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A few years back ocean and I atopped at johnson res to see if we could catch anythig from the boat ramp, the res was really low, i caught something but it wansnt a fish, what i caught was a striped clam looking thing about the size of a half dollar, ocean said that it was a zebra mussel, i believe him, but according to the proclimation the zebra mussels arnt found anywhere in utah. so my question to you fellow fisher people is was it really a zebra mussel that was transplanted to johnsons (hopefully the only one) or was it some other sort of a fresh water clam?
ps. it was smashed on a rock just incase it was a zebra mussel
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I wouldn't know the difference, but here is a link to the usgs site on zebra mussels so you can see if this is what you caught.
[url "http://nas.er.usgs.gov/zebra.mussel/"]http://nas.er.usgs.gov/zebra.mussel/[/url]
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Sam also found one in yuba![pirate]
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It definitely isn't a zebra mussle. Those things are bad news, very prolific, and can lay waste to a fishery. They've significantly altered the water habitat of many lakes in the Great Lakes regions. They are such proficient feeders that the water in which they live soon becomes very clear and void of nutrients. They are also very sharp and will cut swimmers' feet and anglers' lines easily.
They are more likely the Asian Clam. Wayne Gustaveson recently posted the following about them (these are also in Lake Powell)... [indent][#333333]
Corbicula fluminea is an Asian species that was introduced to the west coast of North America around 1925. Since that time it has spread across the continent and is present in streams, canals, lakes, and reservoirs south of 40° North latitude. Its range continues to expand and it can be collected locally for laboratory use in many parts of the United States. It is common in California, western Arizona, parts of Washington and Oregon, throughout the southeast north through Kentucky and sporadically in more northern states. It is absent from most of the Great Plains and Great Basin. Corbicula lives in sand or gravel bottoms with the posterior third of shell exposed above the substratum. It has very short siphons and consequently must live at the sediment surface.
Corbicula is often abundant and population densities can reach 130,000/m2 but are usually much less, about 10-3000/m2. It is used as human food in Asia. It is often common in reservoirs where its densities are greatest near the shore.
Corbicula is hermaphroditic, both simultaneous and protandric, has a benthic crawling larva known as a pediveliger which has made it possible for this species to spread rapidly both upstream and downstream in any drainage to which it is introduced. Corbicula competes with native mussel species and is thought to reduce their population densities and may be responsible for the extinction of some species.
Those little clams found in Lake Powell are not much of a bother since there are no native mussels to compete with. Not many fish bother them that I can tell. I have eaten these clams and found them very chewy and not especially tasty. I suggest a clean water bath before sampling. You can clean the sand out that way. You could also feed them for two weeks in a bucket of water with something like garlic and wheat germ added?? On second thought -It's probably not worth the effort. [/#333333][/indent]
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Sorry that i am a little slow at getting this posted the DWR finally answered my email and they said that there had been no reports of anything like this from johnsons but that it was most likely a asian clam just like those found in lake powell and yuba.
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