Calling Lake, Disgusting...

[RavYak]

Just got back from trying out Calling Lake and boy oh boy was the algae nasty... If you were thinking of going there you should probably rethink your plans...

I only fished the south shore from the boat launch over to Volkswagen Point so maybe the north and west shores weren't too bad but everywhere I fished was pretty disgusting.

This is what the better spots on the lake looked like where I fished.



This is when things started getting a bit uglier.



And this was on the way back after the wind had blown this nasty crap in from somewhere. Smelled like a lagoon and I felt bad having my kayak in this crap...



Fishing was slow as one would expect in a heavy bloom like this.

Another thing that was disgusting was that the fish cleaning station which was overflowing and obviously has been neglected for some time now...

Anyways, like I say you are probably better off going somewhere(anywhere) else if you were thinking of trying Calling in the near future.

[Jawjacker]

Thank you for the update. I had planed on going there next weekend. Not any more . You saved me 8 hours of driving.

[DiabeticKripple]

I hope everyone in that lake washes their boat off after each trip.

[waterninja]

Damn, that really does look bad.

[RavYak]

Originally Posted by waterninja

Damn, that really does look bad.

I knew there was supposed to be some algae there but the launch didn't look too bad first thing in the morning. I only had to go out 100 feet before it turned pretty green but by that time I felt committed and thought heading west would get me to some cleaner waters but as you see it didn't work out...

[Drewski Canuck]

I was out Sunday and Monday at the Cabin. Sunday was rough with steady winds out of the north west. We have had Algae since August long weekend this year, and there was some blue green happening then on calm days.

Funny thing, if you run up to the Northwest Corner where a lot of the locals go, the Rock Island River goes for long distances through muskegs, and is tea coloured and the north west end is clean. The acid from the muskegs seems to help keep the ph in balance so there are no big algae blooms.

Now the South East end were the Provincial Park and the cabin sections are, that gets nasty. If you are in the townsite, the algae is pushed across the whole lake by the wave action, and eventually goes down the Calling River. Not so for the south beach, which traps the Algae in the corner by the Provincial Park. We have north west prevailing winds the majority of the time. Sometimes to 5 feet.

As for the fishing....

When it was rough on the east shore on Sunday Afternoon in front of the Church and across to Mckinnon Outfitting and the water plant, non stop action from 20 fow to 10 fow. Fish to 7 pds, 26 inches, lots in the slot. Fish were stuffed with perch minnows.

We used a white single tail jig body with a pink 1/2 jig head, and used a piece of belly strip from a walleye (keep the skin on, about 2 inch strip, 1/4 inch wide or so). We had been hammering the fish on leeches all summer, but the leech supply has dried up.

Monday AM there was no wind to push us so I set up for trolling with Canadian Wigglers in chartreuse perch finish. Best was a husky 12 pd Pike in 12 fow. Then we went tubing with the kids for the afternoon.

With the cooler nights, the algae will clear up pretty quick.

The bigger problem was the FISH FLIES!!! I'm talking billions of them. A nuisance, harmless, but a real nuisance.

Drewski

[RavYak]

Originally Posted by Drewski Canuck

I was out Sunday and Monday at the Cabin. Sunday was rough with steady winds out of the north west. We have had Algae since August long weekend this year, and there was some blue green happening then on calm days.

Funny thing, if you run up to the Northwest Corner where a lot of the locals go, the Rock Island River goes for long distances through muskegs, and is tea coloured and the north west end is clean. The acid from the muskegs seems to help keep the ph in balance so there are no big algae blooms.

Now the South East end were the Provincial Park and the cabin sections are, that gets nasty. If you are in the townsite, the algae is pushed across the whole lake by the wave action, and eventually goes down the Calling River. Not so for the south beach, which traps the Algae in the corner by the Provincial Park. We have north west prevailing winds the majority of the time. Sometimes to 5 feet.

As for the fishing....

