what is hydrilla, and do bluegills like this for hanging out around!

[jason grimm]

Dear BGRS, I have seem to find out without a fish finder that my favorite spot has this stuff that has the texture of furny course pine needles that's aguatic. am i a little off, im eventually going to figure out what vegitation it is and why bluegill like it or not. please help me figure this 1 out, thx!

[Vic Tankersley]

sounds like hydrilla but we need a picture to identify..great stuff for the fish bad stuff for the fisherman

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

One of the problems with hydrilla is it's denstiy and ability to overtake the waters it grows in. TOO much vegetation is a bad thing. Something like 25% is the cut off - that is when vegetation takes over %75 or more of the waters surface, problems arise.

Sunlight is reduced, first, blocked by the choking vegetation. But the oxygen cycle and surface respiration are also affected by too much growth. The effects of this combination, low light and reduced oxygen, are felt first in the lower levels of the food cycle, that is the zoo- and phytoplanktons. Eventually, all of the aquatic life in the body of water - fish included - will be affected.

Hydrilla is notorious as a matting weed, its long tendrils appearing just below and literally carpeting the water surface as it reaches for the sunlight. In proper proportion, it can serve as great cover for fish, their fry and all manner of aquatic life. Out of control, it chokes off waterways, making navigation difficult or even impossible. Add this to problems it causes for the aquatic life, and its no wonder it is at the top of the "invasive weed" list.

Here's one variety, sharing space with common eelgrass:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of interest to the fisherman with a boat is the fact that hydilla will regrow from stems, pieces and broken shoots. It is highly prolific and will transfer on your boat or trailer from one body of water to the next. So we ourselves can be the cause of our own weed problem, if we dont remove it and stop its hitchhiking ways.

[jason grimm]

David you might have what i saw at my lake right on the money with that pic, but i think like Vic said i need to look into getting a pic and then we can figure out if its good or bad. Thanks for the info on this pic of weeds, i will look into this further that way i can help myself figure this stuff out.

 

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

No problem, Jason. That pic is a gentle, kind version of hydrilla. Some of the stuff Ive seen wil literally cover the back end of coves or ponds making it impossible to get in, let alone fish.