They already treated Pymy. Saw twenty buckets in the Jamestown dumpster in June. Asked Chuck the ranger about it and got the news. I noticed my bluegill weed areas never fully developed this summer and some areas were almost completely void of weeds. May have to find some new areas for gills thru the ice this season.

That's because of the hydrilla that's started to take over. I know parts of Conneaut were about destroyed from the stuff this past year. Some of our best musky areas didn't even hold pike it got so thick with the stuff.

I was told Bay 41 at pymie got so thick with it that it was impossible to launch from there towards the end of August. I haven't been up since around the end of July so I don't know own if that's accurate or not.

My bad... Wasn't Hydrilla I vas seeing.. Heh heh stupid me.😏

Hello All. This thread was passed along to me and I thought I might be able to provide some insight into Pymatuning. I currently work as one of the assistant managers at PA Pymatuning. We did treat for hydrilla this past season. Hydrilla is currently only present south of the causeway. It looks very similar to Elodea which is what you are seeing at Conneaut Lake. You are probably seeing Eurasian Watermilfoil by the spillway. Hydrilla first appeared in PA in the mid-1990's and was identified in Pymatuning Lake in 2010. Even with our treatments in 2016 the population increased 3x over 2015's survey. All species present in Pymatuning Lake did extremely well with growth in 2016 with dry conditions and high water clarity. We will be treating again in 2017 to try to at least contain the spread of hydrilla. You can all help by checking your boats before launching to make sure you don't have any hitchhikers and letting us know if you see hydrilla north of the causeway or in Conneaut Lake. GPS coordinates are fantastic. Please let me know if I can answer any other questions for you.

Will you be taking surveys again this spring at the Jamestown launch area? Think i may have talked to you a few times there.

Provided by Texas A & M...

Hydrilla is a perennial plant that forms dense colonies and can grow to the surface in water over 20 feet deep. Hydrilla branches profusely and after reaching the surface it extends across it forming thick mats. Hydrilla can reproduce by fragmentation, from seeds, from turions (axilary buds), and from tubers. Leaves are blade-like about 1/8 inch and 3/8 inch long with small tooth margins and spines on the underside of the midrib which make them feel rough. Leaves are usually 4 to 8 in a whorl.

Hydrilla is native to Europe and Asia and was probably brought to the U.S. for the aquarium industry. It is considered a noxious pest because it grows so rapidly, out competing and eliminating native species, and forming surface mats that hinder recreation, navigation, and water intakes.

Hydrilla is often confused with the native Elodea or the non-native Egeria. Hydrilla has one or more teeth on the underside of the midrib, neither Elodea nor Egeria have these midrib teeth. The teeth make Hydrilla feel rough when drawn through your hand from base to tip. Flowers of Hydrilla are much smaller (1/4 inch in diameter) than Egeria.

Submerged portions of all aquatic plants provide habitats for many micro and macro invertebrates. These invertebrates in turn are used as food by fish and other wildlife species (e.g. amphibians, reptiles, ducks, etc.). After aquatic plants die, their decomposition by bacteria and fungi provides food (called “detritus”) for many aquatic invertebrates. Hydrilla turions and tubers are consumed by some ducks but generally it is not considered a good wildlife food.

BPgirl what are the chances of it entering down stream into Shenango Lake ? I thought I read it's still capable of living or spreading even after it's cut or broke off. In that case Shenango could be on the next infected list. Shenango does run deeper then Pymy over all so that might help but it has it's shallow sections too.
 
From what I read it's almost a loosing battle in time, by your report of it tripling with treatment should raise major concerns in all waterways infected ! 

The seasonal winter drawdown would limit the impacts of Hydrilla on the Shenango drainage basin. I have only observed one aquatic plant in a Shenango Lake embayment, that was Carex which is no longer present.

To answer some of the questions- Yes the invasive species check stations will be occurring once again this summer. We are also installing invasive species disposal stations at all launches around the lake including Ohio's and wash stations at Jamestown Marina, Espyville Launch, and Linesville Marina.
 
Unfortunately some hydrilla was found in the Shenango River near our kayak launch last summer. So yes there is a very good chance that it will be moving downstream to Shenango Reservoir. As far as winter drawdowns, they have been shown not be affective in controlling monecious hydrilla. The tubers can persist through severe conditions and we are being told the best time to do a drawdown for monecious hydrilla would be mid-summer which obviously is not a possibility.  

Not very good news for Pymatuning or Shenango's future as of now. Major spreading problem is Shenango water continues south bound to the Gulf of Mexico eventually !