Published: May 03, 2008 09:57 pm            

Anglers complain about conditions ... officials puzzled

For years, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission biologists wondered what it was that made the lake at Bedford County’s Shawnee State Park so productive.

Despite heavy fishing pressure, its 451 acres supported healthy populations of bass, panfish, walleye and pike, and it had enjoyed a reputation as a big-musky water. But fishermen say it hasn’t been the same since a severe drawdown in 1996 to allow reinforcement of bridges, and the fishing seems to get worse each summer.

Nancy Ferguson said customers readily express their displeasure when she waits on them at Shawnee Bait and Tackle near the park.

“They’re really disappointed because they always really liked that lake,” she said. “They’re catching small fish. Some have caught some decent crappie. Carp aren’t hard to catch at all. Other than that, it’s not like it used to be.”

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and park officials point out that fishing was great for a few years after the drawdown, with lots of nice-sized crappies and a population explosion of pike.

But, they also have recognized a problem in recent years, and are searching for a solution.

“The story is, for the last two or three years, we’ve had a cloudy murkiness to the lake water,” explained park manager Bob Bromley. “We started sampling this lake in the fall of ‘06. Last summer, we sampled it from April to November on a once-a-month basis. The consensus was, during sampling last summer, that we had a large amount of blue-green algae in there that was causing this murkiness.

“We had a public meeting in February, where we told the public: ‘This is what we have – blue-green algae – and we’re going to treat it this spring with copper sulfate.’ ”

The meeting included representatives of the fish commission, the park, and the state departments of Environmental Protection and Conservation and Natural Resources. Ferguson said the outcome was good news.

“There isn’t too much we can do about it until Harrisburg starts treating it,” she said. “We’re looking forward to that. We’re just keeping our fingers crossed that it works.”

But, what appeared to be a simple problem with an easy solution is proving to be more complicated – and more puzzling.

“We’ve been testing this lake now for the last three consecutive weeks,” Bromley said on Friday. “The first couple of weeks, we weren’t finding any blue-green algae. During the past week we found just a small amount. But, the cloudiness, the turbidity, is as bad as it’s ever been, and we’re not sure why. It’s not the blue-green algae, and if it’s not there, we’re not going to treat for it.

“At this point, to be truthful with you and the public, I don’t know what is causing this murkiness in the water. But, it’s definitely still here, and it’s not the blue-green algae at the present.”

What does remain in the lake is fish, said John Frederick, a fish commission biologist based in Bucks County.

“We surveyed the lake after the drawdown,” he said. “We surveyed again in 2005. It doesn’t appear that there’s a dramatic change in the fishery right now.”

But, Frederick said he isn’t discounting the widespread angler complaints, either.

“Since there’s been a large concern at Shawnee Lake, I will be out there to sample the panfish population in short order this spring, and will be back to take a one-night look at the largemouth bass population,” he said. “No specific date for that has been nailed down yet, but it will happen, without a doubt.”

Frederick said the plan is to use trap nets to sample the panfish population and electrofishing to check on the bass. He said the methods are similar to the whole-lake survey conducted in 2005.

“Except for finding gizzard shad, there wasn’t a whole lot of difference from the previous survey,” he said.

The prior survey to which he referred was done in 1999, three years after the big drawdown.

Although some fishermen have blamed Shawnee’s abundant carp population for its poor water quality, Frederick said the recently introduced gizzard shad might be a more significant issue.

“I would be speculating if I said carp were the problem,” he said. “In the most recent surveys, we didn’t notice any larger carp population than we did in previous surveys. Certainly, we have some change with the introduction of the gizzard shad. They’re competing with the other panfish.”

Meanwhile, Bromley dismissed rumors that Shawnee will again be drained in an effort to correct the problem.

“That is not a consideration at this time,” he said.

        

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