I’ve fished a lot of rivers, lakes and reservoirs
across North Dakota. From Lake Sakakawea, the Missouri River and Oahe to the
smaller local ponds and sloughs.
It’s been a bad summer for a couple of my favorites.
I’ve never kept a fishing diary, but I can say without a doubt I’ve lost many
minnows, spoons and spinners on the James River and Lake Ashtabula while I
lived in LaMoure and Valley City while growing up.
But this summer these waterways have made headlines
for the wrong reasons. Lake Ashtabula became the first water in North Dakota
outside of the Red River where zebra mussels were documented. And then the James
River near LaMoure produced the first bighead carp, less than 10 years after
the first silver carp was discovered in the James.
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department collected
and verified the bighead carp during silver carp monitoring efforts in late
June. Bighead carp, an exotic species, are established in the lower Missouri
River and in the James River in South Dakota.
Jessica Howell, Game and Fish aquatic nuisance species
coordinator, said
“high water levels in the James River this year have
facilitated their movements upstream, providing an opportunity for them to
enter the state from the South Dakota portions. … Once established in a large
river system they are virtually impossible to eliminate.”
Like the closely related silver carp that showed up in
2011, bighead carp can out-compete native and other game fish in large river
systems. They eat phytoplankton, a food item used by zooplankton, which in turn
are eaten by small game fish. They concentrate below dams and in confluence
areas and can drive out desirable fish.
In mid-June, an angler turned in a suspected zebra
mussel discovered in Lake Ashtabula. Howell confirmed it as an adult zebra
mussel, and subsequent inspections found other zebra mussels of various ages.
At 5,200 acres, Lake Ashtabula is an impoundment on
the Sheyenne River north of Valley City, and it offers a variety of outdoor
activities such as boating, swimming, fishing, camping and skiing. Howell said
it’s unknown how the mussels were introduced into Lake Ashtabula.
“This situation shows how important it is for boaters,
anglers, swimmers and skiers to be aware of aquatic nuisance species and to
take precautions to prevent their spread,” Howell said. “Everyone who uses this
lake now plays a key role in stemming the spread of these mussels to uninfested
waters.”
Because of this new finding, the Game and Fish
Department has classified Lake Ashtabula, and the Sheyenne River downstream all
the way to the Red River, as Class I ANS infested water, which prohibits the
movement of water away from the lake and river, including water for
transferring bait.
Here’s a reminder for everyone to follow the rules
designed to prevent the spread of aquatic nuisance species so these species
don’t expand any farther.
