The bass bite picked back up, but the size of the fish caught dropped off. Normally by July, we would be crossing the levee to fish the live oxbow lakes still connected to the big river. We had our normal June rise after the river level dropped to a fishable stage of 34 feet. The level came back up to almost 42 feet and now the level is dropping again. Today’s river stage at Natchez/Vidalia should be around 35.2 feet and holding steady followed by a very slight rise.

If the prediction holds up, we should see a slow fall in the coming weeks.

That is great news. The worse thing that could happen for fishing the live oxbow is a fast fall during the hot summer months. As long as the river hangs around the three to 35 feet range, we should have a good year for white perch, bream, white bass, striped bass and largemouth bass, as well as catfish.

All this will depend on how many silver and bighead carp are in the Old Rivers this year. I feel very negative about this.

The effect of this invasive species has destroyed the game fishing on many rivers and river lakes from here to Michigan.

Sadly, there is really no reason for the silver carp population to subside. I have researched this subject for several years and, so far, there is no way and no programs in place to possibly get these nasty fish under control.

Of course, the silver carp do not eat game fish. They eat what our shad eat, algae. When you take away the bottom of the water world’s food chain it moves right up to the top of the food chain and can be devastating to the game fish population.

I have 38 years or so of experience fishing the live oxbows, and I have spoken with several veterans of Old River fishing that have more experience than me on these waters. All said the same thing. The fishing has not been right on the Old River bend lakes in three or four years and the blame for the poor fishing is directed at the silver carp.

I do not mention much about the bighead carp, the other invasive species accidently released in our waters, simply because the silver carp are so aggressive in spawning they are pushing the bighead carp population down. I have not seen a single bighead carp in a couple years. Many have watched the crazy videos on television shows and on YouTube of the jumping fish. That is the silver carp.

Electroshock surveys show a dwindling population of bigheads and a very fast growing population of sliver carp.

Processing plants in the states have tried to make cat and dog food from these slimy, nasty fish and restaurants have tried to market these fish under a different name, Kentucky White Fish, with hopes that a name change would make these fish marketable, but none of that has worked.

So the going rate for commercial fishermen that would help control this fish is a whole 10 cents a pound. Commercial fishermen are not going after these fish at that price.

The government allowed these fish to be imported, so my thoughts are they should pay at least a dollar or more a pound to help get rid of the silver carp.That will never happen, but it needs to.

They allowed these fish to be imported to help clean algae from catfish farms. Nearby rivers flooded the farm pounds and carp escaped. That happened in 1987-88. Now we have a major problem with no solution.

 

Eddie Roberts writes a weekly fishing column for The Democrat. He can be reached at fishingwitheddie@bellsouth.net.