When Bass Are Invasive

If you've read a lot about the giant largemouth caught recently in Japan, you were undoubtedly exposed to the fact that largemouth are considered an invasive pest species over there. In some places here in America the same holds true. One such place is Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Here is a current news story going into some specifics on research being carried out to determine the extent of invasiveness of both bluegill and largemouth in that particular water body.

• Warm water fish thrive at Tahoe
• Bass, bluegill spread throughout Lake Tahoe

Comments

[richard ziert]

Lake Tahoe is approximately 6,200 feet elevation (read "cold water") and not conducive to rapid growth, larger stature, or rapid take over by sun fish family species.

Altitude Affects: Maps with lat lines often provide a general calendar of spawning time starting with the lowest lat of the Gulf Coast and gradually moving north. At times, some allowance is made for coastal effects, which tend to create a milder climate. However, for every increase of about 1,000 feet, you can predict a delay in the onset of spawning by roughly a week; though other factors come into play, such as wind fetch, water source and color, and basin topography.

That would make Lake Tahoe’s bass spawn occur 6-7 weeks later than say lakes found in mid state Indiana. On the other end of the year the growing season would be proportionally shorter as well. That “prime time” to grow equates to July and August.
I think they are making more out of this than is actually there. . . good luck "little" fishes.

It would be curious to see who funded this study. Therein would lie the cultured “impotence” of the info gleaned.

[richard ziert]

Forgot something. . .

Most, if not all other "thriving" species in Tahoe are cold water fish. The preferred water temp crossover would not be much of a change for very long. Bass would either have to time their attack on those species during those periods, or they would have to go way deeper and live there, or they would have to subsist on bugs and crayfish. All of which again does not lend its "nature" to an rapid or sustained take over. The argument that the lake water will become dirtier is literally washed by the number of natural springs (surface and subsurface) that feed and cleanse the lake.

[richard ziert]

The more I think about this, we should all remember that Lake Tahoe is bordered by California on its west side. The homes on this lake run several million each in value and are owned by very politically connected influential people. California is one of the biggest proponents of killing an entire lake to rid it of what they feel to be invasive fish.

Speculation for sure but a very, very good guess all the same - is that these homeowners don't want bass fisherman on that lake. Because the lake is bordered by both California and Nevada, California would have to get Nevada's O.K. to kill the lake. Therefore that study was done for Nevada, at the political direction of California and all "Concerned" homeowners.

I use to do this kind of thing for a living.

Thanks for putting up with me.

[Paul Roberts]

I saw a presentation once about largemouth bass a southern Mexican lake (I believe) planted for sportfishing tourism that devastated the indigenous fishes that local people had relied on. It was a sad story.