your mouths are.........

No need to use red text or italics…….

DryFlyFishing

ironbluedun wrote: »

Exactly, now you are getting there. The weed should be cut all the time summer and winter….what about a licence fee to raise funds to cut the weed??…its madness really the FB do the work with poor funding. The gillies, tackle dealers, hoteliers, B&Bs, pubs, restaurants etc etc sit back and take in the €€€€€€€€€€€€€…the days of free wild fishing are gone…the wild fisheries have to be managed and that costs shillings until anglers pay things wont change…the problem is money being used correctly and not wasted…that is the issue.

No need to use red text or italics…….

the boat does not cut most of the year... why does most of the cutting happen when the pike spawn is in the weed?????????????

the boat cuts all the weed in a few months ...



who is the Muppet that decides on the cutting time table...

he must hate pike and the lake and wants a disaster ..... i can just hear him say...but lets wait until the pike spawn is in it before we cut...


how stupid can they be.

is one looking for a disaster to prove they need more money... well with the little money they have they are creating a time bomb... jesus what would they do with alot of cash... just blow the lake up with a nuke

Dusty87

Id have a guess at the reason they're are cutting it now, is because its growing. Grows more now than in winter say. It would be pointless to cut it in winter.
But i understand what you mean.

DryFlyFishing

Dusty87 wrote: »

Id have a guess at the reason they're are cutting it now, is because its growing. Grows more now than in winter say. It would be pointless to cut it in winter.
But i understand what you mean.

they are not cutting it now...

they cut it in march april...

ironbluedun

DryFlyFishing wrote: »

they are not cutting it now...

they cut it in march april...

good best time to cut to remove all those vermin pike........when exactly do perch spawn? they should cut then too......ah dont forget the roach....when do they spawn? and the bream oh don't worry about them the zebras will do them,, first.....at that rate they will be cutting from feb to july......keep up the cutting cut cut cut cut all the way from feb to july i say,, and you lot put your money where your mouths are.....if you want to catch wild trout in wild locations get together and from a lough corrib trout protection association.....too much talk too much bullshyte....talk rant talk rant rant rage red text, italics, insults, bla bla bla bla do this do that do the other................but ultimately do nothing.
But seriously all these issues are a matter of funding and management, under the present system i cant see things changing any time soon.

DryFlyFishing

ironbluedun wrote: »

good best time to cut to remove all those vermin pike........when exactly do perch spawn? they should cut then too......ah dont forget the roach....when do they spawn? and the bream oh don't worry about them the zebras will do them,, first.....at that rate they will be cutting from feb to july......keep up the cutting cut cut cut cut all the way from feb to july i say,, and you lot put your money where your mouths are.....if you want to catch wild trout in wild locations get together and from a lough corrib trout protection association.....too much talk too much bullshyte....talk rant talk rant rant rage red text, italics, insults, bla bla bla bla do this do that do the other................but ultimately do nothing.

now your just being silly.....

the boat needs to be band from cutting in March April May June at least....

have the cut done before march and after June...at the minimum ... otherwise there wont be a fish left in that lake....

those pike are keeping your lake clean of weak fish... fish that need to be killed... perch trout etc... weak fish are a a failure to the rest... and at least the pike maintain a balance in the lake and dont let the perch take over and make the trout the size of your finger

are you part of the WRFB.... did you get a phone call today? well after this thread the fish is out of the pan into the fire...

coolwings

Mowing the grass doesn't kill the grass, but after repeated cuts most other plants (except dandelions, docks and clover) die off.

I'm speculating here .... repeated cutting will kill off the lagarosiphon major weeds' root system?
If that's so, then they will probably re-cut when it reaches a certain length?

ironbluedun

DryFlyFishing wrote: »

are you part of the WRFB.... did you get a phone call today? well after this thread the fish is out of the pan into the fire...

Certainly nothing to do with any fishery board...if I had my way they would be gone and all game fisheries would be controlled by local anglers or co-ops…. me I am just a long time war weary concerned trout and salmon angler who pay his licences’ every year…
€120 for salmon.
€39 to the SRFB for what? I don’t know.
€35 to the LSTPA best €35 I have ever spent.
Plus other ‘fees’ for some state fisheries and others…..

