Dodging the desert wind for a single morning of kayak fishing is all there is to report on from the super windy desert southwest. It was great to have a calm morning in the midst of week long winds of 15-30 mph, even if it only lasted a few hours.
We were thankful for a few hours to go kayak fishing, but the fishing was not very good. As the sun rose and it got a bit lighter, we could see that the milfoil, an aquatic plant, had taken over just about every part of the lake. Thick forests of milfoil covered the bottom of the shallow backwater and dead, decaying milfoil coated the reeds that line the lake and harbor many of the fish. In the past few years, the milfoil has gone from a few seasonal clumps to covering the entire lake.
This behavior is very similar to invasive milfoil infestations elsewhere, including where we used to fish on the Columbia River and where I used to live in Carlsbad, CA. Milfoil spreads rapidly by broken segments, takes over any body of water twenty feet deep and under and chokes out the resident plants and animals. The only way to get rid of it is to kill it by poisoning, which is not an ideal solution. Surrounded by agriculture using river water for irrigation, poison seems an unlikely option so the milfoil will probably spread to the entire lower Colorado River.
In light of this, it’s not surprising that the largemouth bass fishing was not very good. I only caught one small bass and there were very few signs of fish other than a few American Shad.
Unfortuneately, we have a bumper crop of bad news today, so let the parade continue. This area is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Almost anyone with experience in the outdoors has had a negative experience thanks to them and that is certainly the situation here. Without going into too much detail, the BLM here has allowed a large recreational area to fall into disrepair and turn into an unsafe and unhealthy area for everyone and everything. It does not appear this branch of the Federal government is planning for the present or the future. With the political/social climate in America today, this is a troubling sign.
The weather here appears to be getting more extreme; much hotter in the summer and increasing wind. The past few years it has clearly become more windy, wind events over 15-20 mph lasting weeks and gusting wind over 30 mph much more common. Between the changing climate and the degrading condition of the Colorado River watershed, it’s not a good situation for kayak fishing or anything else.
What’s going to happen? Can’t say for sure at this point, but it will be something so check back soon.