Virginia Fishing Reports
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    • 2017 Virginia Rivers and Smallmouth Bass Report
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    • Virginia Reservoirs Ranked for Largemouth Bass Report
    • 2017/18 Tidal Blue Catfish Report
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  • Where to Fish - Virginia Lakes
  • Where to Fish - Virginia Rivers & Streams
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    • Northern Snakehead Information
    • World Record Snakehead
    • Virginia’s Best Freshwater Fall Fishing
    • Virginia’s Top Lakes
    • 13 Local Fishing Spots in Virginia's Blue Ridge
    • 2018 Virginia Fishing Calendar
    • Didymo (Invasive Freshwater Algae) in Virginia
    • 2017 Virginia Impoundment Report
    • 16 Amazing Spots to Fish in Virginia
    • Virginia's Baitfish
    • Virginia Trophy Size Fish Chart
  • Virginia Bass Fishing Library
    • 2018 Virginia Largemouth Bass Fishing Forecast
    • The best smallmouth bass streams in Virginia
    • 2017 Top Places for Bass Fishing in Virginia
    • Aggressive Techniques for Virginia River Smallmouths
    • Virginia Reservoirs Ranked for Largemouth Bass Fishing
    • 2017 Tidal Bass Outlook
    • Where to Catch Virginia's Trophy Largemouth Bass
    • 2017 Top Virginia Bass Fishing Spots
    • Virginia Smallmouth Bass Rivers Overview Report
    • Largemouth Bass Virus in Virginia
    • Virginia Bass Fishing
    • 2017 Annual Virginia Rivers and Smallmouth Bass Fishing Outlook
    • Fishing The Shenandoah River
    • Fly Fishing for Smallmouth Bass in September and October on the Shenandoah River
  • Virginia Striped Bass Fishing Library
    • Striper Mafia Tournament Series Returns
    • Parasites Remain in Smith Mountain Lake Striped Bass
    • Striped Bass Age - Length - Weight Chart
    • Smith Mountain Lake striped bass fishery in decline
    • Big stripers reach 20-year high at Smith Mountain Lake
    • Lake Gaston Striped Bass Fishing
    • Hit Lake Gaston for Winter Stripers
    • Lake Anna Striped Bass Fishing
    • Lake Anna Gains a New Species
    • Striped Bass Fishing Looking Up at Kerr
    • Buggs Island Lake: Top Area Striper Water
    • Stripers Life Begins in Small Hatchery
  • Virgiinia Catfishing Library
    • New Virginia State Record Flathead Catfish
    • 2018 Virginia Catfish Forecast
    • Your Guide To Virginia’s Best Catfish Angling
    • World Record catfish caught at Buggs Island Lake
    • Big flathead catfish on the James River
    • Fishing for Catfish With Stephen Miklandric
    • Virginia's giant catfish are spreading
    • Monster blue catfish finding mixed reception
    • How did a Virginia lake produce a 143-pound catfish?
    • 2017/18 Tidal Blue Catfish Outlook
    • Real cool cats - How to catch Kerr Lake's catfish
  • Virginia Crappie Fishing Library
    • Virginia’s Best Crappie Fishing
    • Buggs Island has deep, slab crappie
    • Virginia’s best Crappie fishing waters
    • Get to Buggs Island Lake for great crappie fishing
    • Save the Crappies!
    • Kerr is king of Virginia's crappie fishing -- but it's no pushover
    • Kerr Lake Crappie Showing in Large Numbers
  • Virginia Saltwater Fishing Library
    • Best Bets for Saltwater Fishing In Virginia
    • Spadefish Virginia’s version of an Angel Fish
    • Red Drum and Black Drum on the Chesapeake Bay
    • Virginia Flounder
    • Summer Cobia fishing in Virginia Beach
    • Mahi-Mahi Fishing Off Virginia Beach
    • Chesapeake Bay Spot Fishing
    • Atlantic Swordfish Fishing Off Virginia Beach
    • Fishing Piers in Newport News, Virginia
    • Where Have All the Big Fish Gone?
