Editor’s note: This column was written and appeared in today’s print edition before Anderson Lake was again closed because of toxin issues.
A BIG WELCOME back to the lake that is less famous for its fishing than it is for its blue-green algae and poisonous toxins.
Anderson Lake is open again.
If you like trout or are itching to fish on a lake, go fish Anderson.
But don’t wait; you don’t have much time. After Friday, Aug. 31, Anderson Lake becomes a catch-and-release lake.
That is, if toxins don’t close the lake first.
Anderson opened on the fourth Saturday of April, along with the rest of the lowland lakes.
Just five days later, it closed down due to hazardous levels of the anatoxin-a, a nerve poison created by blue-green algae.
It has become a familiar scenario. So much so, that quick closures are expected at Anderson Lake.
The toxin level returned to safe levels a few weeks ago, and Anderson Lake reopened Friday.
But anglers weren’t exactly fighting for fishing spots on the lake.
“A few have been fishing,” Mike Zimmerman, the park manager for the Fort Flagler area, said.
“But not the droves like I was expecting.”
Zimmerman said fly fishers have been more inclined to return to Anderson because they are only interested in catching the fish, not keeping them.
The take-home anglers have been more hesitant.
“They’re not ready to try the fish yet,” Zimmerman said.
This type of thinking will receive no criticism from me. I always err on the side of staying alive.
But Jefferson County environmental health specialist Greg Thomason said anatoxin-a, which can cause paralysis and stop breathing, doesn’t accumulate in fish.
The other toxin found in the blue-green algae on Anderson Lake, microcystin, is found in fish, but only in the guts and the parts of the fish that humans don’t eat.
Also, Anderson doesn’t have high levels of microcystin. Even if it did, it’s highly unlikely it would be dangerous.
“A person would have to eat fish consistently every day from a lake that has high levels for many, many years [for it to be dangerous],” Thomason said.
“We just want to make sure people are aware of the risk.”
Cleaning fish well and discarding the guts should keep you safe.
Good fishing
Those who take their fishing poles to Anderson Lake should have success.
Zimmerman said that for the five days the lake was open in the spring, many people were catching the limits.
Since then, those fish have been growing, so they should be big.
“I sure would think so,” said Zimmerman. “I imagine they’ve been growing [since the closure].”
Aaron Teraba, the assistant ranger for the Fort Flagler area, reports that attendance at Anderson Lake has increased daily since the reopen.
So we should be hearing about plentiful amounts of big fish jumping into boats on Anderson Lake until Aug. 31.
Unless there is a toxin-related closure before that.
Zimmerman said if the past is any indication, a toxin closure is a possibility, if not a probability.
“The trend is it won’t be open very long,” he said. “And it would be uncommon for it to be opened again after a second closure.”
For Thomason, predicting even the short-term future of Anderson Lake is difficult because every year seems different.
“Anything can happen,” Thomason said. “[Toxin levels] could bounce back with a vengeance next week.”
Other safety tips
Anderson Lake is open to all recreation, not just fishing.
Here are some other safety recommendations from Jefferson County:
■ Do not swim in areas of scum.
■ Do not drink lake water.
■ Keep pets and livestock away.
■ Clean fish well and discard guts.
■ Avoid scum when boating.
To read the Peninsula Daily News story about Anderson Lake’s reopening, visit http://tinyurl.com/andersonlakeisopen.
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Outdoors columnist Lee Horton appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