When it was rough on the east shore on Sunday Afternoon in front of the Church and across to Mckinnon Outfitting and the water plant, non stop action from 20 fow to 10 fow. Fish to 7 pds, 26 inches, lots in the slot. Fish were stuffed with perch minnows.

We used a white single tail jig body with a pink 1/2 jig head, and used a piece of belly strip from a walleye (keep the skin on, about 2 inch strip, 1/4 inch wide or so). We had been hammering the fish on leeches all summer, but the leech supply has dried up.

Monday AM there was no wind to push us so I set up for trolling with Canadian Wigglers in chartreuse perch finish. Best was a husky 12 pd Pike in 12 fow. Then we went tubing with the kids for the afternoon.

With the cooler nights, the algae will clear up pretty quick.

The bigger problem was the FISH FLIES!!! I'm talking billions of them. A nuisance, harmless, but a real nuisance.

Drewski

The water on the north must have been a lot cleaner if you had the kids tubing. You couldn't have paid me to go tubing anywhere I was on the lake. Was fun watching the boats go by leaving green waves behind them though...

I thought Volkswagen point would have had some clearer water but guess that still isn't far enough north or west.

There were definitely tons of fish flies around too thankfully they were behaving and just resting on the water mid day. I definitely wouldn't want to be out there at dusk though, you would be mauled lol.

What was interesting was seeing all the dead fish flies on the nasty algae blooms. Obviously they don't do well with that toxic crap either.

[EZM]

I was out there, late summer, probably last year (or year before) and it was exactly like your pictures. Yup, haven't been back since - the stench was pretty gross too.

The other lake that is bad is South Buck. Despite depths of over 80'-100' the surface gets green and nasty. Nothing like watching your "white" water spray from the motor coming out pea green and foamy.

With such a (unnatural) high loading of nutrients (from farm run off) in many watersheds around so many of our provinces lakes, and little or no swamps to clean up (eat up) these added nutrients, this problem will only get worse and worse as until all of our lakes go hyper-eutrophic.

The same issues has begun to appear, very abruptly and dramatically, in Manitoba and has affected Lake Winnipeg.

Unless we rehab and re-establish more adjacent wetlands above (or higher up) in the drainage basins in our watersheds - this issue isn't going away.

[EZM]

I should add, what we are faced here with, which leads to anoxic conditions, the N2 fixation that leads into blue green algae blooms (cyanbacteria) that really and truly disrupt are lakes and can be harmful (and fatal) to our fish is using natural swamps and wetlands to help us. In Canada, we still have the space to do this. That is only reasonable solution.

It's not a reasonable expectation that anthropogenic sources (like farms and agriculture) would be able to limit the Nitrogen and Phosphorus to levels where this problem would "just go away".

[RavYak]

Can't blame farming at Calling Lake, although I do wonder how well the sewer set ups are.

[Drewski Canuck]

Ravyak,

The MD of Opportunity fills your cistern and pumps out your septic tank once a week for a grand total of ......

$42.00 a month! Seriously!!! Our water is reverse osmosis with chlorine trace and then UV on top.

I can't wait to retire and be up there for longer periods. The MD will even clean the snow for the Retired folks at Calling Lake. They give fantastic service to us, and create a lot of jobs for the first nations people at the lake. They really care about the lake.

The Sewage is taken to a sewage lagoon a couple of miles away which drains into the river through 4 miles of muskeg, and the MD is building a new set of sewage lagoons that will be about 6 miles from the lake. Its not from sewer leakage causing Algae like Pigeon Lake was.

Pretty much everyone is on pump out, including the cabin section. I am not aware of any existing septic fields.

As for the fish flies, they were not dying from the algae, they died after laying their eggs. The strength of the lake are those billions of fish flies. The larvae are the small blood worms that the whitefish, perch, and minnows feed on all winter. You only get those flies in a clean lake. Then in the summer when the larvae swim to the surface to hatch, you guessed it, the whitefish, perch, and minnows feed all summer long. Guess what feeds on them!

