Just curious what color lures, and type, and what time of day, you fellow fishing freaksters are throwing in an algae bloom. I've heard chartreuse or contrasting lures the way to go, and 'noisier' lures help. Also, algae blooms rise in the afternoon, with normal-ish water underneath, which could be useful. Watcha guys think?

Normally during the summer algae blooms I’ll switch to darker colors to increase the silhouette somewhat. 
 

Usually around here when the blooms are happening, the fish move out toward deeper ledges or start getting really tight into the brush. 

 

My experience is that algae blooms really shut the fishing down a bit but if you can find banks where there are baitfish that aren’t dying - you can find bass this time of year.  Black is my go to when water is clear and there’s algae or vegetation on the surface.

 

The baits would be buzz bait, floating worm, frog, swim jig, t rig etc - same lures I always try!

I can't help you on how to fish algae bloom waters because I avoid it, so I'd like to point something out about algae blooms.

 

When you come across water that is suffering from algae blooms the first thing to realize is that it is caused by nutrient loading of the water from various sources like septic seepage, run off fertilizers, and other sources. So the first thing to realize is it is caused by pollution in the water. Dirty water.

 

The next thing to consider is your health. Algae blooms create toxins that you can inhale from aerosolized toxins released from the polluted water that are concentrated heaviest in the air directly above the water right where you are at inhaling to breathe. These toxins can land you in the hospital. And that is what I wanted to point out.

 

My recommendation is to avoid polluted waters that are experiencing algae blooms for your own health safety.

 

 

I get blooms here and my dad gets them in western PA at times.  If the water is sediment clear but bloomed then treat it largely like sediment cloudiness.  Black and blue or your favorite black variation on one end and whites on the other end.  Both have the highest visibility (but for different reasons).

 

As noted above, when the bloom first hits the fish will shut down and the fishing will be tough.  I find the same for when a storm rolls through and the visibility goes from 6' to < 1'.  That first day after is tough as the fish get really tight to cover.  Then as it clears a little and as they get used to that lack of clarity they will turn back on.  

Frog.

 

Then another frog.

 

Maybe a frog.

 

Then a spook.

 

Did I say frog?

Some algae is very dangerous to your health and the fishery unless you know what type it is avoid fishing there. When the algae is treated by chemicals the DO (dissolved oxygen) drops and the fish are stressed, another reason to avoid fishing at that lake.

If you insist on bass fishing use what was working before the bloom.

Tom

 

Algae blooms can be dangerous.  Physical contact with the water,  breathing the surrounding contaminated air and the worst, ingesting contaminated water can each cause pretty significant health issues.  I know of golfers getting sick after retrieving golf balls, and have heard reports of kids who fished affected ponds and got sick.  I would definitely avoid it.  

Well, I'm curious how long the side effects come after toxic algae exposure.

 

I'm about positive I was surrounded by it last night and it made contact with my skin.

 

Went out last night to a local lake that I was just at on Sunday. Not sure what happened but 97% of the lake was nasty green. On Sunday the water was great. We had very light ran on Wednesday but nothing else.

 

I fished the 3% areas that were still open and some of the lighter spots.

 

I'm confident in saying it was the nastiest water I've ever been in.

 

I'm debating on reaching out to the DNR guy that handles the lake. IDK, maybe it's common and I would be wasting his time. With the holiday weekend there will be a ton of campers/kayakers trying to enjoy the water.

If you don't ingest it and you don't have major cuts on your skin, then you're almost certainly fine.

If you are not affected by now you are probably fine.

 

Touching and washing off seems to cause little to no harm. Its the inhaling and ingesting part that will get you.

 

Side effects would begin almost immediately. First breathing issues,  then headaches, and more is coming depending on length of contact, amount of toxins inhaled or ingested. 

 

If it was all around you, then you could have been inhaling some aerosolized toxins. Best to stay away from it all together.

 

This is a story is about a dog named Finn, but humans are no different when it comes to this kind of toxicity damage:

 

https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/environment/2018/09/17/report-shows-dog-killed-toxic-blue-green-algae-st-lucie-river/1339559002/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z114535e002500v114535b0051xxd005165&gca-ft=142&gca-ds=sophi

 

After investigating for possible foul play, the Martin County Sheriff's Office concurred with local veterinarians that at least two dogs got sick and one died from contact with toxic algae in the St. Lucie River.

 

***(Western outflow from Lake Okeechobee, Florida's most polluted lake with 6 times the normal toxicity levels for humans!)

 

A necropsy showed Finn, a 9-year-old standard poodle owned by Misty and Alex Aydelotte of the Rio community, died from contact with toxic blue-green algae.

