Brown Algae Bloom

[J. Rentch]

A brown algae bloom has popped up in the Severn River starting on Friday. According to one source it is harmless. I launched from the Tucker Street launch in Annapolis this morning at 10 to fish for Pickerel. When I got there the water was a chocolate color and very thick. As I was paddling to the headwaters, I noticed that as the paddle was moving through the water, clouds of brown algae were swirling around the paddle. I put a lure in the water and it disappeared withing inches of the surface. I continued to paddle to the headwaters just to see how far back it went. I was within several hundred yards of the head of the creek before the water cleared up enough that I could throw a lure. I have read comments from other folks that this is the same up and down the Severn River. Will be interesting as to how long it hangs around. Here are some pictures I took this morning:

2019-12-28 11.04.06.jpg, 2019-12-28 11.10.04.jpg, 2019-12-28 11.31.44.jpg, 2019-12-28 12.20.00.jpg

[J.A. Veil]

https://www.capitalgazette.com/envir...kae-story.html

[J. Rentch]

Thanks John, I saw that on FB, but then could not return to it.

[Mark]

Very sad development.

The Capital Gazette article quotes a state biologist who identified the algae. He said it is known as "prorocentrum minimum" which is common in our waters in the spring. He also said it is non-toxic.

However a quick Google search has the word "toxic" splashed throughout the many articles on that particular kind of algae. It can be toxic to fish and shell fish that ingest it and in turn it can be toxic to humans who eat those fish. Rare, but it can happen. Indeed, it has been found to be one of the algae forms in Florida's numerous red tide incidents.

Our saving grace from mimicking Florida's situation is that our water is cold now and the present bloom will not kill SAV and fish that are common in warmer months. (Let's hope the resurgent pickerel fare well.) The Capital Gazette article stresses that the impact will be minimal. Still, it's unfortunate to have an algae bloom in winter here. It's unsightly and perhaps doesn't bode well for the spring if it's happening now.

[mchottie]

Thanks for the report John, especially the photos.

[CarsonNash]

John,

I believe I responded to the post on your Facebook story about this.

Anyways, when I was fishing on Christmas eve, I saw the same water clarity shown in your pictures. I was right by my house in brewers creek. The main stem of the river was normal though.

Hopefully, it will clear up soon.

[J. Rentch]

John,

I believe I responded to the post on your Facebook story about this.

Anyways, when I was fishing on Christmas eve, I saw the same water clarity shown in your pictures. I was right by my house in brewers creek. The main stem of the river was normal though.

Hopefully, it will clear up soon.

Happy New Year Carson,
He’s, I found out thru posts it is a Mahogeny Tide. I just drove over the Weems Bridge and it looks better. I could not tell if it is totally gone, but the brownish color is much better.

[J.A. Veil]

I fished in a Severn tributary this afternoon for 1.5 hours. The water in the main river was still somewhat brown, but inside the tributary it was the normal green color. I threw three different lures (shown below) 3" paddletail, 2" twistertail, and Bignose spinner. I got a few follows on the spinner, but caught 7 pickerel to 19" on the Fat Sam mullet paddletail in gold speckled color. The twistertail did not get interest today.

These were my first fish of 2020. I started my fishing in Wye Mill pond. I fished there for 1.5 hours in late morning and had no bites. I loaded up and drove back to my home waters where I tried different spots and different lures until I found what worked.

2003-08-01 00-00-18.jpg 2003-08-01 00-00-05.jpg 2003-08-01 00-36-26.jpg

[DanMarino]

Nice report Mr. Veil! Keep at it! Pickerel sure are pretty fish.

[Mark]

That jig head in the pickerel's mouth looks familiar.

Nice catch, John.

[J.A. Veil]

That jig head in the pickerel's mouth looks familiar.

Nice catch, John.

That is one of the "On the Mark" jigheads you gave me when you started making them. The sparkly green color looks good next to the gold plastic.

[YakMan1731]

A quick update on the Weems algae bloom- I lucked out and didn't have my juror number called this past Friday, so I hit Weems from Tucker Street with some live minnows to try and find some pickerel. There was more ice than I anticipated, but I was able to get about 100 yards up-creek from the Rt. 70 bridge and poke around. In many places, the brown algae was still thick. I didn't notice it at first, but man was it thick in places. Looked like paint had been spilled almost. It sounds like it wasn't as pervasive as when it started, as I was able to find many spots around the bridges where there wasn't any, but it's still there.

As for the fish, they were not there. I saw an absolute mother-load of those little moon jellies, which made me think the salinity was high, and because of ice I wasn't able to push back to the headwaters where I imagine the pickerel would be, so it was a slow day, but one which definitely, if temporarily, lifted the cabin fever so common this time of year.

[J. Rentch]

That’s not good!

[J.A. Veil]

I fished in Weems this morning and saw no evidence of algal blooms. I have seen few of the golf-ball size comb jellies (not real jellyfish, but ctenophores -- a different taxonomic group of animals) but not the large number reported by YakMan.

The bite was tough today. I had figured out where the pickerel were holding for the past month or so. They were either not there today or were not interested in minnows or paddletails. I ended with 5 pickerel in 1.5 hours -- well down from my last few trips there.

[YakMan1731]

I fished in Weems this morning and saw no evidence of algal blooms. I have seen few of the golf-ball size comb jellies (not real jellyfish, but ctenophores -- a different taxonomic group of animals) but not the large number reported by YakMan.

The bite was tough today. I had figured out where the pickerel were holding for the past month or so. They were either not there today or were not interested in minnows or paddletails. I ended with 5 pickerel in 1.5 hours -- well down from my last few trips there.

That's great news! Something drastic must have changed...maybe that rain helped wash out the stuff I saw Friday, because in most spots a quick net scoop would have yielded dozens of those jellies. Sounds like things are cleaning up!