Re: Lake Hopatcong Grass Carp:
 

I hear they prefer very still water. Are there any known rivers (that have good flow) that have a snakehead problem?

Any reports of them in the canal? I hear flatheads were in there.

Re: Lake Hopatcong Grass Carp:
 

Flatheads are in the canal and mainstem. I caught a 9lb flatty 2 or 3 yrs ago in the mainstem. I've also seen carcasses of 20+ lbers tossed in the woods along the towpath

Re: Lake Hopatcong Grass Carp:
 

Biologists look at Flatheads, Grass Carp and Snakeheads not by the day or week, they look at impacts 5,10, 20+ more years down the road.
What may seem fine today may not be so good 15 years from now, I give them due credit for looking at things this way. There is no crystal ball that tells the future but they seem to have a good understanding and how all wildlife interacts.

Re: Lake Hopatcong Grass Carp:
 

The phosphorous in the fertilizers needs to be addressed. That is a root cause to the weed issue, and should be part of the solution. Just want to say that first.

The sterilization process is to treat fertilized grass carp eggs with heat or cold to make them sterile. That makes their chromosomes triple instead of double, which prevents normal cell meiosis. Insert some science class facts but for us they then grow up sterile. The National F&W site reviews testing of the fish and states that triploid fish will never become diploid, meaning they can never reproduce. It refutes a study in Michigan where supposedly the grass carp reproduced over time. (Not sure what to believe there)

So this would then become a conservation management issue. And that makes me uncomfortable too, since we have seen time and again an inability to properly manage programs consistently in NJ. Leaders change, budgets are cut, inconsistent efforts and results.

Patience is what is required in this type of stocking program! Introduce a small number of carp. Observe their impact for 2 years. Then introduce some more. 2 years later, measure results. And repeat until optimum stocking to lake habitat is achieved.

But I don't see that happening. The worry would be impatience to start, resulting in over stocking for maximum immediate results. The carp clear the coves. Boaters are happy.

Then the carp need more to eat. And keep eating. And we lose the weed cover for the bait fish. And the lake dies. Or at least the lake ceases to be the desirable fishing destination it has become.

We have one of the best fisheries in the state. Why risk that?

Re: Lake Hopatcong Grass Carp:
 

What concerns me is a resident taking matters into their own hands and stocking the fish themselves or even stocking the wrong one!