 

Fishhead Labs Pathology Consulting Services in Stuart stated in its report samples of Finn's tissue and blood "are supportive of an acute toxicity due to ingestion of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) toxins."

 

"His insides were pretty much destroyed by it," Misty Aydelotte said."

 

Rest in peace Finn!

 

Lake Okeechobee is so bad right now that scientists and researchers from all over the world are focusing their research on humans who live around Lake Okeechobee to see what the long term effects are from daily contact and or inhalation and ingestion of toxins from that toilet bowl lake! 

 

I can't even count the number of PHD's from all over the world currently researching how toxic Lake O is now and its effect on wildlife and us humans!

 

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/weather/2019/10/13/is-algae-fog-toxic-to-breathe-cdc-looks-to-find-out/2516795007/

 

“We know that if you ingest it, it can get in your bloodstream and cause liver damage and all sorts of other problems,” said Malcolm McFarland, a research associate at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce. “But we haven’t really known how exposed people are when they are regularly boating and fishing and how being aerosolized is a potential route of exposure to people.”

 

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/weather/2019/10/07/is-lake-o-toxic-algae-harmful-by-air-cdc-study-aims-to-find-out/2591990007/

 

But disturbed, churned up by boat propellers or jet ski engines, the single-celled organism, a type of cyanobacteria known as blue-green algae, can hang suspended in the air – aerosolized into a toxin-tainted fog and inhaled.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are targeting Florida for a study on people who unwittingly breathe in the algae vapor, specifically those who live and work near Lake Okeechobee and the northern estuaries.

 

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/695382-fau-study-shows-nitrogen-from-human-waste-significant-driver-of-lake-o-algae-blooms/

 

FAU study shows nitrogen from human waste significant driver of Lake O algae blooms

 

https://news.ufl.edu/2025/05/algal-blooms/

 

UF water researchers develop prediction system for harmful algae

Dave Schlenker
May 20, 2025

 

The slimy algae topping Florida’s waterways are more than just unsightly. They are often toxic to humans, animals and the environment.

 

To mitigate those risks, University of Florida researchers are collaborating with North Carolina State University and University of South Florida scientists on a next-day prediction model to warn and inform water managers about harmful algal blooms.

 

The research is funded by two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers grants for two phases, totaling $4.4 million. The project is led by David Kaplan, Ph.D., a professor with the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering and director of the Howard T. Odum Center for Wetlands, and Mauricio Arias, Ph.D., an associate professor at USF.

 

In a paper published recently in the Journal of Environmental Management, Kaplan, UF assistant professor Elise Morrison, Ph.D., and NCSU’s Maria Menchu Maldonado, Ph.D., chronicled their work with harmful algal blooms in the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary, the environmentally sensitive link between Lake Okeechobee and Florida’s southwestern coast. Maldonado performed the work under the guidance of NCSU collaborator Natalie Nelson.

 

In a collaboration between multiple colleges, organizations, departments and universities, the paper’s other authors are Eric Milbrandt of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, Edward Phlips of UF and Natalie G. Nelson of NCSU. The project’s facilitators include Darlene Velez, research coordinator with the UF Water Institute, and Lisa Krimsky, Ph.D., a water resources regional specialized agent with IFAS.

 

Using water samples and computer algorithms, the team developed prediction models based on two water sources feeding the river: Lake Okeechobee and the river’s watershed – the water run-off from the surrounding land. The models determine levels of chlorophyll-a, which is a pigment in algae that is indicative of algal bloom conditions.

-----------------------------------------------------

 

I would not go anywhere near that toilet bowl! Even old Roland Martin probably regrets buying land next to it. Early in his career that lake was fantastic. Roland used to catch 8 plus pound bass on every cast there. Not any more.

 

Today Roland Martin makes a lot of his videos on water created by state of Florida biologists elsewhere like Headwaters, Farm 13, and StickMarsh which were created for two purposes 1)To create 100% all natural plant based water filters to clean water naturally- is flowed (pumped) through all three of these manmade filter tanks. And 2) to create new fishing places for us fisher people.

 

They are now attempting to begin filtering Lake O's water as well. One of the largest water projects in Florida and probably USA. Secret science is going on down there including unproven technology called deep wells!

 

Today you are more likely to run into scientists, doctors, and biologists as often as you run into a bass fisherman there. I hope they can fix it. Be nice to catch 8 pounders on every cast again! And stay healthy.