However, it is true that the algae can bloom by August, and can smell. Its just part of nature, but it may be an argument about climate change because of the longer summers.

The Calling River runs free, so the lake is getting flushed out steady. This year was a high water year, so hopefully the nutrient load will decrease after a few low water years.

The real problem is a lack of iron in the soil. In Ontario there are some very nitrogen rich lakes but the algae does not take off because of the iron in the water inhibits it.

Drewski

[RavYak]

Does the reserve use the same sewage system as the town?

The algae problem seems excessive and likely human influenced but maybe it is just a bad lake for naturally caused algae.

Based on your replies this sounds like it happens every year which is good to know. I will make sure I don't bother to come back in late summer/early fall lol.

[Drewski Canuck]

Ravak,

I know some of the people on the reserve and they have tanks. I do not know if the MD contracts to the Band or not, but they are on tanks as well.

As for the water quality, we had 2 C in Edmonton on the weekend, and it will get cold up there as well. Once the nights are cold, the algae stops pretty quick.

If you wanting to try the lake on the clean side, you could go up to Ben Auger Park and launch on the northeast corner and go across from there.

Drewski

[EZM]

Originally Posted by RavYak

Can't blame farming at Calling Lake, although I do wonder how well the sewer set ups are.

Interesting point - the drainage basin for Calling looks like it's not very big and contains very little agriculture. There is also a reasonably large wetland (muskeg) to the North. So you are right, there are no real obvious or immediate agricultural influences for that lake in particular.

The drainage basin, and Calling Lake, are also a part of the larger Athabasca River Watershed and there are many known lakes with obvious culprits and contributors to unnatural ( and natural) nutrient loading.

Not sure what to make of Calling. Would be real curious to know.

[Drewski Canuck]

About 2010 - 2011 there was a sizeable fire that burned up to the Rock Island River through the Muskeg. That year, it did rain, and the water colour actually changed from the ash that washed into the lake from the Rock Island river fire.

The next years were dry, and we ended up losing a few feet of water in the lake. The algae then took off. Beavers actually dammed the Calling River and the flows slowed down.

My best guess is a heavy nutrient load from that fire and subsequent dry years did not let the lake flush out like it normally does. Last year the lake started rising up, and all this year it has regained its 2009 levels. The beaver dams all blew out, and the river has been running strong.

With a little luck, the nutrient load will flush out and the water quality will improve over the next couple of years.

This lake is different from most Alberta lakes, as it has no weir, and it has a good year round outlet flow.

Most important, the perch are recovering nicely, and this has really filled out the days in March for ice fishing, then last few hours before dark for ling and walleye.

Now if I could only figure out how to catch the whitefish.

Drewski

[58thecat]

Pea soup...a cup of that, add a little salt/pepper and man ohhhh man that's some gooood sipping soup right there

Late season, shallow lake?
Lots of residential acreages nearby?
Moose lake out in B-Ville has the same issues...mostly man made though...say it ain't sooooooo

[CptnBlues63]

You'll find that algae stacks up downwind too. I was at Calling the weekend before last and all along the west shore from the boat launch to the point was relatively clear. There was a lot of green suspended, but no slick and no smell.
The wind was blowing out of the west that morning and quite strong so that whole area was the "lee" side of the lake. I expect the east side would have been thick with the surface slick.

There was plenty of walleye activity in deeper water. Right up until the end of July I was hammering them in about 17' but once the temp rose in August, I found I had to go out deeper to find them consistently.

The problem with cleaning that crap off your boat is that by the time you get to a car wash it's dried on and you need a scraper to get it off. It'd be really nice to have a quick rinse station right there at the lake! Of course it'd be nice if the parks people had the manpower/time to fix the launch too!

