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Snotgrass. Witch's hair. Black mat algae. All these are local names for an algae-like organism with the scientific name of Lynga woolei. Found in many of our lakes, most famously Tuckertown. Tuckertown used to be one of my favorite lakes, but this foul mess has all but ruined the type of bass fishing many of us enjoy, like cranking, Texas and or Carolina rigging.
The mess showed up in HPCL several years ago, and messed up many good spots I liked to fish. The state did some type of injections, and it began to recede in many places, but has returned in some treated areas recently.
The type of treatment done at HPCL may not work at Tuckertown, because of the size of the lake.
The algae is tough, and can even make its own nutrients if times get tough, makes water foul in extreme cases, can even give off toxins hazardous to fish and aquatic plants, including water willow (canary grass), and many others.
The algae usually shows up in the backs of coves, and expands when heavy rains push nutrients in great abundance into the water. Fertilizer from fields seem to be a major culprit in the expansion of this algae.
At HPCL, we have thought for years that the runoff from the golf course may be the problem there, as there are few if any farms in the area. Not so Tuckertown. Numerous cultivated fields dot the Yadkin River's watercourse, and therein may very well be the problem. The mess seems to need still water to begin to grow, and once started, it can be next to impossible to eliminate.
The state is embarking on an educational program to show farmers how eliminate or at least slow down the amount of runoff coming from their fields, by diverting it somehow. Seems to me this is going to be extremely difficult, if not very expensive to the landowners. But what else can be done? This issue is only going to get worse unless we act in some capacity..
The mess showed up in HPCL several years ago, and messed up many good spots I liked to fish. The state did some type of injections, and it began to recede in many places, but has returned in some treated areas recently.
The type of treatment done at HPCL may not work at Tuckertown, because of the size of the lake.
The algae is tough, and can even make its own nutrients if times get tough, makes water foul in extreme cases, can even give off toxins hazardous to fish and aquatic plants, including water willow (canary grass), and many others.
The algae usually shows up in the backs of coves, and expands when heavy rains push nutrients in great abundance into the water. Fertilizer from fields seem to be a major culprit in the expansion of this algae.
At HPCL, we have thought for years that the runoff from the golf course may be the problem there, as there are few if any farms in the area. Not so Tuckertown. Numerous cultivated fields dot the Yadkin River's watercourse, and therein may very well be the problem. The mess seems to need still water to begin to grow, and once started, it can be next to impossible to eliminate.
The state is embarking on an educational program to show farmers how eliminate or at least slow down the amount of runoff coming from their fields, by diverting it somehow. Seems to me this is going to be extremely difficult, if not very expensive to the landowners. But what else can be done? This issue is only going to get worse unless we act in some capacity..
