Hydrilla - Texas Parks & Wildlife

Why do they insist on killing it here? Even in lakes that have too much standing timber to be used as a recreational lake, they kill it. What gives?

https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/didyouknow/inland/exotic_aquatics.phtml

Using their thinking, isn't the Florida strain Largemouth and "Exotic Species"???... I get the too much thing but there never seems to be a happy medium... Dan

It hasnt ever made sense to me. Now, I think its turned in to a $$$ thing where politics has got involved

Only thing that makes sense. These are biologists and they know the water filtration and water health benefits of an appropriate amount of hydrilla.

I thought the same thing about Florida strain LMB.

I think hydrilla in Ray Roberts would be awesome.

Tp&w assist in managing water owned by different organizations for different purposes.


Lake fork built for water. Managed by sabin river authority water rights owned by city of dallas. The people around the lake that pay lease back and property taxes complaining about grass have a larger voice than a guy buying breakfast and a few gallons of gas.

It sucks but to blame tp&w is short sided. Lakes to us are fishing holes. To those that own them and manage them they are water sources, money sources etc.

It sure would! That lake would be a perfect example of where grass is needed to create an industry leading fishery.

Agreed, miss those days for sure!!!

If some weeds were to get caught up on your prop, trailer or in your live well and then accidently fell into RR . . . millfoil fishes a lot better than hydrilla. Just sayin.
Shouldn't be an issue for anybody. After all, if you can dump some creosote laden rail road ties . . .

I suspect some of the thinking involves that hydrilla takes up some of the lake capacity for water. I wish they would leave it alone, but these managers sell water not bass.

But they can fine you for that. The railroad ties has been proven to be A.OK.

Ray Roberts had a 1.5 sq mile stand of hydrilla west of Wolf Island.
Along with other places. When they dropped the lake down 12+ feet to add more riprap at the dam it all died and connot come back like it did. It was some awesome punching when it was there.

So seriously;
As mentioned earlier and in this other posts; Texas (and TPWD) don't own or control the lake and usage of the water.
TPWD simply polices the states laws and regulations and yes, they provide the public service or rescuing folks in trouble, etc.
I would hope that they do not spend tax payer dollars on the maintenance of lakes "owned" by private entities. (weed eradication = maintenance)
It was mentioned that TPWD "assists" in the management of water owned by Sabine Water District or the City of Dallas or etc.
What you should ask is: "Does TPWD and the state of Texas get reimbursed for their "assistance"?
From there, you would then ask: "TPWD, why do you provide assistance that is counter to public interest?"

It would be very interesting to see what agreements are in place between the various utilities, water districts, municipalities and the state in terms of recreational water usage.
I have a feeling they are terribly poor to non-existent.

The whole TPWD situation is extremely twisted. If you look into all of the things that they have their finger into, it's mind boggling.
The state really needs to do a serious over hall of that department. (IMO)

Back in the early days of invasive weeds(70's ?) TVA learned that timing is everything.
They figured out that if they timed their spring "bring up" of lake levels, they could do a pretty good job of weed control.
Wheeler Lake for example had a good stand of Millfoil that was gradually being replace by Hydrilla.
TVA draws that lake down about 5' each fall in anticipation of winter rains.
In the spring, with warming temps and increasing daylight hours, the weeds start to emerge.
If TVA timed it correctly by putting an additional 5' of water over the new sprigs . . most would die out and not re-emerge.

Guntersville fluctuates very little from season to season and therefore has a good stand of weeds.

Hydrilla WAS awesome in Roberts until they started treating it around the same time they started treating it in Fork and Sam Rayburn in the 90s and there were fish kills in all three lakes. There was a major push by the state to eradicate all invasive species from the state back in the 90s. Hydrilla was high on the list. They showed pictures of the Rio Grand full of grass south of Flacon and claimed the hydrilla was sucking up all the water, clogging pumps, and such...... At Roberts the grass use to go from the south end of Wolfe Island all the way up into lick and north into Wolfe, Indian, buck and other creeks. When the lake dropped it still grew and when it came back up it still grew.... The lake filled like two or three years sooner than they expected but the hydrilla took off once it did. It has always fluctuated and the grass always grew at different levels and in different areas. So I have never bought the whole drought water fluctuation argument Then all of sudden around 95-98 it just disappeared and has never really came back like it was. Also the lake was young compared to Fork and Sam Rayburn so I also discount the age argument especially since the state was pushing to eradicate at the time. Also feel LMBV was a fake disease to cover up impacts by chemicals. To coincidental and too much politics and $$$ at play. Milfoil and hydrilla came back a little around 2003-2005 and we caught some giants but the lake went though another down period in 2007 ish time frame and the fish looked sick and were all covered in sores and supper skinny. I have not fished it since then. I fished it from canoe before it opened and loved that lake over Fork actually until it got all jacked up. You had to see the number of big fish that came from that giant grass flat west of Wolfe Island it was outrageously good and fun.

