CHIMACUM – Anderson Lake State Park will open on April 28 for the beginning of trout-fishing season after tests found it clear of bacteria that closed it last summer when two dogs died.
After conducting water tests, the Jefferson County Public Health Department has deemed the lake free of the bacteria – also known as blue green algae – and safe to open on the last weekend of April, the traditional beginning of the lowland-lake trout fishing season.
“It’s appearing we’re going to have a good, clean opening,” said State Park Ranger Mike Zimmerman, who oversees operations at Anderson.
Said Mike McNickle, director of Jefferson County Environmental Health, on Friday:
“As far as we know, there are no toxic algae or toxins in the lake.”
The lake and park will be opened to both fishing and other recreational activities.
The aging lake, which is growing more shallow and marshy, created ideal conditions for formation of the toxic bacteria last summer, Dr. Tom Locke, health officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties, told the Clallam County Board of Health in June.
In the summer, the water is calm, warm and is overly rich in phosphates and nitrogen, which are common chemicals in fertilizers, Locke said.
McNickle said the lake will be tested for the bacteria two times a month from now through the summer.
If future tests find the toxic bacteria, the lake will again be closed, he said.
The 68-acre lake is located about one mile west of Chimicum, off Anderson Lake Road between state Highways 19 and 20.
It will be stocked in May with 6,000 rainbow trout, measuring from eight to 12 inches long, according to the state Fish and Wildlife Department.
The lake is well-known for outstanding fishing, with state Fish and Wildlife reporting that the the lake’s rainbow trout average almost 12 inches, “with some carry-overs in the three-pound range.”
The lake allows boats, but not those with gasoline motors.
Unless otherwise closed, the lake will be open for fishing through Oct. 31.
