Lake Tahoe: Smallmouth bass threatens native fish (Ya Can Blame the Erie Canal..)

SFGate.com ^ | 8/19/11 | Peter Fimrite

[NormsRevenge]

A highly aggressive species of fish has been found in Lake Tahoe, and environmental scientists are afraid the nonnative invader will gobble up native fish and ruin decades of work to improve water clarity, researchers said Tuesday.

...

"It really shocked us. You can think of it this way: There is a new bully in the neighborhood," said Sudeep Chandra, a university limnologist who was working with the California Department of Fish and Game on a study of invasive species when the discovery was made six weeks ago. ..

The Department of Fish and Game has been working with Chandra and his team of researchers in an attempt to remove nonnative species from the lake. Their joint study found that introduced species such as largemouth bass, bluegill and catfish have hurt water quality by excreting nutrients that cause algae blooms. Asian clams have caused similar chaos.

Smallmouth bass, known scientifically as Micropterus dolomieu, aren't rare. They have been moved all over the United States since 1825, when construction of the Erie Canal extended their range into central New York state.

The problem is that they are ferocious predators that are likely to feed on Tahoe's native redside dace, suckers and chub.

Studies of introduced smallmouth bass have already shown that they have devastated trout populations on the East Coast. Tahoe's lake, brown and rainbow trout could also be in jeopardy. The alien fish could hamper efforts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to re-introduce native Lahontan trout to the Sierra lake.

The joint study documented a 58 percent decline in native fish caused just by largemouth bass, bluegill and catfish. The smallmouth bass could make things worse, said Kevin Thomas, a Fish and Game environmental scientist who co-wrote the invasive species study.

[Mike Darancette]

That works out because the Brown Trout is an introduced (invasive) species too.

The Lahontan Cutthroat Trout is the only lake Tahoe native trout.

[RitchieAprile]

but will they eat Fredo?

[EN1 Sailor]

You don't want the feds messing around anyone's lake. I live smack between Sacto and Tahoe. Near Sacto was/is a small lake that was stocked with wussy little trouts (can't stand that stuff). So some kind person introduced some pike (good eatin' there), you know, for a bit of diversity?

Son-of-a-gun wouldn't you know, them pike were eating all the little trouts. So the state came in to fix the problem. Last I heard, they'd poisoned and drained the thing 3 times and still couldn't get rid of them pike. Or they kept being re-introduced. I just had to LOL at what they spent to make a few anglers happy.

[Mariner]

Even IF they could clear the lake of invasive species, they would be back in a couple of years.

Too many people will not respect the ban on introduction.

[hattend]

Okay, I’m not a fisherman so excuse my ignorance.

Isn’t a Bass a warm water fish?

Tahoe has got to be the coldest, most package shriveling lake I have ever had the misfortune to swim in on a bet). How are the bass thriving?

[hattend]

It would be tough to drain Tahoe.

But if there is a way the Fed can do it... for Trillions over budget, of course.

[ASA Vet]

I’ve caught smallmouth with one case and a brookie the next.

I suspect by the time you finished that case you couldn't any longer tell the difference between a small mouth and a brookie.

[txhurl]

Hm.. a thread to go with my tag :)

[cripplecreek]

LOL I was hoping nobody would notice.

[ASA Vet]

Tahoe has got to be the coldest, most package shriveling lake I have ever had the misfortune to swim in on a bet.)

The upper 12 feet of Lake Tahoe can warm to 68 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer.

The average surface temperature of Lake Gichigami during the summer is about 55 °F

[Captain Compassion]

There haven't been any native trout in Tahoe sense the Newlands Project redirected the Truckee River water. Nevada has dumped 20,000 Cutthroat trout in the lake but they aren't the same species that grew to over 40 pounds and they will be easy prey for the monster lake trout that swim these waters. You cant go back.

CC

[hattend]

The upper 12 feet of Lake Tahoe can warm to 68 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer.

Must not have been the summer I ran from the back of the vacation lodge, across the sand and dove into the water at the beach edge. I might as well have been at a Polar Bear Club dunking.

[ASA Vet]

Always willing to help a fellow Michigan troll.

[ASA Vet]

I suspect the average is much lower than the “can warm to 68” figure.

[Captain Compassion]

The problem are the lake Trout. They tried to reintroduce Cutts to nearby Fallen Leaf Lake. The USFWS spent millions dumping in cutts all with nice orange tags. To date there have been no Cutts caught but there have been lots of nice fat Lakers filled with orange tags.

CC

[txhurl]

Semi-OT: Our lake, Travis, west of Austin is dried up so bad that every species is concentrated: birds, fish, snakes, everybody. My dock has an upper deck to observe this new close-quarters aquarium and note who's tank boss over who and see some sophisticated bass schooling/hunting behavior.

This morning a Blue Heron waded *towards* me feeding the fish, hoping to snag a minnow, ten feet from me.

[Mike Darancette]

More places for a Cutt to hide in Tahoe over Fallen Leaf which is pretty much a bath tub.

[Mike Darancette]

OBTW: How is the war on pike at Lake Davis going?

[wolfcreek]

“The smallmouth prefers cooler water temperatures than its cousin the largemouth bass, and may be found in both still and moving water.”

As a Texan, I can tell you I've caught nearly all the sub-species of bass in our waters of many description.

I'd have to say most of them are highly adaptable.

[hattend]

There you go. Once again, I learn something new on FR.