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Posts: 20281
Location: oswego, il | The lake I am fishing has something living it in but I am not exactly sure what it is. The water on the finder is litterally black below a certain depth at times to the bottom. Sometimes that black breaks up and moves vertically and sometimes breaks up with the wind. I don't know what it is but I can tell you what it looks like. When I bring a bait in, it gets on the knots on my leader. Looks like clear snot. Is this plankton?
I think this would be a good topic for those who know how to post pics. Take a digital of your finder, something you want interpreted and post it here. |
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Posts: 32958
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | ToddM, That is an exotic specie, I think it is called a spiny water flea. It's Sunday, so my mind is at a resting state, but that is, I think, what you were seeing. |
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Location: Illinois-Indiana | Todd,
Quit fishing booger infested waters:)
It's not good for your lures. |
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Posts: 20281
Location: oswego, il | If that is a spiny water flea, it's dominating the lakes biomass. Does not seem to have any affect on the fish, they are nice and fat, as are the bass with tons of shad too. |
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Posts: 7121
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Todd,
Not sure if this will help, but check out the archived chat where Luke Morris (head of tech development/support) for Lowrance Electronics:
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/articles/11.16.2003/135/Lowrance.El... |
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Posts: 196
| I have heard of this happening. If there is a lot of sea men in the boat you might find some of this slimy material clinging to your leader. I thought it was more of a summertime-swimsuit weather phenomena. |
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Posts: 1137
Location: Holly, MI | Does the mass on your leader look kinda clear with tiny black dots (eyes?)and smell kinda fishy. I'll second the water fleas. We get them so bad sometimes on lake Michigan trolling for salmon that they can plug the eyes on your rod. They actually came out with a line that repells them or they can't stick to it or somthing called "flea flicker" By the size of them, they are pretty far down the line in the chain of command on the lake. But they must be feeding somone who is being fed on by somone else who is being eaten by Muskies! |
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Posts: 2754
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Todd- Here's a few websites w/ photo's of the spiney water flea. I would imagine that what you are seeing is the sonar return from these little beasts. They are one of the larger plankton crustacian's. The line on your depth finder is probably based on their preference for a specific thermal or oxygen need, i.e. they don't like the colder water down below or there's not enough oxygen. As for predators to eat the little beast's, it doesn't sound good, but maybe there's some hope - see the last link. However, that may not be good for smaller native fish fry that also need/eat the plankton the spiny water flea are monopolizing. http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/critter/insect/waterflea.htm http://sgnis.org/3drotate/flea.htm http://www.protectyourwaters.net/hitchhikers/crustaceans_spiny_water_flea.php http://www.iisgcp.org/EXOTICSP/spiny_water_flea.htm For those of you that are fishing the infected waters (Great Lakes, etc.)- you may want to take a little extra precaution and scrub the boat down, including the livewells and flushing the motor, etc. before heading to your hot Muskie lakes. Education is the answer to helping stop the spread of these little beasties. When you want to test the depth of a stream, don’t use both feet. (Chinese Proverb) Al Warner "All Water is Zalt Water" http://www.zaltnad.com
Edited by ESOX Maniac 11/17/2003 8:22 AM
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Posts: 20281
Location: oswego, il | Al, thanks for the info. I can say that what I seen on the downrigger cable is not what I seen on my knots. I see no spine from the flea. It's just a goop of jellied snot. Could it be something else? |
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Posts: 5874
| I ain't touching this one! Perhaps some of the single guys will provide the answer you seek! |
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Location: Illinois-Indiana | Todd,
I hope you were wearing gloves when you touched it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Did you ever see the movie Silence of the Lambs:) |
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Posts: 18
Location: Amsterdam, Holland | isnt this just a big school of baitfish? and the "goop of jellied snot" being slime of the baitfish?
here in holland if heard of it before people banging baitfish school with downriggercable
its pretty common here that in cold periodes of the year they tend to school up.
just a thought
btw im new here  really like this forum lots of info and things to think about wich can improve my angling here. and its cool and fun too see the difference in the way of fishing and usage of tackle and boats
kind regards Ted
(sorry for bad grammar and spelling) |
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Posts: 5874
| Welcome Demoman.
Don't apologize for your grammar and spelling. It's better than most of ours!
You may have a good point on the baitfish, although I still ain't touching the goo thing!
Usually, when you are seeing things on the finder from the bottom up, it's bugs of some sort, and the baitfish moving after them. I see this alot in the summer at dusk. The bottom starts to come alive around dark. |
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Posts: 2091
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Are you sure it's not an anchor a rope and Jimmy Hoffa?? |
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Posts: 18
Location: Amsterdam, Holland | well because he said he had some jelly stuff on the downrigger line and no bug i know looks like that or school up in one big mass wich moves around that maked most sence for me. but i dont live in the usa so i dont know what kind of freaky bugs u guys have
and also because if seen it happen we(me in my m8's boat) hit a school of baitfish and had jelly on the line about from the ball till about 6feet above the ball. and i am 100% we hit baitfish because our brime (correct word?) has a grey jelly slime and it was that we had on the cable.
maybe look better @ the jelly on the line to see if it is from a fish?
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Posts: 2061
Location: Belgium | muskiemedic, if that's true, better pack your bag and move to a different lake! LMAO!! |
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Posts: 2061
Location: Belgium | hey ted, glad to see you made it over to this magnificent message board! Welcome aboard, dude!  |
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Posts: 20281
Location: oswego, il | Ralph and Shep, i do get quite excited fishing this lake, maybe that's it.;-) |
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What's on my finder?