 

--------------------------------------------

 

A sad Lake Okeechobee fact... The reason why so many PHD's from all over the world including scientists, biologists, professors, engineers and more are focusing on Lake O right now is because that lake has one major problem.

 

And this is a bad fact too. That lake is constantly receiving what is called nutrient loading from multiple sources. CONSTANTLY! 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year round.

 

That lake is getting more and more polluted by the second. At no time is that lake reducing nutrient loading. Not for one second. And that lake is NOT getting flushed out. The pollutants roll in constantly. They can't stop it. The can't reduce it.

 

Only releasing that filthy water east and west into the ocean or Gulf Of America can they try and reduce the nutrient loading, but keep in mind they are releasing the water. The pollution flows in and gathers on the lake bottom so reducing the water levels really does nothing to get rid of or flush out what is on the bottom.

 

They will one day begin to sectionalize that lake and do the same to Lake O that they did to Lake Toho years ago. And we all know bass fishing exploded there after that work was completed. Lake O is going to get the same treatment at some point down the road.

 

Oh and you know those big bass boats with hundreds of horse power engines on them? Doctors and scientists are now saying that those big bass boats are churning up the pollutants and creating their own toxic algae fog for themselves. Those propellers are creating aerosolized toxins as they fish! So this might mean some form of propeller regulations may be coming soon.

 

I would not be surprised if one day soon Lake Okeechobee is shut down to the public for health concerns. More than 6 times normal toxicity levels for humans!

 

The following news story is from 6 days ago:

 

https://www.gulfcoastnewsnow.com/article/florida-lake-okeechobee-toxic-human-water/65833092

 

Tests show Lake Okeechobee is six times too toxic for humans

So let's see a show of hands! Who among you is willing to go boating and fishing on Lake Okeechobee? I know there are some willing to risk their lives on that lake!

 

19 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

If you don't ingest it and you don't have major cuts on your skin, then you're almost certainly fine.

 

Yeah that's the problem, my left thumb has some good bass thumb going and I've got some decent scratches on my right hand.

 

I'm not too worried but you never know.

 

I told my wife if I start getting sick or something that it's from it.

40 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

 

Yeah that's the problem, my left thumb has some good bass thumb going and I've got some decent scratches on my right hand.

 

I'm not too worried but you never know.

 

I told my wife if I start getting sick or something that it's from it.

Bass thumb isn't a poblem.  Scratches like walking through a briar patch aren't either.  It's more for an actual wound that isn't yet scabbed over.  

Laguna Niguel lake in SoCal was just wiped out by a yellow algae bloom, serious issue depending on the type of algae.

Mission Viejo lake was wiped out by the same algae a few years ago, both were good bass lakes.

Tom

We all hope you suffer no ill effects from your contact with toxic algae.

 

In the above long post (sorry about that) I mentioned some of the science projects going on at Lake Okeechobee.

 

Right now they are constructing the world's largest natural water filter ever made by humans to try and clean up lake O's water. But this does NOT address the increasing pollutants accumulating on the lake bottom. That requires a different approach.

 

Take a look at this!

 

https://www.***.com/future/article/20240815-floridas-everglades-reservoir-will-clean-the-states-water

 

Florida is building the world's largest environmental restoration project

16 August 2024

Lucy Sherriff

Florida is embarking on an ambitious ecological restoration project in the Everglades: building a reservoir large enough to secure the state's water supply.

In February 2023, a large digger broke ground on a multi-billion dollar project that has been decades in the making: building a reservoir the size of Manhattan Island.

 

The reservoir, which is part of an historic restoration of the Everglades ecosystem, is intended to help bring a secure, long-term supply of clean drinking water to Florida's residents.

 

The Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) reservoir will be located south of Lake Okeechobee, the largest freshwater lake in Florida, and conservationists have dubbed the project "the crown jewel" of the Everglades' restoration.

 

"It is the single most important project to store, clean and send water from Lake Okeechobee to nourish the Everglades and supply clean drinking water to millions in South Florida," Meenakshi Chabba tells *** Future Planet. Chabba is an ecosystem scientist at the Everglades Foundation, one of the non-profit organisations that advocated for the project.

 

As well as protecting the drinking water of South Floridians, the reservoir is also intended to dramatically reduce the algae-causing discharges that have previously shut down beaches and caused mass fish die-offs. (Read more about the pollution causing harmful algal blooms).

Bigger than Manhattan and Staten Island combined, the reservoir will stretch over 10,100 acres large (4,090 ha), and, in addition, have a 6,500-acre (2,630-ha) stormwater treatment area. It will be able to store 78 billion gallons (295.2 billion litres) of water – enough to fill 118,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.  

