Clear Lake Algae

birdi23nls · Post by **birdi23nls** » Fri Jul 16, 2010 7:36 am

I know, I've had a lot of questions lately. One more though. How bad is the algae right now at clear lake. Is there any tips or tricks that I need to know to deal with the algae, do you need to pump clean water in your engine after each trip? Clean the boat immediatly with something? How hard is it on your reels and line?

JamesH · Post by **JamesH** » Fri Jul 16, 2010 8:32 am

Not sure how bad the algea is right now but I will tell you that I leave my braid at home when it gets bad...talk about making a mess of your boat and your shirt and your hat and your sunglasses.....

James

Steve Perkins · Post by **Steve Perkins** » Fri Jul 16, 2010 8:54 am

You can find areas without algae if you dont like to fish in it.

Depending on the wind direction during the day it can stack up in some coves or cuts.

I dont run away from the algae, it provides cover and I dont think the fish run away from it either.

As for your motor: I have never had any problems with the algae.
The weeds can clog your cooling system when running slow through the thick weeds, but when you get up to speed the water pressure should clean it out.

Reels and line: I dont worry about it. If it gets really caked on the reel I let it dry and then it just flakes off with a tooth brush. The same goes for your rod guides.

Fishing Line: I have tried every kind of line treatment and I cant find anything that stops the algae from sticking.

For your Boat: I use Bass Boat Saver to clean and protect my boat. It has UV protection.
I dont wipe it down at the ramp but I do use it on the top of the boat every day to keep the UV rays from fading the gel cote and seats. At home I wash the hull and trailer every week or two.

Be careful close to the bank because the algae makes it hard to see under water obstacles.

.

R.Mac · Post by **R.Mac** » Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:35 pm

I was fishing Wheeler Pt last weekend (just inside Konocti Bay), there was no wind, and the usual green algae was pretty damned thick. The bad part was the fact that I saw blue jellyfish lookin clumps of algae that I think were the cause of the terrible schtank last year! Hope I'm wrong.

KenG · Post by **KenG** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 8:31 pm

I was up there last week. The lake is pretty nasty right now. I ran my motor after to flush the cooling system of any of that crap. Not sure is was needed but the water coming out of the motor was dirty for a bit during the flush.

Greg_Cornish · Post by **Greg_Cornish** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 9:09 pm

Get used to it. It'll be here forever. Another invader.

GKramer · Post by **GKramer** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:05 am

Hope this isn't going to affect attendance at next month's BW Open....

gk

Fast 492 · Post by **Fast 492** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:06 am

I was there Saturday and Sunday and there is absolutely no reason to call that lake "Clearlake". The least of there worries should be the Quagga Mussels, maybe if they had some quagga mussels it would cut back on some of the Algae. The fishing stunk just as bad as the water! Good luck

ash · Post by **ash** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:20 am

Greg_Cornish wrote:Get used to it. It'll be here forever. Another invader.

If they stopped spraying the grass to kill it the alge would not be as bad. The grass is what filters the alge, removing large consentrations of grass, removes the filter, gives off decay and furthers the alge cycle.

Alge is not an invasive species, but removing the grass is very invasive to the eco system

Steve Perkins · Post by **Steve Perkins** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 5:54 am

ash wrote:[quote="

If they stopped spraying the grass to kill it the alge would not be as bad. The grass is what filters the alge, removing large consentrations of grass, removes the filter, gives off decay and furthers the alge cycle.

Alge is not an invasive species, but removing the grass is very invasive to the eco system

I totally agree !! Weeds are a natural filter.

I would like to know if there has been a recent study done on the impact of removing the weeds.

I also wonder if they in the beginning they just started spraying the poison or if they did a study to see what impact it would have on life in the lake.

What was this lake like before they started spraying the weeds ?

I can see the point of a home owner that wants weeds removed from his ramp or dock and around launch ramps. But when they spray weeds in the remote areas of the lake that only fisherman visit that makes no sense to me.