[RavYak]

Originally Posted by CptnBlues63

You'll find that algae stacks up downwind too. I was at Calling the weekend before last and all along the west shore from the boat launch to the point was relatively clear. There was a lot of green suspended, but no slick and no smell.
The wind was blowing out of the west that morning and quite strong so that whole area was the "lee" side of the lake. I expect the east side would have been thick with the surface slick.

There was plenty of walleye activity in deeper water. Right up until the end of July I was hammering them in about 17' but once the temp rose in August, I found I had to go out deeper to find them consistently.

The problem with cleaning that crap off your boat is that by the time you get to a car wash it's dried on and you need a scraper to get it off. It'd be really nice to have a quick rinse station right there at the lake! Of course it'd be nice if the parks people had the manpower/time to fix the launch too!

Yeah just the regular green algae isn't too bad for smell, I can live with that stuff. The blue green stuff was brutal but only in small pockets here and there.

I tried everywhere from 5-35 fow and couldn't find any consistent luck. Best action was 15-20 but I caught them at all depths and ended up with 7 for the day which I consider slow but was better then a couple other boats I chatted with.

As for washing that stuff off. There was no way I was putting my gear inside my car like that so I used some of the water from the tank at fish cleaning station lol. Wouldn't work for a boat and kind of a dink move but not like you could use the cleaning station anyways with it overflowing with guts...

[dryflyguy]

Anybody have an update on whether the blue-green crap has subsided yet? Thinking of heading up this weekend

Thanks

[The Spruce]

Originally Posted by EZM

The same issues has begun to appear, very abruptly and dramatically, in Manitoba and has affected Lake Winnipeg.

Unless we rehab and re-establish more adjacent wetlands above (or higher up) in the drainage basins in our watersheds - this issue isn't going away.

I agree, are lakes seem worse every year, but lake Winnipeg has a heavy Zebra muscle infestation and the water is clearing up. When talking to local fishing guides, it is becoming a major issue (the lack of algae). They are not optimistic about the lakes future without solids in the water.

Spruce

[FlyTheory]

Long residency time and slow turnover of the water, alont with the famer crap flowing in definitely is the issue. There need to be more restrictions on farming close to waterbodoes - any kind of water body

[Drewski Canuck]

Was up at the lake on Sunday. Breakers about 30 feet wide visible mid lake, steady onto shore and over the dock.

Water was clear, but very rough. Easily 4 - 5 foot breakers that you could surf on. Water is cooling down.

Neighbour did get out Saturday and had a great time off the water plant with a spinner rig and dew worms trolling on a bottom bouncer.

I just spent the time digging potatoes, pulling onions, picking tomatoes, and trying to put roofing tin on the wood shed, which was an adventure.

Maybe this weekend.

Wind was easily 80 - 100 km / hr all day long out of the northwest. Stuff washed up on the shore way up. Dock is completely clean of bird crap.

As for the water quality on a lot of Alberta lakes, we have had a decade of low precipitation, and a lot of drainage creeks and rivers did not flow out of our lakes. Some like Pigeon and Wabamun are bowls and all that happens is evaporation to concentrate the solids even further. Some have so many beaver dams and poorly place road culverts that there is no outflow anyways.

But yes, certain farmers doing a winter pasture on a hill that flows down into Baptiste Lake with 400 head being swath fed, create a water quality problem when it rains in the spring. (Just as an example).

Whitefish should be moving into the shallows now, so I am hopeful to try jigging a Kastmaster this weekend after we get the walleye out of the way.

Drewski

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by FlyTheory

Long residency time and slow turnover of the water, alont with the famer crap flowing in definitely is the issue. There need to be more restrictions on farming close to waterbodoes - any kind of water body

Amen! And, residential lake front or any water body front development.

[Drewski Canuck]

Fish were in 10 - 12 FOW on Sunday AM. Very cold by the way, and a south wind so not the best, but fish are there and some are hitting.

