Too Much of a Good Thing
challenge of fishing Pool 1, however, is its aquatic vegetation requires a little more patience and light line. You'll get hung up on the vegetation, but that is where the lunkers are.
Although vegetation harbors the fish, it also makes them hard to reach. Therefore, we’re controlling Pool 1’s aquatic plants. Unfortunately, there isn’t a one-brand-fits-all herbicide out there… at least not one that is approved for aquatic use and that wouldn’t kill all of your fish too.
The Aquatic Plants of Pool 1
In Pool 1 there are many species of plants that tie up space in the water column, but they typically fall into two groups.
Submergent vegetation are plants that grow and stay under water. Coontail, Eurasian watermilfoil, bladderwort, fanwort and Elodea (also called American waterweed) are the main submergent species found in Pool 1. As I mentioned earlier, the distribution and density of these species has changed over the years. Coontail and watermilfoil used to be the dominant submerged plants in Pool 1, but in 2001 fanwort started become more dominant and outcompeted the coontail. Since 2009 Elodea has come into the picture and is becoming a larger player.
On the water’s surface there is more than just one type of lily or floating, leaved plant. American lotus, water lily, spatterdock and water shield are the four main species. You can tell the difference between them by their leaf size and shape and their different flowers. American lotus is the largest. It has a round leaf that can also extend above the water’s surface.
In the past, this plant had stayed on the north end of the pool, but recently it has increased across the southwest corner. In 2003 a few small patches of lotus covered less than 7 acres in this portion. Since then, the area covered by lotus has continued to expand on average 15 acres per year. In 2010, roughly 122 acres were covered by lotus in this section of Pool 1.
Plant Management
So what is our strategy to keep this dense mat of vegetation back so it is easier to fish?
As I mentioned earlier, there isn’t a simple solution. Pool 1 is 1,800 acres, and treating the whole area is not feasible. Additionally, since these plants compete for the same light and space in the water column, once you remove one species another will move in and take up the empty space. The plants on top of the water require a





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