Name:	Procraft176 -	Reply
Subject:	Blue backs
Date:	12/23/2015 8:09:45 PM

ive been hearing some talk about blue back herring getting into the lake. I hear that it is illegal and also bad for the fishery. What will be the long term harm for the fishery ?

Name:	GoneFishin -	Reply
Subject:	Blue backs
Date:	12/23/2015 9:00:29 PM

I don't know about the legality but from reading the lakes with them have great bass fishing as they beome bass bait.

Name:	Aardvark -	Reply
Subject:	Blue backs
Date:	12/23/2015 10:18:10 PM

Bucket biologists have been spreading bluebacks beyond their natural range.  Usually the culprits are fishermen who hear about how bluebacks help the fishing or folks like the guide on Smith Lake who was recently busted for using bluebacks for bait.  Bass and stripers can get fat by eating them, but they can impact other fish in the lake with their presence.

Name:	John C -	Reply
Subject:	Legality = they are illegal.
Date:	12/24/2015 12:02:21 PM

Blueback herring are illegal to put in Lake Martin. Those striper guides from Smith Lake have been charged with doing it for many years. I think it's like any topic of an invasive species - people think a little won't hurt but they take over. See: kudzu - great for erosion control, right?

Name:	Fly Fishing Guy -	Reply
Subject:	Legality = they are illegal.
Date:	12/24/2015 4:02:26 PM

I echo John's sentiments.  Let's keep them out of Martin the best we can.  If the good Lord wanted blue back herring in the Tallapoosa, he would have put them there.

Name:	Waldo -	Reply
Subject:	Legality = they are illegal.
Date:	12/25/2015 7:59:58 AM

I've heard that bluebacks stay really deep in the lakes, so less reason for stripers and bass to bust them on the surface. Also, they compete for food with smaller fish like bream and fry crappie and bass. They populate so fast that they can throw an ecosystem out of balance.

Name:	Spot Remover -	Reply
Subject:	Legality = they are illegal.
Date:	12/26/2015 7:59:59 AM

Waldo--You are dead on. If you want to catch spots, trolling in very deep water, you will like them.

If you want smaller, and less resilient crappie, bream, bass, and spottail fry, you will like them.

If you want even clearer water, you will like them.

There are idiots everywhere. Still hope they catch them and prosecute them.

Somebody needs to turn them in.

Name:	Procraft176 -	Reply
Subject:	Legality = they are illegal.
Date:	12/27/2015 8:25:52 AM

Thanks for the info guys ... I have a hard enough time catching fish as it is on Martin without the blue backs hurting the fishery..lol That sure sounds like a mess.

Name:	Billy -	Reply
Subject:	Blue backs
Date:	12/30/2015 1:47:49 PM

It's my understanding that they were introduced illegally at Lake Lanier as well, but once they introduced, they were eventually legalized as bait.  Lanier is considered by many knowledgeable fishermen to be the best spotted bass lake in the southeast.  Wonder why the Georgia DNR did not (does not) try to eradicate them if they are so destructive, rather than approve them as bait?

Name:	Waldo -	Reply
Subject:	Blue backs
Date:	12/31/2015 10:05:08 AM

GA DNR started atocking walleye in the north GA lakes in an effort to control the blueback population, not to mention creating another sport fishing option. I haven't read how effective the program has been at controlling bluebacks, but they have taken some 12 lb walleye out of some of these lakes. Lanier and Hartwell are just a couple of them.

Name:	Billy -	Reply
Subject:	Blue backs
Date:	12/31/2015 10:26:44 AM

Wow!  If it works, that could be a win, win situation--blue backs as food for stripers and spots and a new and exciting option for anglers.  Wonder if AL DNR is looking at that as a possibility, because, based on what I've read, the blue backs, once introduced, are there to stay.

Name:	Aardvark -	Reply
Subject:	Blue backs
Date:	1/1/2016 7:54:48 PM

Not many people know that walleye are native to the Mobile basin.  Several state records were caught in the lower Tallapoosa below Thurlow.  I have never heard of anyone catching a walleye from Martin, even though it appears to be a good lake for them.  The DCNR has started a walleye rearing program, and I would not be surprised to see a stocking effort in Martin in the future, especially if they get fat on bluebacks.  If you do catch a walleye, call the DCNR to see if they still need brood stock.

Name:	Billy -	Reply
Subject:	Blue backs
Date:	1/1/2016 9:29:54 PM

Interesting, Aardvark, thanks for the info.  I did not know that about walleye.  I remember pike being caught in the Tallapossa below Thurlow when I was a boy--before the various dams were built below there.  Stripes, too, came up from the gulf at that time and were caught there as well.

Name:	Aardvark -	Reply
Subject:	Blue backs
Date:	1/3/2016 10:29:17 PM

There is a book called "Fishes of Alabama and the Mobile Basin" that documents every fish found in the state, from minnows to sturgeon.  Walleye were found in their surveys mainly downstream from the Coosa and Tallapoosa dams, but they are not numerous.  Siltation and water quality issues have worked against walleye populations in the state.  They are actually a distinct race, hence the efforts to re-establish the fish in the state. 

One of the odd fish that they shocked up was a muskie from the lower Tallapoosa.  I don't know if they were ever stocked there, and it may have been the only one sampled in the state, at least the only one found anywhere near Martin.  Those pike could have been chain pickerel.  They can be fun to catch, but they prefer shallow, weedy water, so Martin is not a good home for them.

Name:	luv2fish -	Reply
Subject:	Blue backs
Date:	1/22/2016 4:22:37 PM

I've often wondered when someone was going to try and establish some smallmouth in Martin. There may be a few in there but the lower end of the lake might support that species of bass due to water clarity and depth. I've caught them a few times (small ones) in lakes this far south in Georgia and South Carolina.

Name:	Billy -	Reply
Subject:	Blue backs
Date:	1/22/2016 10:35:53 PM

Interesting

Name:	Waldo -	Reply
Subject:	Blue backs
Date:	1/23/2016 12:45:29 PM

I've caught smallmouth in VA rivers where it gets just as hot in summer and the water gets really low. Surely they could make it in Martinif the stripers can. Surprising that it hasn't been attempted--what a diverse fishery it could be. But then, I'm not a biologist.