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  1. #1
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    West Boggs Drawdown Complete

    The drawdown on West Boggs Creek Reservoir near Loogootee was completed on January 6, 2006. The water level in the lake was drawn down to an elevation of approximately 492.0 feet, from a normal pool of 499.6 feet. The drawdown is part of an ongoing project to attempt to control a Gizzard Shad population in the lake by inducing high winter kill rates.

    The level being down almost eight feet below normal also presents anglers a great opportunity to observe bottom contours and structure patterns in the lake. During the winter months there are no fees for entering West Boggs Park.

    The lake will now be allowed to refill naturally with rain and snow melt. Under normal weather conditions the lake is expected to return to normal pool by Memorial Day.


  2. #2
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    RE: West Boggs Drawdown Complete

    Hey Mike,

    Got a few questions about the success of the draw downs.

    Do you have an estimate of how much of the shad population is being killed off?

    Also, after the kill off, you have this large void in the bio-mass of the lake. What fish are filling the void in the bio-mass? Are the bluegill,crappie,bass, filling it back or are the shad quickly replacing the void?

    I know at Lake Waveland, the did a total fish kill and restocking. Now they are going to try what you are doing also. To try and control the mature shad, they also are stocking muskellunge to get them to eat the big shad.

    Do you have a predator for the big shad?



  3. #3
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    RE: West Boggs Drawdown Complete

    A great deal of this information is still being collected and analyzed by the IDNR fisheries biologists. There is no way that I know of to accurately estimate the percentage of the shad population killed from visual observation. I can tell that the shad kill results are different from year to year, and that is primarily weather dependant. Last winter, for example, saw a very light kill in terms of the number of dead shad observable. The winter of 02-03 was produced a mind boggling kill, and gave a very scary view of just how many of the little rascals are actually out there. To say they died in the millions would be an understatement I think.

    I’m also sure that the exact targets and results would be different for different lakes, due to different depths, climates, total acreage, etc. I assume Waveland is working with IDNR on the project like we are, and if so they will have the best information that is available for such a venture. It’s not an exact science.

    We do not have a large predator fish here other than Largemouth Bass. That could change someday, but the plan for now is to utilize the bass fishery to the best advantage while it lasts. When the inevitable Bass decline from shad problems dictates, there is some consideration for trying other things before we get to the point of doing another total fishery renovation. Our hope is that the winter kill project will put that off for a long time yet, but nobody really knows.


  4. #4
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    RE: West Boggs Drawdown Complete

    >
    >We do not have a large
    >predator fish here other than
    >Largemouth Bass. That could change
    >someday, but the plan for
    >now is to utilize the
    >bass fishery to the best
    >advantage while it lasts. When
    >the inevitable Bass decline from
    >shad problems dictates, there is
    >some consideration for trying other
    >things before we get to
    >the point of doing another
    >total fishery renovation.

    I don't understand why you would wait until the bass fishery is ruined before taking another step introducing another predator fish, like walleye, pike, musky, hybrid stripped bass or even flathead catfish, all of which would help keep the shad population in check to some extent, combined with your lowering of the lake level. In my opinion that's like driving your car without changing the oil thinking you won't change it until the engine locks up, then at that point it is to late. Preventative maintenance is a good thing. If you wait until the bass fishery is ruined, then how is the park going to receive revenue because it is a well known fact that most go to Boggs to fish for bass, without bass the visitors will decline.

    I was also wondering if anything ever came about of the reward for the midnight stockers. Has the culprit been caught, any leads? If not, what was done with the money raised for the reward?

  5. #5
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    RE: West Boggs Drawdown Complete

    “I don't understand why you would wait until the bass fishery is ruined before taking another step introducing another predator fish, like walleye, pike, musky, hybrid stripped bass or even flathead catfish, all of which would help keep the shad population in check to some extent, combined with your lowering of the lake level.”

    My first reaction to this is that it is probably all summed up in the first three words, where you said “I don’t understand…” Let’s just say you seem to understand differently. I’ve talked with the IDNR Biologist on this very idea for years, and they seem to have a different source of information than you do about how to best mange this particular fishery. Our fisheries management plan has been developed by the very capable folks out of the IDNR Avoca Fisheries office, who have a pretty good record at this sort of thing. With all due respect, I think we’ll stick with their advice for a while longer.

    “In my opinion that's like driving your car without changing the oil thinking you won't change it until the engine locks up, and then at that point it is to late. Preventative maintenance is a good thing.”

    Huh? Let’s look at this with another comparison. It is sort of like having a serious illness and your doctor begins a details series of tests to make sure you live as long as possible, prescribes some medicine and tells you a few things to do to help you feel better and make the best use of the time you have left. But your buddy Bubba at the bait shop thinks you should eat yellow root and wear your underwear on the outside of your cloths for a month. Who you going to listen to?

    “If you wait until the bass fishery is ruined, then how is the park going to receive revenue because it is a well known fact that most go to Boggs to fish for bass, without bass the visitors will decline.”