And who's idea was it to start killing the weeds.. home owners? Boaters? Fisherman?

This is making someone a bunch of money and we are paying for it. With the bad economy I think the money could be used for a better purpose.

I have been fishing up north and the algae has not been as bad as down south. and there are way more weeds up north.

.

birdi23nls · Post by **birdi23nls** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 8:35 am

How bad does the fishing suck up there? I leave wed...I might just pay the $100 dollars to cancel and go someplace else.

Hipster · Post by **Hipster** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 8:57 am

We found it to Totally SUCK!!! on Saturday, then had to go to the high pressure wash to get the chit off the boat. Oh and the smell in some places!!!!!!!!!!!!WHEW worse than last summer!!

I had to bleach my livewells when i got home to get rid of the stench it smelled so bad

I will not be back for a while, at least until fall for some cranking

birdi23nls · Post by **birdi23nls** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:14 pm

did the fishing suck too?

Greg_Cornish · Post by **Greg_Cornish** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 2:56 pm

I don't know how long you people have been around here, but I've been fishing the Clear Lake since 1997 and only in the last three years have the weeds been so abundant.

In the past the weeds were only a few feet tall in 18 feet of water, now they come clear to the top and stretch 1/2 mile out from shore. That never happened until 3 to 4 years ago.

I used to fish the shoreline back of Tule Island all summer long until last year. Now the weeds keep me away, not the algae. I used to drag a jig outside Aurora all year long, Now you can forget it come the middle of may due to weeds.

Meanwhile while the weeds are thicker than they have ever been at Clear Lake. The algae is also at it's worst. Saying the spraying of weeds is causing algae is quite hard to comprehend since the weeds have been so populated.

Most of those huge mats you get caught in out there are not algae mats, they are weed mats connected to the earth at the bottom of the lake.

The algae is the stuff that smells and collects in the leeward places and occasionally makes a floating mass across the lake.

Hipster · Post by **Hipster** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 3:52 am

My inlaws moved up to CL some years ago and I usually fish CL in the summer quite a bit, none of my areas that I like were worth a damn. I did not go into Konocti Bay or Jago as it got longer in the day and one 3 lber was not worth fighting wind, wakeboards, skiing , alge and split pea scum that reaked to high heaven etc.

Yes for me the fishing SUCKED!!

Others probably slayed them

mark poulson · Post by **mark poulson** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 5:04 am

According to BassTimes, the weeds, and the algae, are the result of too many nutrients in the water. That's from agricultural runoff, and sewage.
The weeds and the algae are always there. Normally, the weeds can compete with algae.
But higher water temps., lower water levels, and more nutrients are the perfect conditions for an algae bloom, and algae will choke out the weeds, and fish, eventually.

Fast 492 · Post by **Fast 492** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 5:10 am

The fishing is horrible over there right now, I would go to a lake that you can catch fish and swim when it gets hot in the middle of the day. I already had a room booked so I stayed, next time I will cancel even if they charge me.

ash · Post by **ash** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 5:11 am

Hipster wrote:My inlaws moved up to CL some years ago and I usually fish CL in the summer quite a bit, none of my areas that I like were worth a damn. I did not go into Konocti Bay or Jago as it got longer in the day and one 3 lber was not worth fighting wind, wakeboards, skiing , alge and split pea scum that reaked to high heaven etc.

Yes for me the fishing SUCKED!!

Others probably slayed them

That makes both of us brother, its great to see a family playing the cess tank.....just gives me the wileys just thinking about it.

tunaman · Post by **tunaman** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 5:44 am

Gary, sTony, Kirk and I drove up to Clear Lake yesterday morning, and yes the algae bloom was in full effect. Especially by the public ramp!

Kirk and I fished the west side and found some water that wasn't quite as bad, but it certainly was tough... Kirk caught a couple of Senko fish and had one blow up twice on a frog, but that was it. We ended up having to get off the water about 1:00, so we didn't put in a full day. I didn't take any light gear for worming, just figured I'd throw a buzzbait, frog, jigs and Senkos, but those were definitely not the baits to be throwing, on this day anyway.