DryFlyFishing

ironbluedun wrote: »

Certainly nothing to do with any fishery board...if I had my way they would be gone and all game fisheries would be controlled by local anglers or co-ops…. me I am just a long time war weary concerned trout and salmon angler who pay his licences’ every year…
€120 for salmon.
€39 to the SRFB for what? I don’t know.
€35 to the LSTPA best €35 I have ever spent.
Plus other ‘fees’ for some state fisheries and others…..

well have you personally identified a major problem and got someone to do something about it?

the most i can do about this problem right now is bring it to peoples attention...

ironbluedun

coolwings wrote: »

Mowing the grass doesn't kill the grass, but after repeated cuts most other plants (except dandelions, docks and clover) die off.

I'm speculating here .... repeated cutting will kill off the lagarosiphon major weeds' root system?
If that's so, then they will probably re-cut when it reaches a certain length?

Yes it’s a matter of controlling the problem now and that takes real will power and costs money, does the FB have either of those??

DryFlyFishing

coolwings wrote: »

Mowing the grass doesn't kill the grass, but after repeated cuts most other plants (except dandelions, docks and clover) die off.

I'm speculating here .... repeated cutting will kill off the lagarosiphon major weeds' root system?
If that's so, then they will probably re-cut when it reaches a certain length?

mowing the lawn... or cutting Lagarosiphon will not kill the plant... the only sucessfull killing of that plant has been in currarevagh bay where a private individual had the WRFB deal with it ... and got fed up with WRFB failure... and hired his own divers to take the weed out... and there is no weed the past 2 years..

DryFlyFishing

ironbluedun wrote: »

Yes it’s a matter of controlling the problem now and that takes real will power and costs money, does the FB have either of those??

no point in killing the whole lake because you cut the weed at the wrong time...

set a proper cutting time table... so not to kill off all the pike

sure that is cheeper than cutting 12 months of the year...

cut should only be done in september to january...

or at a maximum july -january

ironbluedun

DryFlyFishing wrote: »

now your just being silly.....

the boat needs to be band from cutting in March April May June at least....

have the cut done before march and after June...at the minimum ... otherwise there wont be a fish left in that lake....

those pike are keeping your lake clean of weak fish... fish that need to be killed... perch trout etc... weak fish are a a failure to the rest... and at least the pike maintain a balance in the lake and dont let the perch take over and make the trout the size of your finger

are you part of the WRFB.... did you get a phone call today? well after this thread the fish is out of the pan into the fire...

I would not say silly…just sarcastic in a humorous way….of course pike are needed…I like pike…you are correct about the spawning and all of that but the weed still needs to be removed and my point is that it is better in spring and summer as it starts to grow, waiting until after June is too late………I don’t concur with your prediction that the lough will be dead in three years…the pike and perch will revert to their traditional spawning areas if the weed is removed.....all loughs have ups and downs…. I suppose we will see…I do think that anglers have to think long and hard about how wild fishing is managed in this country…..

ironbluedun

DryFlyFishing wrote: »

mowing the lawn... or cutting Lagarosiphon will not kill the plant... the only sucessfull killing of that plant has been in currarevagh bay where a private individual had the WRFB deal with it ... and got fed up with WRFB failure... and hired his own divers to take the weed out... and there is no weed the past 2 years..

thought divers was not successful??? due to the roots being 500mm down in the bed of the lough??? the weed just grows back?????????????????????????????please feel more than free to correct me.

DryFlyFishing

ironbluedun wrote: »

thought divers was not successful??? due to the roots being 500mm down in the bed of the lough??? the weed just grows back?????????????????????????????please feel more than free to correct me.

well i talked to the individual myself..... divers got rid of the weed.

would you like to chat to him...


its not rocket science to find out who he is

i told you all this information before... on another thread ... but i was called a troll ........ hhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

ironbluedun

DryFlyFishing wrote: »

well i talked to the individual myself..... divers got rid of the weed.

would you like to chat to him...


its not rocket science to find out who he is

yes i wouldnt mind sometime...its good to see somebody doing something and not waiting for the FB to spring into action...fair play to that man.

i never called you a troll....i dont like trolling... i prefer fly-fishing...

