What to do when the lake turns over

[coreynov902]

I have a local lake that I like to fish, but a couple weeks ago it went from having 4+ feet of visibility to having 18 inches or less and the water is very greenish colored. At first I thought it was an algae bloom but my fishing partner thinks the lake turned over and I believe he's right. The lake has quite a bit of submergent vegetation and usually in the summer the bigger fish stay out in the deeper water (10-15 feet deep). I would think that with the water clarity dropping so drastically that the fish would move shallow, but I've been there twice since this happened and have had very little success fishing shallow (haven't had much success fishing deeper either though). Any suggestions on where to focus or what lures to use? Or am I just better off going to a different lake until the water gets back to normal?

[XingEyeballs]

Not sure what type of lake or vegetation it is but for me in a mid-summer natural lake, find green healthy grass and there’s going to be bass. I have one lake I fish that’s probably 1200 acres but nothing more than 7-8’ at the deepest, waters low this year, weeds are dying, and water temp feels like a bathtub, clarity is maybe 12”… I seek the cleanest grass and fish it slow till I get bit. I’ll use a chatterbait or swim jig to search and then when I start pulling through healthy grass or catch a fish I fish a big jig profile with a heavy action trailer or Texas rig if it’s too thick.

[coreynov902]

Thanks for your input. I actually tried both a chatterbait and a swim jig with no success, but maybe they just weren't active when I was out there.

[DrewFlu33]

Though I've heard of things like wind-driven turnover happening on lakes during the summer, I feel like that's pretty unlikely. Especially since you've got deep vegetation. If it was a turnover event, it also wouldn't last for all that long. A few days max, then the water clears. Turning over lakes also stink, usually have a bunch of half rotten stuff floating around in the water column, etc. which may be the case, but wasn't something you mentioned. It sounds like a pretty classic algae bloom to me.

At the same time, I can totally relate. I've let the water clarity get in my head in the past thinking that the fish can't find my bait, must move shallow, etc. Heck, one of the worst tournaments I ever had (at least from a decision quality perspective) was when I abandoned fish I had found deep and tried finding them shallow when an algae bloom happened between my practice and tourney day. Of course it was won deep on exactly the type of stuff I found them using in practice.

I'm sure there are exceptions, but with vegetation present, I finally convinced myself that fishing like the water clarity is the same as it's always been is the best thing you can do. Those fish live in it every day, and even when water clarity changes suddenly (e.g., a big storm rolling in mud) it doesn't take long for them to adjust. At the end of the day, 12" of visibility is still not too bad in comparison to some of the stuff you can get with algae blooms. I've seen lakes in the Twin Cities metro in the wake of a bunch of weed spraying in the spring followed up by hot, dry weather look like pea soup with 3-4 inches (or even less!) of visibility. Then I've gone out and caught them on 4" drop shot baits in 14-16 feet with that 3-4 inches of visibility.

As mentioned above, find healthy vegetation, you'll find the bass. Easier said than done, I know that for sure, but if you can get past that block in your mind, you might be surprised what you can turn up!

[FALCONflyer200]

Find current somewhere where there is some water moving. Back of a creeks grass would be a plus too.

[Cleve C.]

At what temperature do lakes turn back to 'normal"? Is this a yearly?

[bassfisher444]

It certainly didn't turn over this time of year, most likely just a massive algae bloom. Some good rains will clear it up unless it's a natural lake or non flood control lake.

[RFeyoMN]

At what temperature do lakes turn back to 'normal"? Is this a yearly?

What is happening is normal for many lakes in this region. Early in the year we have massive weed growth. Curly leaf pondweed in particular, is an early blooming plant. It typically peaks, then begins to die early to mid June, and in many lakes it causes immense algae blooms. The algae remains in the top few feet of the water column, blocking sunlight, and killing most of the vegetation below it...if it hasn't yet grown tall enough to still gather sunlight.

You can continue to catch offshore fish, until the deeper weeds die due to lack of sunlight. After that, they go to the bank to utilize what cover is available, in a brighter environment. Docks, shoreline emergents, laydowns, etc.

There are no "rules" to these algae blooms. Sometimes the lake will stay green all summer into early fall, when the water cools and kills the algae. Sometimes they will clear up right away with no negative effects to deep vegetation. These blooms don't occur in every lake. They don't occur every year. Some years are more/less severe than others.

I personally like when lakes turn green! As much as I dislike bank fishing...if I show up to a lake that's green...i'm hammering everything on the bank with a buzzbait and a chatterbait!!

[RFeyoMN]

One thing i've noticed about these blooms. If the lake I go to is green...and there's still dead/dying pondweed on or near the surface, if it's still visible...the algae bloom has just begun. I'm pulling my boat out of the water and going somewhere else! The fish will generally be in a major transition, and fishing will be tough. I like about 7 or 8 days after the bloom begins.

It doesn't really affect the fish, it just moves them to more prosperous hunting areas. It takes a little time for them to settle in.

Likely...this is exactly what the OP experienced.

[coreynov902]

Thanks for all the information. For starters, this is a very small (30 acres) lake, so there is not any current. Basically it's a lake that was dug years ago when they needed the dirt for working on the highway nearby. The last couple years it has started to produce some really nice bass (I caught one earlier this season that was almost 6 pounds and hooked one from shore last year that got off at the bank that was probably close to 7 pounds) and the overall average is the best of any lake I fish. It's hardly ever a numbers lake unless you hit it just right, but the quality is there. We had a really dry year last year and the lake went down about 8 feet but because of some good rains this year it has come back up about 4-5 feet. I've never seen an algae bloom at this lake but I've seen it at a couple other lakes in the area. The ones I have seen turn the water a very bright green color whereas what has happened here is more of a brownish color with a green tint to it. However, it doesn't stink like decaying vegetation would. The vegetation that is visible (basically the stuff that it up to the surface) has very little green to it which is why I focused more time on the shoreline grass that has gotten flooded with the water coming up a couple feet a few weeks ago. I didn't head out there this past weekend to see if the water clarity is back to normal or even close. I'm hoping to head there this weekend to try it again, but if the water is still off-colored I'll try and just fish the places and baits I normally would fish. I would think they definitely would have adjusted to the clarity by this point.