Down through the years Clear Lake has undergone some dramatic changes and this year is no different. Fishermen in the last three bass tournaments held on the lake say they have never seen the fishing as tough as this year, including those competing in the Triton Owners Bass Team Tournament last weekend.
The winning team in the Triton tournament had a two-day weight of only 29 pounds for 10 fish. That’s less than a 3-pound average per fish, which is unheard of at Clear Lake. Last year’s winners nearly doubled that total with 57 pounds. These types of small weights have been reflected in the last three major tournaments held here and it has the fishermen asking a lot of questions. They want to know what has happened to one of the nation’s top-ranked bass fisheries? Many of the bass caught in the Triton tournament were skinny and both recreational and tournament fishermen report catching bass that appear to be malnourished.
It’s not just the tournament anglers who are confused. The local fishing guides also want to know what is going on. Bob Myskey is one the more popular local fishing guides and he says he has never seen it this bad. Myskey said back in August he had trips where his clients caught more than 100 fish per day. Fast forward to mid-October and he said that for the last couple of weeks his clients had to struggle to boat five fish. He also said that during the fish die-offs this summer he saw a lot of large dead bass along with hundreds of bass between 1-2 pounds.
“I have never seen the water so toxic as this year,” Myskey said. “Everyone has the opinion that it’s just a result of a lack of oxygen due to the excessive algae, but it would have been nice if some tests could have been done on some of those fish. I am of the belief that a lot of chemicals washed into this lake from the floods this year and from the flooded rice fields that had the levy breach near Rodman, and that may also have had an impact on the health of the fish.”
Some of the top bass pros in the nation, many of them quite familiar with Clear Lake, competed in the last three tournaments held here. They were astounded to discover they could only catch bass that weighed less than 5 pounds. During a typical bass tournament at Clear Lake the winner usually has a 5- or 6-pound average. The recent three-day FLW tournament is another good example of the poor fishing. This year’s winner had 53 pounds while the 2016 winner had 77 pounds.
The lake’s appearance also has changed from previous years. This year there was an excessive amount of blue-green algae and hotter than normal days caused massive blooms. Like any plant, the algae dies during the fall months. The dark-colored water is actually dying algae. As the algae dies it uses up the dissolved oxygen (DO) in the water. DO enters the water through wave and wind action. Blooming plants also create DO, which is measured from 1-20. Bass and other game fish require a DO level of at least 4 to survive. During the fish die-offs, the DO readings in the impacted areas ranged from 1-3.
Department of Fish and Wildlife (DWF) fishery biologist Ben Ewing said it is possible the large bass that were caught in the oxygen-starved areas could still be recovering and that could be a reason they aren’t feeding. How many bass died will never be known. A large number of dead fish were observed floating but thousands of other dead bass sunk to the bottom.
County and other governmental agencies need to take water samples now to see if herbicides and other chemicals washed into the lake during the winter flooding. The DFW also should send a team to Clear Lake to electroshock fish and check them for disease. These actions would put to rest the rumors going around that the lake is polluted. The last thing we need is a bad reputation, which would impact our tourism.