 

"The water will help recharge the aquifer that provides drinking water to millions of people in South Florida," says Jason Schultz, a spokesperson for the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD).

 

The reservoir, a joint project between the US Army Corps of Engineers and the SFMD, is a small cog in a large initiative to restore the Everglades. The multi-billion dollar Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan was passed by Congress in 2000, and includes 68 infrastructure projects across Florida. The Everglades Foundation tells the *** the restoration plan is the "largest environmental restoration project" in the world.

 

The infrastructure projects range from rehydrating carbon-sequestering wetlands, to building a complex network of stormwater treatment areas, smaller reservoirs and water control structures – and they're at varying stages of completion. The whole project is due to be completed in 2029.

 

https://www.sfwmd.gov/lowcp

 

Lake Okeechobee Watershed Construction Project (LOWCP)

 

----------------------------------------------------

 

It sickens me to read that Lake Okeechobee is the source for drinking water for South Florida!

 

To simplify what they are doing with this project, and it is the same all across Florida...

 

We all know how swimming pools are cleaned and maintained with pump systems pumping out pool water and running it through a filter and back into the pool. Keeps them nice and clean, right?

 

Well they are now doing the exact same process all across Florida with specific lakes. The state acquires land next to the lake and then constructs huge natural filter reservoirs using plants to absorb the nutrients from the water pumped through them. I bet those plants grow like crazy and have to be maintained some how, but the new system is working in other places.

 

A recent successful project like this on a much smaller scale is ongoing on Lake Apopka which also used to be one of Florida's most polluted lakes. It was so bad almost no one fished it for decades.

 

But today Lake Apopka is back to healthy again all thanks to state of Florida biologists and engineers and construction companies.

 

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/lake-apopka-to-get-new-water-treatment-system

 

Lake Apopka to get new water treatment system

Published  July 5, 2019 7:46pm EDT

News

FOX 35 Orlando

 

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - Luis Vazquez has been coming to Lake Apopka for many years. He’s glad to hear the news that the St. Johns River Water Management District is launching a new project to clean the lake up.

 

“It’s about time because I’ve heard the muck under this lake itself is causing issues with wildlife and everything,” said Luis Vazquez.

 

The Water District is spending $1.1 million on a water treatment system for the lake. The new technique will essentially suck up water, filter it and then return it to the lake.

“It’s expected to remove somewhere between 6,000 and 12,000 pounds of phosphorus,” said Danielle Spears, Public Communications Coordinator, St. Johns River Water Management District.

 

That’s the chemical killing off plants and fish.  Spears says the new system will continue efforts to improve the quality of the water.

 

“The work at Lake Apopka has already turned out positive results as we start to see the return of aquatic vegetation as well as sport fish in the Lake,” said Spears.

 

-----------------------------------------

 

Today in 2025, 6 years later, and tournament professional bass fishermen are now making their way back into Lake Apopka after avoiding it for decades!

 

One day they may open up the Lake Okeechobee 6500 acre natural filter reservoir to bass fishermen. It will be like Headwaters, Stick Marsh, and Farm 13.

 

Here in Florida we all have biologists and scientists and engineers to thank for cleaning up our waters and for giving us all some incredible new places to bass fish!

 

And, they are also reshaping the land under these natural filter reservoirs to provide both the bass and us fishermen with underwater structures, holes, hills, etc. all designed to help improve bass fishing while at the same time cleaning water!

 

I forgot to mention the 3rd thing biologists are doing this for... birds and wildlife. Since mankind is destroying their natural habitats, theses new manmade filter reservoirs are a way to give back natural habitat to birds and wildlife to help them survive and thrive.

 

Kind of funny all the bass fishermen arriving from all over the country can't wait to go fish in manmade reservoirs designed to clean and filter out raw human sewage from the water. But sssssshhhhhh, its all about bass fishing. Do not look behind the curtain!

I'm sure I'll be fine, I'm not losing any sleep over it.

 

My biggest "concern" now is wondering how long it typically takes for it to clear up so I can get back out there. LOL

 

Hopefully the fish aren't too effected either. That would be my biggest concern really. But this lake gets pretty green every year. Last night was the absolute worst.

Here they generally settle down after 2-3 weeks at the most. Once it moderates, the carp do their job pretty fast.

That is so sad to hear about Lake Okeechobee.  From the age of 8 to about 15, packing up the car for the drive from Alabama to Florida to visit my grandmother was each year’s highlight.  I loved my grandmother and was always happy to see her, but it was the fishing trip to Lake Okeechobee each year that bred the excitement.   I was in awe of the place!