When reading through posts I see mention of exotic species (probably unbeknown to the poster) and questions of how to fish in it or around it. But, I am interested in how many people realize the problem at hand. This is a topic I think should be brought to the forefront and many anglers should be educated about. What is your level of exotic species awareness? Are you part of the problem or part of the cure?

Do you take the time to make sure no plant debris is on your boat or trailer before leaving the boat ramp? and do you remove it if there is some present?

Do you make the effort to drain and clean livewells to make sure viruses (e.g., largemouth bass virus) are not transported from lake to lake after fish are captured and released after being placed in your livewell?

Now I know bass fisherman's views on fishing with live bait..."only a real fisherman fish with artificials", but those of you who fish with live bait,

Do you let your "leftover" bait go in the lake at the end of the day?

All of these things (along with many more examples) contribute to dispersal of exotic and non-indigenous species. Once established, these problems become serious very fast and are VERY EXPENSIVE to correct. Most of the time, these problems are uncorrectable and can only be maintained (depending on the species).

What are your thoughts or views on the subject?

What ever you bring to the lake, leaves when you leave, and what ever comes from the lake, stays with the lake.

Well, I never keep any Bass, so my live wells never get used (I've never used them even once!).

I don't fish with live bait, so I never have any left over.

If I do have any Hydrilla or water lettuce... I clean them off at home as I always rinse off the boat after a fishing trip. They never make it back to the water.  I very seldom have any though. Most of the lakes I fish are pretty clean around the ramp area at least.

Good post and I think it goes hand it hand with proper fish handling which...sadly, I think very few people practice.

Just watched a dude dump the rest of his shiners into the lake as he was leaving...I'm curious to know what problems this can present?

Left over bait makes great fertilizer. Dig a little hole and there you go.

Here's a few helpful articles on the subject.

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/weed_control.html

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/livewell1a.html

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/lmbv_notes.html

I have seen signs saying not to dump any left over bait in the water.  What adverse affect does that have considering it is healthy, lively bait.

Most bait is sold because it is easy to culture. Meaning its easy to keep alive, it will take food, and grows easily so there will be different sizes for selling. However, this species of bait is probably not indigenous to the body of water you are fishing. Yeah, it might be in there now, but that is because you and everyone else that bought that type of bait dumped the left overs in the lake.

As for problems..not being indigenous to that water body it may use the same resources as the shiners/minnows that are indigenous to that lake. Potentially throwing the natural balance in that system off.

For example, a shiner is bought as bait. This bait is hardy and is an efficient planktivore. There is a similar species in the lake but it is not as efficient at eating plankton as the store bought. Well the "bait shiner" uses the resources of the native shiner, but it also affects the plankton balance inturn affecting the bluegill (which are prey for predators), inturn affecting bass (probably the top predator), and eventually affecting the water quality.

So, next time you buy bait and have some left over dispose of it properly.

I have noticed a decline in the bluegill population in the pond I fish, very slow decline but never the less a decline. We don't release our shiners, but others may.  Is there any way to eliminate the non-indegineous population, or is it too late?  I was thinking about cathing some bull bluegill and releasing them into the pond, would this work?

i dont think shiners and such pose a threat like say goldfish

Some of the waters in my area are infested with asian carp. Yeah... Those ones that weigh up to 100# and fly through the air to hit boaters flying down the river at 70 mph. A very invasive species that has killed people. Surprisingly, these fish start pretty small and grow to these huge sizes by eating plankton. They grow very quickly and eat a lot in the process. They eat so much that they are haveing a large effect on the shad populations in the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.

Think of the effect on bass fishing in these rivers. The bass can't eat these huge carp and the shad population is dropping. It's not good.

Catfishing is being affected as well, but not as much since the larger flatheads and blue cats can eat them up to 15#.

Our state laws just changed because of this species. If you ever catch one of these, you may use it for bait (it's good for catfish), but you may NOT use it live. You may NOT release it back into the water either.

Up until last year my thing on bait was that if I got it from the water I am fishing I would release it back. My only change now is that I make sure that there are no asian carp in there either.

Vegetation on my boat isn't really a problem. I do have one lake I go to where I managed to pick up some moss on my trailer, but after seeing the problems with asian carp I am very aware of exotic and invasive species.