    Our most recent visitor survey was completed in 2004, and shows that only about 40% of our visitors fish while they are at the park, and a much smaller percentage target Bass. In fact, it was the reintroduction of shad and the biologists forcasts for the fishery which convinced us that we needed to rapidly build revenue streams that were not so tightly related to fishing. Today fishing of all types, provides about 20% of our revenue.

    “I was also wondering if anything ever came about of the reward for the midnight stockers. Has the culprit been caught, any leads? If not, what was done with the money raised for the reward?”

    We had a few leads on that but nothing that could be taken to court. The funds that were donated were used, as promised at the time, to assist in the purchase a new merry-go-round for a playground that should open in 2006. If you donated, the kids will thank you for you help.


  6. #6
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    RE: West Boggs Drawdown Complete

    Mike, i came down and looked at the lake Wed. I really liked to see all the structure for fishing this spring. The boats ramps
    sure looked like they could use some attention, are there any plans to improve the ends? Thanks Larry

  7. #7
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    RE: West Boggs Drawdown Complete

    Yes, we will refill the washed out areas and cap them with concrete to try to prevent them from washing out again. Those holes are the result of prop wash while boaters power their boats onto trailers. That is a design problem that people building new ramps should take into consideration.

  8. #8
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    RE: West Boggs Drawdown Complete

    Hey Mike:
    I talked to the people down at Hovey's lake and they said they have the same problem with their ramp. ie the end of their ramp gets washed out by the boat's motors pushing the boats back on the trailer. Hovey's has a 10hp motor size limit.

    Now I wonder if putting large rip rap stones at the end of the boat ramp would help prevent the washing effect. Like putting large stones right at the interface of the end of the concrete and the mud. Is the end of the ramp in deep enough water to do that or would the rip ramp stones hurt the boat props?

    It would not take a very thick layer of rip rap to stop the errosion problem. Somehow I must be missing something. This sure seems to me like an easy way to fix this problem but surely I am missing something as this does not seem to be done.

    Regards,

    Moose1am

  9. #9
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    RE: West Boggs Drawdown Complete

    Hi Moose1am-

    We have placed stone in the holes several times, including large revetment rip-rap. It is pretty amazing how far some of those large stones get moved. Part of the problem is that rip-rap does not stop erosion. We know that on shoreline work and use a geo-tex fabric underlayment to hold the soil in place; and the rip-rap basically holds the fabric in place. On a ramp, the prop wash is so strong that it goes between the spaces in the rip-rap and blows the mud out from underneath. Then any stone that so large that it can’t be blown away ends up at the bottom of the resulting hole.

    Our best success is with something that we will be extending this winter while the lake is down. That consists of refilling the holes with rip-rap, and then grouting the rip-rap in place with concrete. The places we have tried this seems to hold up well and are smooth enough when finished to not cause problems with props or trailers. And it doesn’t really cost much to do when the lake is down anyway.


  10. #10
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    RE: West Boggs Drawdown Complete

    I completely understand and agree with your decision to follow what the DNR has recommended. Can you explain why they wouldn't want to introduce another predator? I'm just curious. Are they worried about throwing the balance of the lake off after the shad have been reduced or is it something else?
    Thanks,
    Eric H.

  11. #11
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    RE: West Boggs Drawdown Complete

    Eric-
    I don’t want to speak for the IDNR folks on this at all, but I’ll give you my impression of what I think their reasoning might be. Keep in mind that I may not have all of the details straight here.

    The problem with shad presence is that the fishery is already out of balance, so worrying about that is a moot point. The normal progression of a gizzard shad infestation is that the fishery will decline regardless of any known management steps available. All of the options then are related to what managers can do with what is left.

    As I understand the current thinking, for the short term the abundance of young shad makes good feed for the bass. The bass will suffer later from a loss of recruitment, as the young bass have increasing difficulty surviving to adulthood.

    So, while the bass population is still making good use of the shad, it is seen as desirable allow them to do so to the largest degree possible. This consideration is prompted in part because bass are a preferred sport fishing species, and giving them the priority is seen as a way to get the most out of the fishery, for the time being.

    Introducing another large predator now would not prevent the inevitable decline due to the shad infestation, but would have the effect of competing with the adult bass. Later, when the bass population begins to decline as the adults die out and the young are not surviving to replace them, it might be decided to introduce another species. If that happens, it would still not be an effort to save the fishery, but to salvage as much use of it for anglers as possible.

    Eventually the only way to fix the problem is to kill it out and start over. And then we will have to realize that some well-meaning soul that thinks they know something we all don’t, will try to help out the bass again by bringing back shad. In modern fisheries management, that too seems to be a known factor that can be predicted.


  12. #12
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    RE: West Boggs Drawdown Complete

    It's might be a crazy idea but what about netting them, commercial style? you can sort out the wanted and unwanted fishes. If you get the netted fish in a holding tank fast enough, I don't think many will die.

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