Tourism is one of the primary industries of Lake County and most of the tourists visit the county because of Clear Lake, which for years was rated the No. 1 bass lake in the country.
Fishermen from around the world would come here to test their skills against the world”s No. 1 gamefish, the largemouth bass. In addition to the fishing, the tourists could enjoy boating, wildlife viewing and even swimming. That has all changed this year. Thick weeds, massive algae blooms and less-than-stellar fishing conditions, plus the lousy economy, have kept the tourists away.
Algae and weeds rank as the top problem at Clear Lake. There are no short-term solutions to either problem. During its 3-million-year history the lake has probably always had thick blooms of algae. Of course, before humans settled around the lake and there was no agriculture, the nutrient loading was probably far less than we have today. The shoreline was originally mostly tules, which acted as a filter to keep the silt out of the lake. However, it does appear that more thick algae blooms have occurred in the past three years than in previous years.
The algae is also not limited to the south end of the lake. I made a boat tour of the north end Saturday and there were algae blooms along the entire northern shoreline. The algae has also spread out into the middle of the lake. While the weeds consume nutrients algae requires, the algae problem haven”t diminished. In fact, the weeds are still growing and extending even farther out into the lake, and right along with the weeds are algae blooms. The result is that we now have both weeds and algae growing together. This combination doesn”t make boaters or water enthusiasts very happy.
Add the weeds and algae to the poor bass fishing and it does have an impact on the tourist industry. This has to be one of the poorer bass fishing seasons in more than 15 years. The three-year drought that ended this year had a definite impact on the spawn and food availability for the bass. Whereas a few years ago it was common to catch 10-15 bass per day, this year a good day is when an angler can boat five fish. The poor fishing has been reflected in the results in the bass tournaments. In fact, Angler”s Choice canceled a scheduled October pro/am tournament because many of the fishermen didn”t want to pay the $1,500 entry fee to fish at Clear Lake. All of the local tackle shop owners have told me their business is down considerably. Part of it is because of the poor economy but it also has a lot to do with the poor fishing. The local resorts and motels are also seeing a decline in business.
Many people think they have a solution to the algae and weed problem but in reality there are no short-term solutions. Green islands and spraying of water can reduce the algae in limited areas, but the lake is so large that these would have little overall impact. Long-term solutions could include reducing the nutrients that are flowing into the lake but it would take years before any results would be noticed. The same applies to the weed growth. Clear Lake is such as shallow lake that the sunlight easily penetrates to the bottom, which makes the lake a virtual garden for all types of aquatic weeds. Presently the weeds are growing more than 2 miles out from the shore in the Lakeport area. There is no way these can be controlled by mechanical harvesting.
As for the poor fishing, that too will correct itself. In 1991 the bass population crashed and anglers abandoned the lake in droves. By 1995 the fishery experienced a remarkable recovery and the fishing was outstanding until two years ago. Actually, because Clear Lake is probably the oldest lake in the Western Hemisphere we don”t have similar lakes to compare it with. The good news is the algae and weeds will disappear in about a month and the lake will once again be as beautiful as ever.
