Algae at Lac St. Anne

[CBintheNorth]

Went out tonight for a couple of hours after it cooled off and I was shocked to see the algae growth that thick this early in the year. Visibility was 6" at best and weeds in 12 ft of water have already breached the surface by 2 ft or more. I have fished this lake for decades now and have never seen these conditions, THIS EARLY ever! Are any other lakes near Edmonton looking the same? Btw, I caught 3 medium eyes before I realized the surface temp was 78.6 degrees! That's when I shut it down.

[pikergolf]

Did you guys get a lot of moisture up there? Same conditions down here in the SE, lots of rain though, I think the rain washes a lot of nutrients into the water, hence the weeds and algae. I was on Bullshead the other day and there was a temp variation of 6 degrees from one side of the lake to the other. Less than a mile.

[pechetr]

Every lake I have been at in the last 4-6 weeks has been the same. Devil's, Lac La Nonne, Nakamun, Coal are all very low visibility due to algae.

[Drewski Canuck]

This is the price paid today for what has been happening 10 years ago. Nitrogen and Phosphates take a VERY LONG time to break down in a lake. If the water does not flush through, this is what you get. Problem is cabins with septic fields still seeping into the lake, outhouses still seeping into the lake, lawn fertilizer still seeping into the lake, cattle manure run off, etc.

Alot of effort is now being made, but farming practices have to change, as well as the practices relating to cabin wastewater disposal. Still, you will not see the benefit for a number of years.

The faster solution is up to Mother Nature. If the Sturgeon river flows, the nitrogen and phospates will go with it. AS LONG as the water flowing in is clean. That is the problem.

Try Calling Lake, its still pretty clear as of last weekend. No agriculture around it, some cabin impact, but not too bad, and the river flows year round taking off the top layer where the algae blooms, every day.

Drewski

[CBintheNorth]

I couldn't agree more. I think the heavy rain washing all the fertilizer and manure into the lakes coupled with above average sun and heat are to blame as well. Calling does seem to be good all year as well as a couple of others I fish.I usually migrate to these lakes by the end of July. Just shocked that I have to start so early in the month.

[Leech]

I think its also because of the minimal snow cover let enough light through the ice to let most of the weeds live through the winter.

[pikergolf]

Bullshead has lots of blue green right now, wind is blowing it into the launch, gets better as you head into the wind.

[#4fisherman]

I agree with Leech.

And the 4 F's that don't mix well -- farming, fertilizer, fishing, and fools (with septic tanks, etc. near lakes) = poor water quality.

[Kim473]

With this heat, the alge bloom will be in all the lakes in Alberta in less than a week from now. Very bad year for it with all the hot weather we are getting along with the early winter melt.