Name:   luv2fish - Subject:   On the Subject of Blue Backs in Lake Martin Date:   1/22/2016 4:14:37 PM (updated 1/22/2016 4:15:17 PM)

I grew up on Lake Hartwell. Blueback Herring have been a staple of the Savannah River System and are a more "native" species of baitfish for those impoundments (prior to hydroelectricity the herring used to swim up the river to spawn and the striper followed). Herring have been a great resource for Hartwell, Russell and Clarkes Hill (Strom Thurmond for those who wish to call it that) and the fishery but I know from talking with biologists here at Auburn that the blueback is not a good fit for a lot of lakes because they grow quite large and end up competing with shad and even bass for food over time. They will even eat juvenile bass. Plus they can be very tough on the shad populations as they compete for the same phytoplankton.

As many have stated prior to my post you can't get rid of them. Once they are in the lake and established they are there to stay. I haven't noticed them as a dominant species yet on Martin but time will tell as to how their numbers evolve.