Disagree and have seen myself Milfoil doesn’t hold fish like hydrilla does. With the way the grass is being treated at lakes like fork it will never take hold cause everytime it gets going on main lake areas it is getting sprayed. I have finally accepted it will never be like it was but man if you young guys would have fished it and lived it you would understand why us old dudes get a bit bent about it. 😊

I guess it is interesting that Tennessee can manage it, but Texas can't. Guess that's why Texas is Tennessee's first colony.

Alot of this stuff is outside the control of TPWD. They have made mistakes in the past for sure and I think they would be the first to admit that. However, lots of spraying gets done that is not approved by TPWD. I know for a fact that there was a big herbicide application made on Richland Chambers that TPWD knows nothing about. The reality is that Tarrant Regional or any other water control board isn't going to ask permission from TPWD to spray in their own lake. They are going to hire a licensed applicator and go to work. Especially if it is blocking the dock of a VIP that needs to get his wake boat out.

The other issue, and maybe the larger one, is the fact that many of the companies doing the herbicide applications are not following the law. They have applicators out on the water that are spraying everything they see. Many don't even know their target species. Targeted applications of herbicide can be done successfully, but it takes an applicator that knows what he is doing and cares. Any time you see these guys spraying and it looks to be an applicator that doesn't know what he is doing, take a video. TPWD simply does not have the knowledge or employees to enforce this stuff. However, I have it on good authority from some high ups in the Texas Department of Agriculture that they will prosecute improper applications on public water. It does fall under their jurisdiction. All they need is some evidence to investigate.

At least they haven't ruined Hubbard Creek yet. I'm sure it will come.

Every time the grass at Pool starts to come back it floods and it dies again.

But it's okay to stock fish using "tax payer funds" ? Slippery slope

So what's the scoop on Southern Naiad grass ? Is it as good as hydrilla for supporting a healthy bass population ? Advantages & disadvantages ? My understanding is that naiad grass is what is growing in Fayette county lake now...

That's good info. I will definitely video next time I see it. You would think a good law suit could atleast get them forced to stop spraying until it went thru the courts. That could take a while. Water test after applications, videos of poor spraying, dead fish, etc you would think the EPA would be all over this issue

Need to come up with a list of all the issues we are facing. Besides the hydrilla.
1. Texas needs many more game wardens to police our lands and waters.
Raise license fees, raise violation fees, raise registration fees. Create lake permits that boaters need to purchase for each lake that they operate on. Nobody knows that data or where to focus resources.
2. Herbicides. Spraying aerosolizes and gets into the lungs. No long term studies but we all know we drink it and eat the fish that are saturated with it. We need fish samples from various years to show chemical levels. I can get access to a mass spec and an attorney for a class action suit.

These agencies need to be run like a business unit. Need to revamp many things across the board.

They need to figure out how to manage it.

So tax the hell out of the fishermen? Purchase Lake permits for each lake?

Unless it’s recently changed the license money all goes into the general fund, it doesn’t stay with TPWD. Many of us may fish 10 or more lakes per year..
TPWD is the class of the entire nation, armchair quarterback it all you want, we are blessed to have them managing our fisheries. I love fishing grass as much as anyone, and I’ll also sneak in here in my post so it’s not super obvious unless you read it all, Ray Bob has hydrilla. Not like it once did but it’s there in multiple places, it’s thick, and healthy as can be.

its politics and if Biden gets his way you want be able to aford gasoline to go fishing ! it will be trolling motor only like many of the california lakes because of polution

The only part of this I agree with is that the agencies need to be run like a business. They have plenty of money if used correctly. More bureaucracy is never the answer. You very quickly get to a situation like the State of Maine where it is near impossible to even interact with the natural resources in a legal way because the laws are so convoluted and contradictory. By the way TCEQ and the control authority of any lake that supplies water already have to do water samples. That data is available. You can put your mass spec back in the box.

By the way WLB Dallas. Hubbard Creek has been and will be sprayed again. The powers that be have areas there that they simply are not going to allow hydrilla. There are some really good guys from the private pond management industry working really hard to make sure that the spraying there is done in a way to prevent a mass kill. The initial sprays have been very precise and have worked as planned from what I understand. Hopefully the attention to details will continue on that lake, but it will be a constant battle.

They can manage it because their lakes are fed by big rivers and they can lower the lake on purpose during the winter and simply close the gates the next spring and the lakes will fill back up in a few days.
There isn’t one lake in Texas that has a creek or river feeding it that has enough flow to do this. If TPWD lower a lake 5 foot in November and closed the gates in March 905% of the time those lakes would continue to get lower.
That said TPWD spraying has gotten out of hand and needs to be reined in. And grass carp should be 100% illegal in any public waters.

