oatka 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2007 So, this morning on PBS I saw a report about mussels (is that how you spell it when it refers to the clam shell animal?) that live in Minnesota (I think that was where) and how they reproduce. What it showed was that the mussel grows a fake darter. Apparently the largemouth bass love darters. so the mussel grows a fake one, complete with a mouth that moves, and then when the largemouth bass tries to eat it, the mussel sprays it's offspring at the bass. the tiny little mussels grab onto the gills of the largemouth bass and live there for a while and get nutrients from the bass. it was amazing. as a fly tier I thought how cool it was that another living creature "ties" it's own flies too. I was also comforted to know that not all of their imitations fooled the bass, just like not all of mine do! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fly time 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2007 Thats pretty interresting stuff, I had no clue, I just know that mussels are a sign of clean water, and coons love em. Dustin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GHow 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2007 I watched the same show. Now I know why there are so many mussels in Lake Congamond which is an outstanding largemouth fishery. The sand bottom spawning flat that I live next to is loaded with mussel shells. Some are live ones that have buried themselves in the sand and the shells of the expired litter the bottom. Seeing this piece on Nature explaining this relationship just anwered some of my questions. My last unanswered question is what eats the mussels? There are so many opened shells littering the bottom of the area. I know otters frequent the lake but not a huge population..... :dunno: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael Smith 0 Report post Posted January 29, 2007 We have a lot of those mussels in our local lakes. It's a good sign for the lakes apparently as that must mean the water quality is pretty good. Maybe racoons eat them? The mussels are shallow enough for my four year old to inspect when we're at the beach, so 'coons must be able to get at them. Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frogg07 0 Report post Posted January 29, 2007 I didn't know mussels were a sign of clean water. We have them in the Hudson River, and they say that it's badly polluted . Maybe not as bad as they say. Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
