Zebra Mussels in the Chain!!!

Scarlett O'Hara had her Yankees at Tara. Now we have the infamous zebra mussels in the Chain.

Bad news. When we pulled the boat out Tuesday, I had an encrustation of the little varmints on the hull and lower unit. Zebra mussels were about two inches deep on one spot on the lower unit and several of the water intakes were covered.

I knew they were in the Great Lakes and it was just a matter of time before they got out to the Chain of Lakes here in northeastern Illinois. Too many folks put their boats in both bodies of water. A zebra was bound to hitchhike its way in. And, evidently they did.

We first found out we had them when my buddy Frank found them back in early August. He cleared a lot of them off while anchored out by the sandbar at Columbia Bay in Fox Lake.

His boat is in Nippersink Creek and he kept his boat in the water, but didn't have any zebra mussels. We have been keeping ours in the channel by Dino's Den and Kevan's and this one doesn't have as much current. Perhaps a lack of water movement is more conducive to infestation.

Either way, we have to get a shore station for next year and I don't think the channel is wide enough for one, so will have to find another place to moor.

The folks at Midwest Marine where we took the boat for winterizing said they had seen zebra mussels on several boats and one guy blew his engine when it overheated when the mussels blocked his water intake.

Looks like they're definitely here.

Rotten Zebra Mussels!!! --RoadDog