Lake Tyler was an excellent fishery when there was hydrilla. But it is not popular with the property owners. They think it is a nuisance at the waterfront and for the non-fishing recreational users of the lake. I've seen an article where a prominent property owner thought it to be a hazard to swimmers and skiers. It is an invasive so it is eradicated. I bought a lot in 2009 and then but a dock in 2013. There was hydrilla along my waterfront. But by the time I built the house it was eradicated.

Ray Roberts has some hydrilla in the back of a couple of coves on the east side of the lake, but it's not in deep water. Be great to see it in 15-20 feet. That's where I've caught my biggest fish on grassy lakes.

Agree with this statement fully...


Honestly, I'm just glad I get to fish at all. It could be a whole hell of a lot worse.

So since we know TPWD sprays hydrilla when they find it, it seems to me that when we do find it, we would keep it to our selves

No truer words have been typed.

Rog,

If LMBV was faked to cover-up, then why did it strike lakes with no grass in the same timeframe? An interesting read of the realities of LMBV:

https://m.bassmaster.com/news/largemouth-bass-virus-lmbv-fact-sheet

Thanks. Yes I have read that previously and will read again. Perhaps fake was the wrong word. I will change it to in my opinion LMBV in Texas was heavily related/tied to stressors dramatically increased by the treatment of large amounts of grass through the use of chemical herbicide. LMBV occurred in Texas lakes during a period when eradication of hydrilla was a top priority in the state. Lakes it occurred in experienced a loss of large amounts or most of the hydrilla just before or around the same time as the kills. The lakes it occurred in went from acres of grass to relatively no grass, by comparison to what had been there two or three months before. I personally have never been in favor of the whole sale use of herbicides in our water supply. Does anyone know who is contracting the boats we keep see spraying on fork? Just curious if it’s the state, private, SRA/Dallas, or combination.

i firmly believe LMBV and hydrilla eradication are connected! Since the massive spraying of Fork, Roberts and others we have not had hydrilla on the scale we did back then nor have we heard of another huge LMBV outbreak.(nor has the fishing EVER been as wonderful as it was at Roberts and Fork when there were massive fields of grass) LMBV is a cover up for "oops! Sorry, we didn't know it would kill the fish too!" They say hydrilla is not native, heck neither are any of the lakes we fish native but one. Non native reservoir with non native vegetation that causes all but the water skiing to be better, sounds good to me!

They do all that spraying and still trying to blame 2 stroke motors for fish decline

Ray Roberts used to have huge fields of hydrilla. Someone mentioned behind Wolf Island. It used to be so thick the only open areas were the old road beds. Fish the edges or at times on top and WHAM! The good old days!

We call that prickly grass. Bass do not like it near as well as the hydrilla. They will get in it but look for the hydrilla and there will be exponentially more fish in it. Still hydrilla in some areas of Fayette last time I was there about 2 months ago

Lake Conroe is a prime example of homeowners vs hydrilla! The lake was amazing fishing with hydrilla, total mystery fishing without it. TPWD and the homeowers killed all the grass again in conroe.

Come on guys, let it go. It was a coincidence! 🤔🤫😳

They could manage it from Peach Creek south but they have to kill every blade in the entire lake. When there is hydrilla the fishing gets real good. They had it controlled back then went out and just obliterated it the last go around.

One problem with Conroe is it’s a constant pool lake at 201ft. Plus there is so much water depth less than 20ft that it can grow in lot of the lakes acreage. High dollar waterfront homes all over the south part of the lake get hydrilla from the shore to way out.

Did Joe Biden make a TFF burner account?

be interesting to know how much money the chemical companies "contribute" to legislators and how much they give to members of the DNR in the form of scholarships or grants....

I’d bet money some of this is going on.

That's hilarious. How about take the extremely high property taxes and put it toward fish & wildlife.

A lake is not a swimming pool. People have no right to expect that there won't be any "icky" things like plants in the water around their yards and docks. The thing is they couldn't care less if a species is non-native. There could be a grass in the water that was here when Spanish conquistadors arrived and homeowners would still want to kill it.

Get a jacuzzi and Olympic pool. No one will be affected if you put chemicals in it all day every day. It's funny that we can't have aerosols because they damage the ozone. We need to transition away from oil because it pollutes the environment. We can't let used motor oil land on the ground because it might seep into groundwater.

And yet we dump chemicals by the truck load into our water supplies.

Makes perfect sense.

under some folks line of thinking a reasonable person would throw away his lawn mower an hope it wouldnt rain so the grass wouldt be 6 foot tall around his house. an as far getting rid of petroleum in the near future if that happens there will be no need for boats because most of the folks that have boats have jobs that generally are brought one way or the other from the petroleum business.

So I take it your in the camp that treating the grass with chemicals is good and/or ok?

Hydrilla, milfoil, pond weed in the water don’t need mowing by the way. Salvina would be the only one I agree that drastic measures are warranted.