Great Lakes water fleas

[BUCK N DI]

Fishing salmon & trout on Lake Michigan, and this time of year the water fleas are terrible! Last week they were so bad that the sport fisherman and the charter boats were complaining that the fleas built up on the line so bad that the guides on the rodtips would plug up and you couldn't even reel in. Fisherman were having to handline the fish for the last 100' to 200'. That can be awfully tough on the hands when you are are trying to boat a 25 lb. king salmon. <br /><br />I was wondering if spraying WD-40 on the line would prevent the buildup of water fleas?<br /><br />Anyone know if WD-40 would cause monofilament line to deteriate?<br /><br />Buck

 

[TrenchFisherman]

Re: Great Lakes water fleas

i don't know about wd-40 but i looked in a brochure lastnight and they were advertising a cortland product i believe made for the water fleas. I don't know if you know of it yet or not or if it even works. Its called Flea Flicker Trolling Line. If anybody has used it please let me know what you think.

 

[BUCK N DI]

Re: Great Lakes water fleas

Yes, I'm aware of the Flea Flicker line by Cortland. I've read quiye a bit on it on the different fishing forums and on the Great Lakes Fishing Reports. Seems to be a split decision on how well it works. One big drawback is that it is oval shaped instead of round and doesn't spool very evenly.

 

[Fishbusters]

Re: Great Lakes water fleas

NOT WD-40 use some other produce made to lubricate fishing lines first. WD-40 can weaken some fishing lines and make them test much less a silicone spray lube would be my off product choice for this aplication. Now a question what is a water flea? Is it strictly a Great lake thing or is it yet another introduced thing we don't have this far south yet?

 

[BUCK N DI]

Re: Great Lakes water fleas

peterfishbuster,<br />Don't know if the water fleas are strictly a Great Lakes problem or not. They are found in all the Great Lakes though. All the info that I have found on them indicate that there are several species. Their abundance seems to be related to water temperature. They attach to your line and when reeling in they appear off-white or tan in color and can build up on your line so that it will be up to a 1/2" in diameter.<br />I've seen the buildup on my lines cover as much as 80' to 120'. You can reel your line in until they buildup on your rod tip so thick that your reel won't turn. Makes it extremely difficult to get a 25lb. king salmon in the boat when you have to handline him.<br /><br />You can get more info by going to the links that I've entered below.<br /><br /> http://www.great-lakes.net/envt/flora-fauna/invasive/spinyflea.html <br /><br /> http://www.great-lakes.org/how_to.html#angcomms <br /><br />We're headed to Door County tonight thru Sunday for more salmon fishing so won't be online again until we get back. I'll check this forum again then.<br />Buck

 

[Fishbusters]

Re: Great Lakes water fleas

Nothing like that here unless you count normal things like algea or moss. It sounds as if you can keep it though.

 

[Kelly Ann]

Re: Great Lakes water fleas

Peterfishbuster I do know of two lakes in my area that have water fleas;Maxinkuckee and Koontz. It seems that boaters can carry the little critters from one lake to another if the conditions are right. (zebra mollusks, too.) Around here DNR recommends that you flush your motors, trailer, PFDs, tubes, boat, whatever has come in contact with the water. 1:10 dilution of bleach to water, and let the items dry out for three days.<br /><br />Ugly little critters, too. Give me the creeps.

 

[Fishbusters]

Re: Great Lakes water fleas

Okay I asked and the local "exterminator" DNR unwanted species expert said he has not heard of this thing yet. I hope it stays too warm here for it.

 

[Kelly Ann]

Re: Great Lakes water fleas

I have a little interesting factoid that may mean they will be in lots of places someday.<br /><br />Back in the early 90's in one of the lakes in Tennessee, ( don't remember if it was Reelfoot or Kentucky lake), they started having a strange contamination problem. It was investigated and found out to be spent pickle liquor acid. They did sounding tests to determine where it came from. Years ago The EPA had Bethlehem Steel inject this garbage into a 1000 foot deep well, because it was polluting Lake Michigan. I guess I don't have to tell you how Tenn. got it. They found an underground channel connecting the two. I imagine water fleas might be able to make the trip too.<br /><br />I'd be furious if I lived in Tenn. All that distance from all the pollution and yuck, and it still reaches them. I used to work there, and it aint pretty. On the weekends and backturns when the EPA guys weren't there, we used to see all kinds of technicolor smoke come out of the place.<br /><br />Sorry to be such a downer, but if enough people know what is really happening to our waters, maybe we can do something about it someday.

 

[BUCK N DI]

Re: Great Lakes water fleas

Peterfishbuster,<br />I spooled 4 of my salmon rods with Cortland Flea Flicker. Did 2 of them with 20 lb. test and 2 with 30 lb. test before we went out on Lake Michigan. Can't really offer an evaluation yet as the water temperature on the surface had dropped from between 71 and 73 dgrees the previous week to between 46 and 48 degrees on the last trip with the new line. Water fleas seem to disappear with cooler water temps. They prefer a warmer temp so don't hope that it stays warm where you are at. <br /><br />Because the Flea Flicker line is oval shaped instead of round like most monofilament it doesn't spool quite as neatly but that isn't really a big problem. Hope to get out for salmon again and if the water fleas are present I will post the results here.<br /><br />Buck

 

[trollhole]

Re: Great Lakes water fleas

Wow I have never heard of these guys and I never hope I get to see one. One question how hard are they to get off the line? I mean can you brush them off easily or are they stuck on like glue. Do they stick on just at the surface of the water or below the water line. How are you fishing when you get these thing? Trolling or just sitting in one spot? Why would oval line help?<br /><br />Yeah right! Just one question!

 

[Jim Mrozik]

Re: Great Lakes water fleas

These fleas rode into the Great Lakes via raw ballast water being discharged from Ocean going tankers. Just another instance of imported pests through the St. Lawrence Seaway. I spooled my reels with the fleaflicker line late this summer (Lake Michigan salmon fishing) and it worked great. The fleas multiply best at 70 degrees water temperature.