We never made it to the north end, but all of the areas we fished from the Narrows on down were affected pretty significantly with the algae bloom.

Roger

Greg_Cornish · Post by **Greg_Cornish** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 6:34 am

mark poulson wrote:According to BassTimes, the weeds, and the algae, are the result of too many nutrients in the water. That's from agricultural runoff, and sewage.
The weeds and the algae are always there. Normally, the weeds can compete with algae.

But higher water temps., lower water levels, and more nutrients are the perfect conditions for an algae bloom, and algae will choke out the weeds, and fish, eventually.

That happens when people love the lake, they smother it. Everyone like to live on the shoreline and then fertilize the plants in the gardens and lawns. But its not only the shoreline people at clear lake, It's a big bowl and everyone's ground washes into the lake.

Agricultural fertilizers wash into the lake to.

clearlakeoutdoors · Post by **clearlakeoutdoors** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 11:11 am

The alage in the south lake is getting bad,but still not as bad as last year!There are plenty of places to fish in clearer water.The weeds are growing fast with the warm weather. I dont think they are any worse than last year! Just deal with them and you will catch fish in and around them. The shallow water is up in high 80 to low 90 degrees and some of those fish are moving out. The offshore jig bite has picked up . The fishing is a little slow but you can still go out and catch 3-4 pounders. Dont forget the postspawn Fluke bite !
Dave

Champion Jon · Post by **Champion Jon** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 1:27 pm

I fished monday and got spanked. Got two fish one of which was a 10lb catfish!

birdi23nls · Post by **birdi23nls** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 2:08 pm

great...first trip to clear lake and things are looking up!

birdi23nls · Post by **birdi23nls** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 2:10 pm

is there another lake in the vicinity that i can take the boat out to and perhaps do better or at least not deal with the mess?

Larry Hemphill · Post by **Larry Hemphill** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 4:06 pm

Algae is a beast and a blessing, depending on your point of view. The weeds seemed to get an early start this year in spite of cooler water - probably because of - get this - very clear water! If the lake had been more dingy earlier in the year, the weeds would have had a slower start. Algae was so bad during some years of the '80s that your boat would go from 40 to 0 mph in about 30 feet it seemed. Your boat just stopped - with kind of a "slurping sound! Generally the blessing of algae is that weeds in the deeper south end don't really develop and diminish quickly if they got a head start. Weeds need sunlight. The north end was alway most difficult because of the shallow water. This new blue/green/yellow/white/gunk colored algae seems to be a little different - especially the stringy stuff as opposed the the clump stuff we used to have. Clear Lake seems to be a lake of more extremes lately - clearer in the winter/spring and gooier (that is a word!) in the summer. Finally, I have not found the algae to bother the bite that much - the bass just move deeper. I have netted some of my clients big bass in the goo - taken it out of the net so they can hold it - take a photo - release it. No slime in my Ranger!!!

dbbasser · Post by **dbbasser** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 5:13 am

Hey guys just spent 2 days at Clear Lake with my son Dave and friend Todd, I'm here from FL visiting. The lake was full on algae bloom with temps in around 100 during the day, you can still get fish. We drop shotted most all our fish in about 20 ft of water, fishing was steady with 3 to 4 pounders the norm. Todd my friend lost a 8+ at the boat and I played net man for my son who spanked me the entire time. It's been 6 yr's since I fished CL ,this bloom seemed thicker than I recall but you'll catch fish.

