Blue green algae

[habberdasher]

I need to feed my fishing addiction and was going to fish Elk lake does the blue green algae make the fish uneatable?
Is there any danger from the little bit of water that might splash up
I am leaving my dog at home

 

[scott craven]

Not sure you really want to eat those trout anyway Tom ?

 

[pdfish]

We get a lot of blue green in Alberta lakes in the summer. Fillets will be fine to eat.

The worst that will happen if you get some on you is some mild skin irritation, assuming you’re not swimming in the stuff

 

[Rockfish]

Eaten a lot of trout out of Elk lake but that was years ago. With a big bloom I would stick to the deeper water in the main Elk lake and stay away from the smaller Beaver Lake, although it is all just one big lake with a wide connecting channel. Don't drink the water and don't let your pets swim in it and if it were me I would rinse with clean water and dry/wipe off the trout with a clean rag before cleaning them. When I was a kid Beaver was a very popular swimming lake, but not anymore.

 

[habberdasher]

Not sure you really want to eat those trout anyway Tom ?

I would rather eat a flats feeder but my boat is in the hospital until next week. Later in the week we should fish together with Rob in separate boats?

 

[scott craven]

Sounds like a plan !

 

[chris73]

The current bloom has not shown toxicity yet and even the few previous toxic blooms were of very low toxicity. Eating fish from there is totally fine.

 

[Wildvanisle]

Can confirm it’s fine as me and a friend have both eaten several fish out of the bloom and no I’ll effects at all. Heard the algae might make the flesh mushy but it was firm and tasty actually.