Caddo Lake and the Giant Salvinia Problem!

A Nice Place to Swing

I have been fishing Caddo Lake since I was a kid. These days I will bring along my camera equipment in order to get some photographs of this shallow lake on the Texas-Louisiana border. Early November is usually the best time to capture the Bald Cypress Trees after they have turned rusty orange.

Colorful Caddo in 2013

I was shocked this fall to see how much of the lake is being taken over by an invasive species named Giant Salvinia. The main lake was so clogged with the weed that I did not even try to run through it with my boat. Surprisingly, some more confined areas were not so clogged up with the weed but I think a little current in these areas keeps the channels clear. You can see some of the weed in all of these photos. The bottom photo is completely covered with the stuff. I have yet to figure out if this is all Giant Salvinia or if the brown seed stalk looking things are a separate plant growing in the Salvinia. Either way, most of this water is about waist deep. 
I don't think we have heard the last of Giant Salvinia. I hope the biologists figure out a way to control this nasty weed before it starts taking over other lakes.

Overgrown With Weeds