Will an Algae Bloom affect the Spawn?

[airborne_angler]

I went out again today as it was supposed to be the warmest day of the year so far.It was nice but windy as usual.Water was 56*

I noticed the milfoil in the lake is all but gone,where its normally matted super thick along the bank and that theres slimy,bright green Algae EVERYWHERE I can see the bottom with my Polarized Sunglasses.Its floating on top as well.

Will this algae Bloom affect the spawn? I still cant locate any fish.

[George Welcome]

No.

[YNCBASSMAN]

if you can reach the deep side of that muck, toss a weightless senko, a t-rigged crawfish type bait or a brush hog type bait on a shaky head out there and let it sit, twitching it every so often.  something will nail it.

[Raul]

No, it will not affect the spawn, the fish continously  clean the nest-

[RoLo]

No, it will not affect the spawn, the fish continously clean the nest-

Agreed.

Algae will do more good than harm, in fact the worst it will do

is louse-up the sight-fishing for spawning bass, and how bad is that? 

Roger

[airborne_angler]

No, it will not affect the spawn, the fish continously clean the nest-

Agreed.

Algae will do more good than harm, in fact the worst it will do

is louse-up the sight-fishing for spawning bass, and how bad is that?

Roger

So basically if the bass are always cleaning the nest,then in the Algae on the bottom,if conditions are right,I should have no trouble finding nests???

[Wayne P.]

It can be a benefit if the air temp drops during the spawn. The extra solids in the water will hold heat and maybe save the spawn for that year.

[RoLo]

No, it will not affect the spawn, the fish continously clean the nest-

Agreed.

Algae will do more good than harm, in fact the worst it will do

is louse-up the sight-fishing for spawning bass, and how bad is that?

Roger

So basically if the bass are always cleaning the nest,then in the Algae on the bottom,if conditions are right,I should have no trouble finding nests???

I was alluding to the algae "in suspension" which reduces water clarity

and makes it more difficult for anglers to find the light-colored disks.

But regardless of bloom or water clarity, an active nest will always be scrupulously clean.

Roger

[WRB]

2 problems associated with algae blooms;

drinking water reservoirs can be treated with blue stone (copper sulfate) that is harmful to the spawn and you may have golden algae which is also harmful to the spawn.

Common green algae is normal and doesn't bother the bass, unless it completely covers the surface and consumes too much DO. Your lake is windy, so that isn't an issue.

WRB

[Raul]

No, it will not affect the spawn, the fish continously clean the nest-

Agreed.

Algae will do more good than harm, in fact the worst it will do

is louse-up the sight-fishing for spawning bass, and how bad is that?

Roger

So basically if the bass are always cleaning the nest,then in the Algae on the bottom,if conditions are right,I should have no trouble finding nests???

No, fish once nested don 't leave the nest and if they move from the nest they don 't go too far they come back. Of course if you hook and remove the fish from the nest and move it far away from it most probably it won 't come back, but if it 's a male it will make a new nest and wait for a female ( s ). Not all bass females spawn at the same time, they spawn thoughout a period of several weeks ( the season ) so throughout a season nests are filled with eggs from different females guarded by the same male.

Algae blooms also help to maintain the water temperature high because the increased amount of suspended particles act like a heat reservoir.

[Hammer 4]

WRB, I'm curious as what the bluestone does to harm the spawn. All of the city park lakes bluestone as much as they need to when it's warm out. Does harm the eggs, or the fry..? Thanks

[WRB]

WRB, I'm curious as what the bluestone does to harm the spawn. All of the city park lakes bluestone as much as they need to when it's warm out. Does harm the eggs, or the fry..? Thanks

Blue Stone kills the algae and the direct result is very DO levels as the algae decomposes, using DO in the process. Ponds usually have aeration systems to help replenish DO and wind/wave action also can help. The bass can move to areas with better DO levels, except the bedding bass, eggs and fry.

Basically the Bluestone knocks the snoot out of the fishing for a few days until the ecosystems can adjust to the shock and replenish the DO levels and plankton, small aquatic insects, etc. Water quality people don't seem to care much about the fish, unless there is a big die off as a result.

Tom

[Randall]

The kina of bloom you are talking about not only will not hurt the spawn but where I fish it usually becomes the preferred nesting area. They get right in the thickest stuff and clean out a spot. In the lakes I fish they only put the copper sulfate out near the intakes. I avoid those areas and fish the rest of the lake.

[Glenn]

I just got an e-mail from Bob Lusk:

Those answers are spot on.

Bass tend to spawn in the same nests year after year. They don't seem to

care if there are plants or not. The male cleans out all the debris, silt,

junk, plants...typically when bass make nests, aquatic plants aren't

growing yet. Algae is easy for them to dislodge from the beds/nests and they just

sweep it away with their pelvic fins and tail. The eggs sit at the very

bottom of the nest and daddy bass makes circles all day and all night,

protecting the eggs and keeping silt, junk, etc out of the nest.