Flying carp invade Pearl River below Barnett spillway

When the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks biologists confirmed a recent report of an angler catching a silver carp in the Pearl River below the Ross Barnett Reservoir spillway, it was news no one wanted to hear.

The invasive species of fish is best known for jumping out of the water when frightened by boat motors, but according to biologists, the fish can cause greater problems.

"That's the impact people realize, but they don't realize the impact on the food chain," MDWFP Fisheries Bureau biologist Dennis Riecke said. "They feed on small sizes of phytoplankton.

"We're at the base of the food chain. You're taking away one of the blocks of the food chain, so you have a ripple factor."

And that ripple factor can be significant if the silver carp become abundant. By reducing the amount of phytoplankton, the carp reduce the food source for native baitfish and fry of other species. In turn, that can harm the populations of gamefish and other species.

Riecke said how the carp got here is a matter of speculation. Some feel the culprit could be the Bonnet Carre Spillway.

The Bonnet Carre Spillway is located near New Orleans. It is a control structure that allows the diversion of Mississippi River waters, where silver carp have long been established, into Lake Pontchartrain during floods. In the Mississippi River flood of 2011, it was opened. According to Riecke, that could have allowed the carp access to Lake Pontchartrain and the Pearl River system.

Since then, Ricke said, evidence of silver carp was found in the lower Pearl River system in 2013 and a confirmed report of one in the system near Slidell a few months ago. Now, they appear to have homesteaded in central Mississippi.

How high?

Silver carp are also called flying carp because of their high-flying antics when frightened, but can they jump over the Barnett spillway into the reservoir? Ricky doesn't think so, but he's concerned that with a little help, Barnett anglers will literally have fish jumping in their boats.

Catching catfish bait is a common practice below the reservoir spillway. Fishermen throw castnets to catch shad and dump them into buckets. That could be the silver carp's ticket for a ride into Barnett.

"They look a lot like gizzard shad and threadfin shad (when they are juveniles)," Riecke said. "Most people can't distinguish between them.

"People could catch them and transfer them into the reservoir."

Magnolia Crappie Club vice-president and Barnett Reservoir regular Bernard Williams said he doesn't think the inadvertent transfer into the lake is a possibility; he thinks it's inevitable.

"That's where everybody goes to get their catfish bait," Williams said. "You can't tell a baby carp from a shad."

The prospect of silver carp disturbing the food chain in Barnett Reservoir is not something Williams is happy about.

"Man, I've seen them ruin a lake," Williams said. "They (crappie) don't have anything to eat.

"That makes the crappie thin. They don't have anything to eat."

Largemouth bass anglers aren't excited about it either.

The silver bullet

"Oh, no," said Todd Gulmer of Brandon. "That stinks.

"Those lakes that are connected to the (Mississippi ) River. That's the only place I've ever come into contact with them. It's not enjoyable at all. We've had people in our club get hit by them. Getting hit by one that is 15 to 20 pounds is not a good thing. They can hurt you quick."

Silver carp of that size are not uncommon, but Riecke said they can reach weights in excess of 70 pounds. That leaves them with few predators.

"Eighty pounds is quite realistic," Riecke said. "Once they get past the juvenile stage, they need a big predator to feed on them because of their large size."

With few predators to control the numbers of silver carp, Riecke said it's important for anglers to understand the situation and prevent them from spreading.

"If bait is captured below the spillway, it should only be used in that spillway," Riecke said. "We don't want non-native species in a water body that they aren't already in."

Despite warnings from MDWFP, Williams fully expects to be dodging silver bullets while fishing on Barnett in the future.

"It's coming, man," Williams said, "It's coming."

Contact Brian Broom at (601) 961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com. Follow @BrianBroom on Twitter.