Say Goodbye to Athens Grass

Two of these rigs there today. Don't worry, it only kills Salvinia

Do they have a salvinia problem? That's the first question. If not, some landowners don't want their feet touching the grass from their dock

“Goodbye Hydrilla!!”.

With out good weed/grass beds,fishing will go down hill real fast!

They have been spraying for the past 2 years.

We have less than an acre of Hydrilla as of 2017, likely less now. And, even the invasive Alligator weed is on the decline in a big way. The Giant Salvinia scare? It never materialized . . . though its nasty reputation for spreading out of control was promoted hard by showing lake front owners photos of Caddo.

Lake Athens actually falls on the low side of the TPWD's recommended 20 to 40% vegetation coverage and yet there are concerns. Other than a bit of maintenance in a few shallower coves, the lake is really in pretty good shape.

Surprised to see these photos of chemicals being delivered. I thought the time window for those applications had passed. Hmm?

Brad

Nothing with the logo "toxic" should be going in to ANY of our bodies of water.

You may be saying goodbye to more than just hydrilla.

komeen specimen_12-16-16_pa - SePRO Corporation

https://sepro.com/documents/Komeen-Crystal_Label.pdf
This pesticide is toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates. Waters treated with this product may be hazardous to aquatic organisms. Treatment of aquatic weeds and algae can result in oxygen loss from decomposition of dead algae and weeds. This oxygen loss can cause fish and invertebrate suffocation.

…..You do know this lake is owned by the Athens Municipal Water Authority
- You do know that the lake is there for the city water use
--- you do know that the home owners care nothing about outside fishermen
--- you do know that weeds clog the intake of those big wake boats
*** right ? ***
so what makes you think that killing weeds or fish is on anyone's mind when it comes to the AMWA or the land owners
??????
Glad I moved …...

That disclaimer has to be put on basically every pesticide made today. It's just EPA lawyer speak. The dye we use to put in our irrigation pond for algae control has the same disclaimer. And its edible grade food coloring! It's not going to kill the fish. The fish aren't going to be deformed. It's not going to melt your fishing line and make your future children have 3 legs.

Didn't we have this same thread last year?

Bye Bye fishing

Hate to see this, especially this time of year (thermocline deoxygenation) and two months before lake turnover.

I understand controlling salvinia and keeping water pipes flowing; but it would be more economical and less environmentally impactful to do these treatments in January and February when vegetation is struggling to survive.
You would need less chemicals and less spraying to control vegetation issues in these months.

In the summer and hottest part of the year, the plankton and fish depend on vegetation for oxygen generation in the water.
During the coldest months, oxygen saturation in water is the highest.

Wait for it...Headline: LMBV Discovered at Lake Athens...

With terrestrial weeds you typically need active growth for herbicide absorption and effectiveness. That's why many herbicides are not effective when it is cold. It is probably the same for aquatic vegetation. Not trying to support the treatment, just passing along info.

Thanks. Figured that would be a factor.
Just hoping they don't carpet bomb the lake during the thermocline and just prior to lake turn over.

The TOXIC label UN 3010 is for a copper based pesticide

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UN_numbers_3001_to_3100

And the grass is noticeably less abundant out there this year. Hydrilla is patchy and hard to find. Alligator weed is still there but noticeably less of it.

I’m all for killing every shred of grass! Do you know how many times IVE LOST A GIANT IN THAT GRASS?!!




Jk.

Well if they do kill it all, it'll be some ridiculous fishing for about a year

They are talking about spraying the grass at Hubbard creek lake

I have know idea what is going on....but if you want to know, why not contact someone who does?:

Brookeland Aquatic Invasive Species
John Findeisen
Team Leader
900 CR 218
Brookeland, Texas 75931
(361) 547-9712
john.findeisen@tpwd.texas.gov

Once again they are going to ruin a lake. You would think they would learn from past mistakes on other lakes but people now days are TOTALLY CLUELESS.

I'm sure the district office in Tyler could answer some questions but as with lake Austin, it was the lakefront money that made the real decisions

Used to catch lots of giants in Aquilla in the grass and hydrilla. No more. They killed all the grass. It's just another mud hole now. Fishing sucks.