    • Coastal striped bass a no-show, but that could be changing
  • Links
Picture

Didymo (Invasive Freshwater Algae) in Virginia
by VDGIF

Didymosphenia geminata, also known as “didymo,” is a single-celled algae that is firmly established in at least three rivers below dams in Virginia: the Smith River, the Jackson River, and the Pound River. Didymo is a non-toxic diatom that has the ability to colonize into long stalks and to cover entire river bottoms. Further, didymo has also gained an ignominious nickname, rock snot, because it can break off into large pieces and drape over streamside vegetation. Anglers have become frustrated with this import because it can entangle lines and hooks, ruining a day on the water.
Didymo’s native home is the Faroe Islands off of Scotland, and probably arrived in Virginia on the boots of a fisherman. It thrives in cold, clear, shallow water, just like the conditions found in our three major trout tailwaters. Didymo was “discovered” in each of these rivers during the summer of 2006 by anglers and biologists.

Efforts by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the Forest Service to monitor the amount and the distribution of this nuisance have begun. Other stakeholders, including Trout Unlimited and the Department of Conservation and Recreation, have begun an educational campaign in the Commonwealth to raise river-user awareness of didymo’s potential harm.

Posters (PDF), cards, fishing regulations, and websites are warning boaters and anglers to remove any algae fragments from their gear, to dry their gear completely, and to treat their gear with a dilute bleach solution to prevent the spread of this to other trout streams. Biologists world-wide are studying the short and long-term effects of didymo on freshwater fisheries, but it is still unknown how it will impact aquatic communities or if it can adapt to warmer environments. What we do know is that it is an aggravating nuisance, an economic detriment, and that it is here to stay.
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  • Home
  • Lake Fishing Reports
    • Back Bay
    • Briery Creek & Sandy River Reservoirs
    • Buggs Island Lake
    • Burke Lake
    • Chickahominy Lake
    • Claytor Lake
    • Diascund Reservoir
    • Farm Ponds
    • Lake Anna
    • Lake Chesdin
    • Lake Frederick
    • Lake Gaston
    • Leesville Lake
    • Lake Moomaw
    • Little Creek Reservoir
    • Occoquan Reservoir
    • Philpott Lake
    • Smith Mountain Lake
    • South Holsten Reservoir
    • Suffolk Lakes
    • Mid-Atlantic Freshwater Reports
    • Mixed Freshwater Reports
    • Miscellaneous Lake Reports
  • River Fishing Reports
    • Chickahominy River
    • Holsten River, South Fork
    • Jackson River
    • James River
    • Mattaponi / Pamunkey Rivers
    • Mossy Creek
    • New River
    • Occoquan River
    • Potomac River
    • Rappahannock River
    • Rivanna River
    • Shenandoah River
    • Small Streams
    • Miscellaneous Rivers & Streams
  • Saltwater Fishing Reports
    • Saltwater Reports
    • Mid-Atlantic Saltwater Fishing Reports
    • Saltwater Citation Reports
  • Tournament Reports
    • Buggs Island Lake
    • Lake Anna
    • Lake Gaston
    • Leesville Lake
    • Smith Mountain Lake
  • Upcoming Tournaments
    • Buggs Island Lake Tournaments
    • Chickahominy River Tournaments
    • Lake Gaston Tournaments
    • Smith Mountain Lake Tournaments
    • Miscellaneous Tournaments
    • Saltwater Tournaments
  • VDGIF Reports
    • 2017 Virginia Rivers and Smallmouth Bass Report
    • 2017/18 Tidal Bass Report
    • Virginia Reservoirs Ranked for Largemouth Bass Report