Danny B

Jay Rowan · Post by **Jay Rowan** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 10:00 am

Electrofished yesterday launching out of Red Bud and hitting up several spots around Konocti and Jago bays. Algae was thick near shore in all areas unless it was a wind blown point, and it was a little stinky near Red Bud. Small fish have moved up and the larger 2+lbs fish have moved out deeper. The bass appear to be recovering from the spawn nicely and are starting to put on some weight. The adult fish we got were mostly on the outside edges of the weed lines when there was an edge, or in 4+ feet of water in out in the weeds. We got very few adult fish up shallow in less than 4 feet. Most of the boats we saw fishing were out in deeper water. Small schools of silver sides are starting to show in places, mostly on the back sides of points/islands etc. out of the wind current. We came around a corner near Wheeler Pt. and a school of 8-10 small bass, probably 2-3 year old fish about 6 inches long, had worked a small school of silver sides up on a ramp in about a foot of water and were moping up on them. Very cool to watch.

The weed spraying on CL is paid for by residents who get permits from the County. Only around 5 surface acres are treated per year. CL is about 40,000 SA for reference. The exception to this is California Department of Food and Ag. has several stations around the lake that have Eurasian milfoil that get treated every year to try and eradicate it. Those are likely the areas that were mentioned earlier as being out in the middle of the lake and away from houses etc.

macinckirk · Post by **macinckirk** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 11:24 am

Well all I can say is I overheated my motor sitting at the ramp in that SH*T so yes there is 1

for the people that know me and know how my Wife is taken care of, well I didn't have time to clean her since I had to run but her is what she looks like right now

Sry Dad for putting u on that blank but what could i have done

tunaman · Post by **tunaman** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 11:36 am

macinckirk wrote:Sry Dad for putting u on that blank but what could i have done

Not a thing, and it was just good getting to go up there and fish with you for the day. Besides, you've had a couple of rough ones here so its about time you got some bass lovin'!

I think if we had been able to finish out the day we would have stumbled on them, as we were getting ready to hit some of the deeper spots and it sounds like that is where they're hanging now... they certainly weren't up around the bank!

Roger

macinckirk · Post by **macinckirk** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 11:40 am

and we will do it again

Rob Dickson · Post by **Rob Dickson** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 11:44 am

macinckirk wrote:and we will do it again

Kirk, your alive. Hows the wood?

macinckirk · Post by **macinckirk** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 11:53 am

Have not been on there for a week or so, I'll let you all know weds night that will give me mon n weds to get on something

i have to get my boat back togther this weekend, n I have drapes coming for the house tomorrow

i do know how the bite is on Big bear lake, MEAD ALOT, Delta and Clear lake for the last 3 weeks

sgvangler · Post by **sgvangler** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:04 pm

Big Bear......

macinckirk · Post by **macinckirk** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:57 pm

sgvangler wrote:Big Bear......

yes Mr Day knows about that 1 too

macinckirk · Post by **macinckirk** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 4:05 pm

i think that trip went like this

me getting up at 2:00am to go to BBL to fish with B, got there got on the water and got sunked as i recall, after the clean n dry police gave him a hard time about his paper work from the day before.

well we fished hard till about 3:00pm, then i got home and some freind of mine showed up and i ended bbqing for them. when dinner was done and the pool games were over they hit the road and I deieced to head to vegasaround 9:00pm.

Had some drinks till 6:00am with a freind and then hit mead, fished from 7:00 - 10:00 had 10 bites hooked 9 fish, cleaned up the boat and headed home

sgvangler · Post by **sgvangler** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 5:31 pm

macinckirk wrote:i think that trip went like this

me getting up at 2:00am to go to BBL to fish with B, got there got on the water and got sunked as i recall, after the clean n dry police gave him a hard time about his paper work from the day before.

well we fished hard till about 3:00pm, then i got home and some freind of mine showed up and i ended bbqing for them. when dinner was done and the pool games were over they hit the road and I deieced to head to vegasaround 9:00pm.

Had some drinks till 6:00am with a freind and then hit mead, fished from 7:00 - 10:00 had 10 bites hooked 9 fish, cleaned up the boat and headed home

That's exactly how it went.

Nozmo King · Post by **Nozmo King** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 5:40 pm

Can't we at least blame the algae problem on liberals, environmental wackos or illegal immigrants?

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