Lake Conditions?

[brian_c]

Just curious as to what the current lake conditions are as I'll be up there with my family starting this coming saturday? I'm guessing we're in a good algea bloom now?

How's the water level? Any issues launching tandem axle trailers at the state launch? Last year was a bit iffy for me as the water level near the launch was approaching my min draft so I was close to bottoming out in the mud.

[erik]

Water is shallow and warm 78-80. The state launch is ok. I was down there Saturday watching the Rochester Bass club weigh in their catches. There were some monsters caught. I saw a couple 5lb's and numerous 4's. All fish were released back into the lake to be caught at a later date. The algae bloom is in effect in some spots on the lake. Find rocks and you will catch fish. Erik

[brian_c]

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it!!

[jigginmike]

We were there for Sundays weigh in and the lunker fish was 4.2 lbs which was caught by the guy who had the heaviest bag of fish. Unfortunately all fish were not released. We saw at least 4 that were dead, though most were released alive.

As far as conditions went, the water level is low and depending on where you are staying will determine if you have to pole out to deeper water to be able to run your motor. No problem getting in or out at the launch. The crappie bite for us at least, was tough at best although we did catch enough of those and perch for a decent bag of fillets. We don't intentionally fish for bass, they're just a bonus and we did pick up a few small ones (all returned). The hot weather conditions made it tough to stick it out on the lake for the full day. We found it best to retreat to camp and enjoy some cold ones.

[ShaneO19]

Didn't get much of a chance to fish but was briefly out in the boat and the water is sort of a brownish green color. I thought it was from an algae bloom but I talked to a guy and he said it happens 3 or 4 times a year when the lake turns over an then it clears a few days after. I am new to the lake so I don't have any experience with the normal cycles. Anyone have any insight?

[RochNY]

Good morning,
I'm afraid you were misinformed. Black Lake is a shallow lake. It does not 'turn' seasonally let alone several times a year. Temperatures, oxygen levels and water chemistry are uniform throughout the water column (from surface water to bottom depths). The lake is well-mixed due to flow/current from the Indian River and feeder streams like Fish Creek as well as prevailing winds that cause wave action by blowing down the long fetch of the lake. Therefore the lake does not stratify like much deeper lakes do. It's that stratification that leads to a lake 'turning' when the cooler water layers and warmer water layers suddenly switch places, creating bottom-to-top turbulence. Dr. Brad Baldwin, Biology Professor at St. Lawrence University has verified this as recently as a couple of weeks ago that Black Lake is well-mixed and not stratified.

What you were seeing is phytoplankton growth--excessive growth of algal species and very small free-floating aquatic plants. There is also bacterial growth as a result of nutrients in our lake: nitrates and phosphorus compounds. Also, there may have been sediment suspended by winds associated with recent heavy thunderstorms. This year the algae 'bloom' that normally occurs in mid-late Summer, is worse than normal, due to the hot temps and lack of freshwater influx (low Spring snowmelt & very low rainfall).

Dr. Baldwin and other scientists who have studied Black Lake extensively, refer to Black Lake as a highly productive lake, meaning it supports a diversity of plant and animal life and dense populations thereof, at that! In a more typical year, the lake is very good for fishing, swimming, motorboating, sailing, waterskiing/watersports, canoeing, kayaking, wildlife watching and diving/snorkeling. This year many of the recreational pursuits are compromised by the heat and weedy, high-algae conditions.

Sincerely,

Richard Henderson, President, Black Lake Association, Inc.

[brian_c]

Didn't get much of a chance to fish but was briefly out in the boat and the water is sort of a brownish green color. I thought it was from an algae bloom but I talked to a guy and he said it happens 3 or 4 times a year when the lake turns over an then it clears a few days after. I am new to the lake so I don't have any experience with the normal cycles. Anyone have any insight?

We've been up on the lake for about the past 4-5 years now, about the same time each year. Going off what I've seen, the lake normally has a dark brown color to it. Normally, there's silt suspended in it so that when you look down into the water, it looks like the water has a golden metallic color to it.

Floating on the surface was a light green sheen. Some years, like last year - which was abnormal by all accounts due to the high water, that green didn't show up until about the end of the week. Other years, I'd swear the lake was misnamed and should have been called Green Lake.

I'll be staying at The Log Cabins again so hopefully Ali has a nice deepwater dock ready for me as poling/paddling doesn't appeal to me. If I wanted to do that, I would have bought a Kayak

[ShaneO19]

Thanks a lot for the replies. I didn't think the lake really "turned over" like he said as I am from an area where deeper lakes actually do that. I wasn't necessarily complaining that the lake was dirty or anything either as I am fully aware that the nutrients it has are what makes it healthy. I just purchased property on the lake and am just trying to get an idea of the lakes normal characteristics. Thanks again for any information.