If you ever felt like all you could catch on a day of fishing was carp, the Lake Marion Improvement Association probably has you beat.
The weekend of Nov. 8, lake association member Pete Maiers was on the water with Bruce O’Malley of O’Malley Fish, and they pulled up 11,000 pounds of carp. That was the second of three planned runs, with the prior also pulling up an estimated 11,000 pounds of carp by corralling the fish using nets, and then returning other species to the lake.
The work is part of an ongoing effort by the LMIA to fight aquatic invasive species. A lake study discovered a lack of natural vegetation was due to curlyleaf pondweed, an invasive species that begins to grow prior to the ice melting off the lake, thus choking out other growth. According to a news release, the lake was treated for curlyleaf in the spring of 2021 in areas of thick overgrowth amounting to about 11 acres in the 600-acre lake.
Carp are also an invasive species, which roots around the bottom of the lake, disrupting natural vegetation growth. Due to the overabundance of the species, the LMIA plans to pursue another contract to remove the species in 2023.
“The lake association thanks all those who have helped fund the LMIA costs for the projects through donations,” the LMIA said in a press release. “Special thanks to the Brownton Rod and Gun Club for their support by providing the LMIA a place to meet and collaborating to help maintain water quality for Lake Marion for future generations.”
The carp removal project was funded with help from McLeod County’s aquatic invasive species dollars, which come from the state.
“The county, like any other county, gets funded based on how many public accesses you have,” said Marc Telecky, McLeod County environmental services director.
The county receives $60,000 to $70,000 each year, which Telecky said was not a lot compared to other counties. Overall, the 2014 bill spreads $10 million annually across the state.
Previously, the county used those funds for education purposes, such as posting notices in newspapers, at gas pumps and at boat landings, asking anglers to follow procedures that would reduce the spread of AIS with watercraft.
“When I got involved in 2018, I said, ‘we need to change this,’” Telecky said.
He previously told the McLeod County Board he likes to work with lake associations when it comes to using the funds, as they frequently monitor the lakes and understand their needs. Associations provide a 10% match of dollars contributed toward projects to clean and maintain local waters.
“The carp removal, that’s a great one,” Telecky said. “It allows for native vegetation to grow and crowd out a lot of the aquatic invasive stuff.”
Another recent project occurred on Belle Lake, when the association treated for watermilfoil.
In the future, Telecky hopes AIS dollars can be distributed on a more regional basis, instead of splitting dollars up among counties. Tackling the spread of AIS from lakes, and through streams and rivers to other lakes, is a regional project, he said.