Water quality is improving and surface temp was 14C as opposed to 17 + C in August.

As for residential lake front development, too late for that, but a cabin with a contained sewer is not the same as a feedlot with 400 cows on a hill that drains into a lake with no outlet stream, like at Pigeon.

Yet the farming continues.

Drewski

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by Drewski Canuck

Fish were in 10 - 12 FOW on Sunday AM. Very cold by the way, and a south wind so not the best, but fish are there and some are hitting.

Water quality is improving and surface temp was 14C as opposed to 17 + C in August.

As for residential lake front development, too late for that, but a cabin with a contained sewer is not the same as a feedlot with 400 cows on a hill that drains into a lake with no outlet stream, like at Pigeon.

Yet the farming continues.

Drewski

Glad to hear it is getting a bit better.

Sorry for the bit of a derail but land use is all related imho.

I added cabin frontage because from my past, where our family used to own cabin frontage on Muriel Lake. It is not just about sewage and/or chemical control. All the cabin owners in the bay we were in pulled chains and cleaned out the entire bay of weeds on the first 7-8 FOW. As a kid all I cared about was the swimming at the time so this all seemed good to me. I would not even think about that now. Guess what we had few of in that bay - any notable fish. I don't know if that still continues or is allowed...probably. Has a huge impact as in this example for my past. Cabin owners should have to be as responsible as farmers, and in a perfect world, it would be great to see cabin frontage end and not further expand. Big changes...I know.

So any land user around water bodies - lake, river, creek, springs - should be looked at with the idea to get it back to as natural as possible and limit future impacts.

As for farmers, you have to start somewhere on big problems so that is fine by me. I'm on a 5th generation farm that borders creek land that leads to the NSR. The creek is kept natural but how far back should we be restricted from the edge? Especially around areas where the creek is starting or “fingers/feeders” that grow the creek . Those are usually even larger drainage areas which should be more restrictive…one would hope.

So maybe start with farm land surrounding lakes and work out from there. How do we get this started
Seriously. Trout Unlimited Canada? ACA? Letters to the minister? All of the above?

[bigrfish]

Awesome posts on Calling Drewski. I have been fishing the lake since the mid to late 90's and absolutely love it there. I'm sure we have crossed paths every now and then. Nothing like good first hand info from someone who spends as much time as you do up there.I have seen the lake go through different cycles as well and agree with the observations you have made. I've only noticed the algae being this bad in the last few years with the water levels being so much lower. The higher water levels this year should help for sure. We are usually up there quite a lot in June-July where the algae is not really a factor but have seen it blooming the odd year in late July. The fishing was amazing this year in our experience...lots of very healthy walleye and pike of all age classes. The algae will come and go but the lake will always remain a gem in my opinion.
Cheers...Keep the posts coming...always a good read.

[Drewski Canuck]

Bigrfish,

I fish out of a single console Sylvan called "MISTRESS". Usually out in front of the town site.

Whites should start moving in soon, and if I could crack the secret on them it would be pretty cool. Some real big ones in there, and from some of the FN's nets, lots in the fall in the shallows on the east side of the lake.

Drewski

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by Drewski Canuck

Bigrfish,

Whites should start moving in soon, and if I could crack the secret on them it would be pretty cool. Some real big ones in there, and from some of the FN's nets, lots in the fall in the shallows on the east side of the lake.

Now that is interesting indeed

[Red Neck]

Love the post and the positive info im 54 and have been fishing there since the 1970? Thouse white fish are troublesome when I was younger fly fhishing small bead headed flys would work but they are difficult to target the big mamas? keep up the positive info. PS the allgie bloom is relitivly new problem but certinaly not exclusive to Calling.
Red Neck Out

[calvin]

Hey there Drewski, would you have an update on Calling Lake? Been thinking of taking a run up if weather is decent in the next little bit. I would suspect the water is getting cleaner with the cooler weather upon us.