    • 2017/18 Tidal Blue Catfish Report
  • Virginia Fish
  • Where to Fish - Virginia Lakes
  • Where to Fish - Virginia Rivers & Streams
  • Virginia's Trophy Fish
  • Virginia State Record Fish
  • Virginia Fisherman Identification Program (FIP)
  • Virginia General Fishing Library
    • Virginia Fish Consumption advisories
    • Northern Snakehead Information
    • World Record Snakehead
    • Virginia’s Best Freshwater Fall Fishing
    • Virginia’s Top Lakes
    • 13 Local Fishing Spots in Virginia's Blue Ridge
    • 2018 Virginia Fishing Calendar
    • Didymo (Invasive Freshwater Algae) in Virginia
    • 2017 Virginia Impoundment Report
    • 16 Amazing Spots to Fish in Virginia
    • Virginia's Baitfish
    • Virginia Trophy Size Fish Chart
  • Virginia Bass Fishing Library
    • 2018 Virginia Largemouth Bass Fishing Forecast
    • The best smallmouth bass streams in Virginia
    • 2017 Top Places for Bass Fishing in Virginia
    • Aggressive Techniques for Virginia River Smallmouths
    • Virginia Reservoirs Ranked for Largemouth Bass Fishing
    • 2017 Tidal Bass Outlook
    • Where to Catch Virginia's Trophy Largemouth Bass
    • 2017 Top Virginia Bass Fishing Spots
    • Virginia Smallmouth Bass Rivers Overview Report
    • Largemouth Bass Virus in Virginia
    • Virginia Bass Fishing
    • 2017 Annual Virginia Rivers and Smallmouth Bass Fishing Outlook
    • Fishing The Shenandoah River
    • Fly Fishing for Smallmouth Bass in September and October on the Shenandoah River
  • Virginia Striped Bass Fishing Library
    • Striper Mafia Tournament Series Returns
    • Parasites Remain in Smith Mountain Lake Striped Bass
    • Striped Bass Age - Length - Weight Chart
    • Smith Mountain Lake striped bass fishery in decline
    • Big stripers reach 20-year high at Smith Mountain Lake
    • Lake Gaston Striped Bass Fishing
    • Hit Lake Gaston for Winter Stripers
    • Lake Anna Striped Bass Fishing
    • Lake Anna Gains a New Species
    • Striped Bass Fishing Looking Up at Kerr
    • Buggs Island Lake: Top Area Striper Water
    • Stripers Life Begins in Small Hatchery
  • Virgiinia Catfishing Library
    • New Virginia State Record Flathead Catfish
    • 2018 Virginia Catfish Forecast
    • Your Guide To Virginia’s Best Catfish Angling
    • World Record catfish caught at Buggs Island Lake
    • Big flathead catfish on the James River
    • Fishing for Catfish With Stephen Miklandric
    • Virginia's giant catfish are spreading
    • Monster blue catfish finding mixed reception
    • How did a Virginia lake produce a 143-pound catfish?
    • 2017/18 Tidal Blue Catfish Outlook
    • Real cool cats - How to catch Kerr Lake's catfish
  • Virginia Crappie Fishing Library
    • Virginia’s Best Crappie Fishing
    • Buggs Island has deep, slab crappie
    • Virginia’s best Crappie fishing waters
    • Get to Buggs Island Lake for great crappie fishing
    • Save the Crappies!
    • Kerr is king of Virginia's crappie fishing -- but it's no pushover
    • Kerr Lake Crappie Showing in Large Numbers
  • Virginia Saltwater Fishing Library
    • Best Bets for Saltwater Fishing In Virginia
    • Spadefish Virginia’s version of an Angel Fish
    • Red Drum and Black Drum on the Chesapeake Bay
    • Virginia Flounder
    • Summer Cobia fishing in Virginia Beach
    • Mahi-Mahi Fishing Off Virginia Beach
    • Chesapeake Bay Spot Fishing
    • Atlantic Swordfish Fishing Off Virginia Beach
    • Fishing Piers in Newport News, Virginia
    • Where Have All the Big Fish Gone?
    • Coastal striped bass a no-show, but that could be changing
  • Links