krk Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Sad news reported today from Banff National Park. Whirling Disease has been confirmed in Johnson Lake http://news.morningstar.com/all/canada-news-wire/20160825C4217/first-case-of-whirling-disease-in-canada.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danhunt Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 No words. I hate to ask, but does this lake connect to the Bow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monger Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Is it possible there is flow through a little power station right on Hwy 1 and then off to the Bow? Looks like most flow comes from Two Jack lake to the power plant. Does anyone know if water goes from Johnson to the power plant via a gated pipeline? At least there is Sebee, Ghost and Bearspaw in the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcubed Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Monger, It flows out of the lake and then hugs those hoodoo cliffs before a culvert further south then the Cascade power plant http://globalnews.ca/news/2903536/infectious-whirling-disease-found-in-fish-at-banffs-johnson-lake/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angler Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Water out is Johnson Creek down towards TCH and the beaver ponds along the hoodoo area then percolates. Don't think there is a direct connection to the Bow via Johnson Lake, but I'm ready to stand corrected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtaylor Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Different disease but would literally cry if this happened to the bow http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37177181 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonAndersen Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Wonder how it got to Johnstone Lake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishteck Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 This is potentially a devastating event, but hopefully CFIA that has jurisdiction over the control of movement of both fish and humans, we will see containment of the disease. It is important for us to realize that the weather we have encountered this year puts fish under stress. Low Bow River flows, high weed growth with higher than normal water temperatures stress fish populations. Add Whirling Disease and thing will only deteriorate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dangus Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Time for some rotenone. Clear house and nip it in the bud. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monger Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 There is a ton of sediment in the river with all the bank collapses as well. This is ideal for the host worms to grow in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dryfly Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 Hope they get on this stat. Not good. Some opinions: It is higher than the valley and water flows downhill.... Unless there is a definitive barrier, the water will connect to the Bow drainage one way or another. Origin? Who knows? But probably a tourist angler...just a few hours from MT. Or something else. Totally agree with Bron. Nuke the lake ASAP with rotenone and federal eco regs be damned. No time for committee meetings and budget approvals. OMG, I fished Johnson from circa 1957 to ~1961 .... used Black Gnats and McGiintys with a torpedo bubble and spinning rod. We used to drool at the occasional pig trout that would leap clear of the water out in the middle ... no craft allowed then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurningChrome Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 Origin? Who knows? But probably a tourist angler...just a few hours from MT. Or something else. Could've just as easily been a local angler who went south and brought it back. Either way it's time for everyone to be more diligent about cleaning gear between water bodies. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianR Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 I hope they get after this post haste.With this identified in Montana years ago,i am surprised that it has taken this long to rear it's uglyness here.Other countries that have it or even have had rumors of it.Have been very proactive NZ,Australia,etc. Even more reason for us to all get behind,these inspection stn's & support the efforts. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nachako Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 As much as I hate to say it . After all the testing. If it is contained there " Yes nuke it " But as one of the many locals that start there float tube and canoe season in Johnson lake . I'm more concerned on how far has it already spread. Would be quite surprised if it is only contained to that water shed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverDoctor Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 Very true we have been very complacent here for many years, it's just recently we have instituted boat inspections. Hope there is som education for wade fisherman as well in next years regs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowbonehead Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 In that its in a lake that has been stocked its likely the fish were infected prior to stocking which is the way it has been spread primarily in the past most notably in Colorado even after they knew the fish were infected at the hatcheries...... but continued to stock them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angler Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 To my knowledge current population is self sustaining. Not stocked for years now. While in NZ had a couple of conversations about wd and the spread. NZers now find that the spread is more by trampers who may cross multiple stream in a day than anglers. As for R. Not gonna happen. Remember Black Thursday a few years ago? Parks took a serious hit over a poisoning plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wazzy Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 Lakes in the Parks haven't been stocked for years. 1988?? ish...The fish in Johnson Lake are naturally reproducing, wild trout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nachako Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 Lakes in the Parks haven't been stocked for years. 1988?? ish...The fish in Johnson Lake are naturally reproducing, wild trout. X2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricinus Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 Does rotenone kill the parasite or just the fish it is infecting and the parasite lives on in the mud and continues to spread? I would like to know if this is a viable solution or a knee jerk reaction. As for how far it has spread I guess that would depend on how migratory the fish are.. Mike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wazzy Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 Does rotenone kill the parasite or just the fish it is infecting and the parasite lives on in the mud and continues to spread? I would like to know if this is a viable solution or a knee jerk reaction. As for how far it has spread I guess that would depend on how migratory the fish are.. My thoughts exactly....From anything I've read, a dead fish infected with whirling disease is a much greater threat than a live fish with whirling disease. From my understanding, it is once the fish dies, that the disease multiplies and spreads. As far as I know, there is no known solution to completely eradicating the parasite. Tough situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowbonehead Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 Spores can reside in the mud for more than 20 years and are so far have been impossible to eradicate so they may have been there all along and the government does not always tell you everything they know ..... just saying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonAndersen Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 Guys, I attended the first WD conference in Alberta. The Montana Biologist reported that he knew the fish in the Madison were in trouble for some years before he detected infected fish. While he was concerned about the fish, FF types were rejoicing in the number of larger fish they were catching. He also described the bug this way. " if an eagle ate a diseased fish, *hit on a river bank where the *hit dried out and 25 years later the *hit washed into the river, the disease bug would still be alive. Browns are not effected as bad as rainbows. They grew up with the disease in their native lands. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dangus Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 As far as I know rotenone will kill the worm host. How well it kills all of them, I have no idea. That being said, eliminating fish eliminates the things spreading the disease (people/fish). By suppressing the amount of worms/parasite in the lake to potentially be moved by waterfowl helps in that aspect. But I'm totally talking out of my ass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monger Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Rotenone impairs the fish's ability to take up oxygen from the water. Perhaps it has the same effect on tubifex worms. The parasite is another matter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.