They will care once the lake is no longer clear water. Just a giant mud hole with lousy fishing.
Then how valuable their property be?
J D

welp

They will care once the lake is no longer clear water. Just a giant mud hole with lousy fishing.
Then how valuable their property be?
J D
[/quote]
Again …. you mention fishing, lousy fishing at that, and the home owners in the same breath.
They do not care about the fishing or the fishermen. They bring no value to their lake / property or the City of Athens
The people that live around lake Athens do not need their property values to go up. The tax rate to live on Athens is astronomical. They don't want to pay more.
They want to be able to swim and boat around their docks and their shoreline ---- not fish.

if you truly want to talk to someone about what they are doing -- contact AMWA

Now -- jus one more comment from the other side of the coin
With the TPWD Fishery right next door to Athens do you really think that the experts HAVE NOT been consulted by the AMWA and those experts have not put their stamp of approval on what they are doing with the lake ?

AMWA is water first, fish friendly second.

It has repeatedly denied recent attempts by LAPOA to eliminate the overflow parking that is now available to those parking trailers up nearer the south side of TFF. That lot is leased for such parking but the HOA wants to see it terminated.

Several years ago they placed signs to eliminate all parking in the grass over under the adjacent trees. Can't recall whether some parked trucks/trailers had begun using that area, or not, but off-limits for sure now. I used to pull in there and sit in the shade and read.

So, anyway, if they ever eliminate parking in the grass to the north side of the dumpster (along the road coming in), I guess 20 or more trailers can be parked there, that'd really cut back on potential parking opportunities. Eliminate the overflow parking up even a bit farther to the north, just south of TFF, and then suddenly there are only 14 parking slots that will accommodate a truck and trailer. Better get there early!

For now, AMWA has rebuffed all efforts to reduce parking.

Brad

P.S. Oh! TPWD thinks the vegetation coverage on Lake Athens is dialed in pretty well at its preferred 20 to 40% coverage. Athens is around 20%, so on the low side of the ideal range. Of course, TPWD is fishing first, other issues (invasive weeds, etc.) a close second I'd say.

Eliminate all the grass and in a couple years you'll only need 14 parking spots

Good, point, Jarrett. I agree.

The worst thing that could happen to Lake Athens is for it to turn into something akin to Purtis Creek or Raven Lake down near Huntsville. In both of these cases, my understanding is since there is camping around the perimeters of the lakes, it had become difficult for bank anglers to cast out beyond the weed line. True, I think, for Raven, I know. They killed off almost all vegetation.

But, Lake Athens has essentially no campers and few bank fish-able areas open to the public to consider. It is an entirely different sort of lake.

Other than some mechanical clean up deep in the coves where it gets pretty hairy, I think the main lake is just super the way it is. Largely spring fed and watershed run off with no major river system feeding it, the water is clean, decent visibility, good balance of nature going on in it. I have rarely see a dead fish floating on the lake, can't recall any history of disastrous fish kills like Granbury and so many others.

Looks like nature has done a danged good job creating a workable balance to me. I'd be real careful messing with Mother Nature.

Brad

They destroyed Coleto Creek when they killed all the grass. I sure miss those wonderful grass beds!!

many years ago it took 30# in a 5 fish tournament on Cypress Springs. Now it takes 16-17. and the weights drop off very quickly. there is a huge correlation to productive fisheries and natural vegetation. to ignore the decimation of natural vegetation in the lake while continuing to think the local economy will not suffer... is ludicrous!!!

This is great news!!!!

I love it.

Get rid it all.......less fishermen and I can catch fish there without grass.

I was there when they were spraying Raven.. I knew fishing seemed off since the last time I was there a few years ago.. Couldn't find anywhere to throw my frog this time! They done killed all the damn grass!

I’m pretty sure the transport of non native invasive species Hydrilla to a lake it would never naturally appear in would be the part where we are messing with Mother Nature.... not the eradication of said illegally transported invasive species.

I do find the timing odd. I generally avoid aquatic herbicides after July but we don't know the whole story or the scope of the treatment here (it might only be spot treatments; copper-based herbicides like Komeen can be used to treat specific spots, not just for blanketing the whole area).

When TP&WD and the City of Tyler "treated" Lake Tyler several years ago they brought in a couple of the hit men who "treated" Conroe before that. Yeah, they really "treated" it alright. I was part of a group that was supposedly consulted...in reality they let us talk but didn't listen to a word we said...and we asked them to treat areas with a lot of docks but leave some areas, such as the north end of the East Lake, alone for fishermen.

Nuked. Destroyed. Killed everything first, asked questions later. They pumped enough Aquathol K into the lake to kill every sprig of grass and then some. Then they tried to claim that the grass was actually washed out by heavy rain, not from the poison they dumped into the lake. Yeah, that made sense. It had never rained before. If it had we wouldn't have had any grass in the first place.