Reader talks lake flora, fauna

To the taxpayers of Moses Lake/Dept. of Fish & Game:

It's amazing to read about the number of people that run for a Board position on the MLIRD who say they are trying to reduce the algae bloom in the Lake. Algae has been in all warm, shallow bodies of water since time began and it will be here long after we are gone. Now that I am retired, I fish Moses Lake an average of 5 days a week, weather permitting.

Over the past 50 years there have been times through the summer months that there has been very little algae and then there were times that it's been bad. As an avid bass fisherman, I take the surface temperature of the water on every outing. During the summer if the surface temperatures are in the 72-74 degree range, there is very little algae bloom. When it gets up into the 82-84 degree range, it gets much worse and this year we had a long, hot summer. Until we learn how to control Mother Nature, we will always have algae.

For those of you that were around when Mt. St. Helens blew on May 18, 1980, and had fished Moses Lake, you will remember that the ash settled to the Lake bottom, killing off most of the small fish for that year and several years after because of the wave action that caused the ash to cover the spawning beds. The Crappie and Bluegill have never recovered to what they once were.

Any lake needs some weeds to support a healthy fish population. Don't let the MLIRD try to kill off all of the weed growth. I saw first hand what it did two years ago in the Cascade Valley arm of the Lake. The shoreline looked like a dead zone most of the summer.

In their flyer the MLIRD printed that this year they started treating a 6 acre area of the Lake by Connelly Park to kill the algae and claimed it to be a big success. I launch my boat at the Park on most of the days that I fish the Lake. I spend 1 ?-2 hours in the Park shoreline area every time out. The only time this summer that I saw any change in water quality was when the wind blew the algae to the other side of the Lake.

Bob Anderson

Retired Deputy Sheriff