DryFlyFishing

ironbluedun wrote: »

yes i wouldnt mind sometime...its good to see somebody doing something and not waiting for the FB to spring into action...fair play to that man.

well if there is a problem you deal with it now... not wait 3 years... to get a cutting boat.. thats not going to kill the plant...

you send divers down... and dig it out when you found the problem...

so now we all know the pike spawn is being aborted before birth ... what are the WRFB going to do about the cutting time tabel??

well i sent this thread to the Irish times... hope they pick it up... make a big fishy tale...

viper123

Got to agree with DFF on his original point here, if not for his perch/pick reasoning. Surely the best time to control the weed is during the winter months when it has died back. If there's less mass of weeds to collect surely it's possible to collect more and also reduce the chance of spreading due to other parts of the lack from uncollected cut offs... also if the plant doesn't grow as much in the winter months there's less chance of a cut off getting hold and propigating somewhere else...
Cutting in the summer months can only be used for maintance and control, not elimination.

DryFlyFishing

viper123 wrote: »

Got to agree with DFF on his original point here,if not for his perch/pick reasoning.Surely the best time to control the weed is during the winter months when it has died back. If there's less mass of weeds to collect surely it's possible to collect more and also reduce the chance of spreading due to other parts of the lack from uncollected cut offs... also if the plant doesn't grow as much in the winter months there's less chance of a cut off getting hold and propigating somewhere else...
Cutting in the summer months can only be used for maintance and control, not elimination.

totally agree.... but if i was you i would do some research on what a perch population crash will do to the lake.. and how it happened in other lakes...

also shred the roots... in winter... deep ploughing...with the so called knives...

ironbluedun

viper123 wrote: »

Got to agree with DFF on his original point here, if not for his perch/pick reasoning. Surely the best time to control the weed is during the winter months when it has died back. If there's less mass of weeds to collect surely it's possible to collect more and also reduce the chance of spreading due to other parts of the lack from uncollected cut offs... also if the plant doesn't grow as much in the winter months there's less chance of a cut off getting hold and propigating somewhere else...
Cutting in the summer months can only be used for maintance and control, not elimination.

true enough but what about weather conditions and water levels?? surely it is easier in spring /summer than during short dark stormy dec and jan days? surely more production is achieved when water levels are lower weather better and the weed is got at before growing strong in high summer….you have made good points…therefore my policy is validated… raise funds and cut all year long as necessary/appropriate to do so…..

DryFlyFishing

ironbluedun wrote: »

true enough but what about weather conditions and water levels?? surely it is easier in spring /summer than during short dark stormy dec and jan days? surely more production is achieved when water levels are lower weather better and the weed is got at before growing strong in high summer….you have made good points…therefore my policy is validated… raise funds and cut all year long as necessary/appropriate to do so…..

winter = less truck loads...
summer = more truck loads.

winter = short day
summer = long day

winter = cold - put on a jumper
summer warm - put on your suntan lotion

winter = windy cold
summer = windy warm

bays= sheltered depending on the direction of wind .. ...

there are pros and cons to any season but they balance out...

the lads that cut the weed will not be happy in the cold though

happy workers means productivity...

maybe need passionate workers...

ironbluedun

DryFlyFishing wrote: »

winter = less truck loads...
summer = more truck loads.

winter = short day
summer = long day

winter = cold - put on a jumper
summer warm - put on your suntan lotion

winter = windy cold
summer = windy warm

bays= sheltered depending on the direction of wind .. ...

there are pros and cons to any season but they balance out...

the lads that cut the weed will not be happy in the cold though

happy workers means productivity...

maybe need passionate workers...

all this talking of cutting.........i think i will go and get me hair cut now......:D

DryFlyFishing

ironbluedun wrote: »

all this talking of cutting.........i think i will go and get me hair cut now......:D

so you never answered me... on another thread.... what was your average corrib trout this year on Dryfly and Nymph and traditional wets?

ironbluedun

DryFlyFishing wrote: »

so you never answered me... on another thread.... what was your average corrib trout this year on Dryfly and Nymph and traditional wets?

so far this year i have had a poor enough season on the corrib i will be back on it in July... so far small trout nothing bigger than 1.5lbs.. the fishing was patchy at times....i got bigger ones on sheelin though...got a few perch on the nymph on corrib...but there are millions of perch in sheelin too and far too many mayfly...one evening i was fishing on sheelin with a team of three nymphs and got a 6lb trout on the middle dropper and a 1lb perch on the point!!!! i have got two trout before but never a trout and perch at the same time...it was an unusual fight... the season is not over... mayfly fishing is often over rated wait until the season is over before drawing conclusions.

most of my trout were caught on dries, not a huge fan of wets from mid may onwards.