Slimed!!!

[Captain]

No not with Muskie slime, but with a unknown substance that has moved into the area from Port Austin to Port Hope. At first we all kind of thought it was from willow trees dropping their seeds into the lake like we have had in the past but now were thinking it may be algae stirred up from the bottom. The best way to describe it is Baby poop or Snot. This brown slimy mess covered every line and downrigger cable. It got so bad at one point that it wasn't going thru the ball retrieves on my riggers and I jumped a cable off the spool. Had to hand over hand 50 ft of cable, only to cut it off and get it out. Every rod was covered and quite a few fish were lost as they jammed up your eyelits. Everyones rods, riggers, boats, coats are completed covered in this crap. The snot seemed to lighten up as you got into deeper/colder water +90feet. Needless to say everyone has really struggled the last 4 days of fishing since the wind stopped blowing. Hopefully the lake will clear itself. When you could keep your lines cleared there are still a few kings around with everyone having 1-4 salmon bites a day. Most silver was 5-10lbs.... Trout have pretty much disappeared but most boats were able to scrap 2-3 tickets together from PA to Port Hope. Anywhere from 25-150 fow......

[Priority1]

Thanks Capt Drew. I haven't fished the Thumb in some time. I like that area from Harbor Beach to Port Austin. The blow we are having today may clear it.

[GLF]

Drew,

What does the dnr say is causing the slime?

[EdB]

Could it be spiney water fleas? Once they get caught on your line, it looks like brown slime. Tough to get off and it will clog the line guides to the point you can't reel in your line. They have been bad at times on Lk Mich, primarly when water warms. The last couple years have not been so bad for them. I've never seen much talk about them on Lk Huron but maybe they are the culprit?

[JoeMan]

I think your correct EdB. It sounds like spiney water fleas. I've been dealing with them in Lake Michigan for about 4 years now. They attach to your lines and will build up at the end of your rod and can actually prevent a retrieve. A big build up has to be removed by hand, this is hard to do. If you see them on your line, then I have found that you can drop the tip of your rod into the water and lift quickly. Do this 3 or 4 times and this will clean your line pretty well.

[Priority1]

I fish for Lake Perch on the Saginaw Bay, and have noticed that the perch have gorged themselves with the water fleas. I guess they are off the shrimp family, and the perch sure like them.

[Captain]

The area has finally cleared of the slime.....It was definitely not water fleas...completely different..Some sort of Algae Bloom..

[Walleye Express]

It's called Blue/Green Algae. It gets dislodged from the botton in heavy winds and floats in the water column and get on everything. Stacks up and rots on the beaches, and stinks to high heaven. It's also liver toxic to children playing in and around it on the beaches. It also causes heavy fines from the DNR when beach front owners try to remove it without a permit. Of course the permits cannot be had.