Rob’s Blog - Blue Green Algae and NSW South Coast update

SPARKLING WATER BECKONS…BUT YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET IN IT!

Stacks of people getting out and about the waterways during the warmer weather and this includes the many ornamental lakes around Southern NSW and the ACT…for example Lake Burley Griffin which sparkles on a sunny day. But there is a hidden danger – Blue Green Algae. As the temperature climbs so can the algae levels, which is a real shame. It would be nice to dip your feet in, but you can’t always do so! Even eating an apple with wet hands might make you sick and if you drank some while boating or swimming the ramifications can be much worse.

Blue Green algae is common in urban lakes, farm dams, and less occasionally in completely wild remote systems, it’s a product of nutrient oversupply, basically too much gunk in the water!
Stop dodgy builders running sewage lines into storm water, catch drains full of leaf litter, wash cars on lawns, have riparian vegetation around waterway edges, remove carp, ban the wrong soaps and shampoos, aerate the water, and Blue Green algae will be reduced massively. It’s been done in other cities and in Canberra the NCA is working on this, it is a long term job, but where ever you live you can help by thinking about your own efforts.

Sometimes you will see warning notices, but it’s also up to individuals to train your eye to see Blue Green algae when it is on the surface. It is blue green in colour (not the yellow pollen that you’ll see heaps of at the moment) but google some pics, or ask someone if unsure when you are waterside.

If you are careful you can fish when algae is about, just avoid skin contact and watch for splashes and choppy wind spray.
But what about the fish… well obviously carp don’t mind the algae, and most other fish are fine too. There are some big old Cod in many of the urban lakes affected by algae too, people where amazed when Lake Albert at Wagga dried up in the drought. Lots of big Cod were found, and some were rescued.

I also just heard the most amazing story from a journalist friend… he was jogging around Lake Burley Griffin when he stopped to see a school of Carp sipping bugs on a warm evening. He also noticed a submerged shopping trolley nearby that turned out to be a HUGE Murray cod. He watched the Cod swim over and boof a Carp. What a sight! He saw it again the next night, and hasn’t seen it since. It sounds like a genuine hundred pounder, I’ve caught, photographed, released and documented the occasional Cod this size around the region in the past decade… amazing and tough creatures. Anglers fishing for the more common Golden Perch are reminded it is currently closed season for Murray Cod so you must let them go. Most anglers let these long living fish go regardless…they have put up with enough crap from us humans in regards to over fishing and more seriously habitat degradation!

On the coast, the typically pristine salt water beckons like a spring migration signal we take for granted, and there’s very rarely any dangerous algae, especially in open sea water. Flathead have spread out further around the estuaries; good spots include Womboyn, Wallaga, Tuross and St Georges Basin just to name a few. In the ocean Yakers have been getting the occasional big snapper just behind the breakers on light gear, fishing just after big seas is best. Albacore are reasonably reliable along the continental shelf right along the South Coast. After a big Yellowfin bite off Browns Mountain last week, there’s now the occasional Yellowfin and pro boats are still catching Bluefin at times, along with a handful of Broadbill and the occasional Marlin. Kingfish of any size might be encountered, from school sized up to XL models. All the usual haunts are producing fish at times. On the rocks, Ray Smith has amongst other species, caught a few nice Pigfish in recent weeks. He’s wrapped to be back in form after a dry spell and is using some radically short rods just 2-4 feet long to help him out muscle these strong dirty fighting Pig fish. Best baits for Pigs include cabbage weed, string weed, peeled prawns, Cunji, and bread, but learn with an experienced friend, the rocks are not a safe place for an L-plate fisho.

Rob Paxevanos