still picking up fish at cleco my wife and I pulled 46 out on Saturday morning and I went back for 23 more Sunday morning all fish on shiners in 10 FOW . Fish was medium size tossed back about 15 small ones
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still picking up fish at cleco my wife and I pulled 46 out on Saturday morning and I went back for 23 more Sunday morning all fish on shiners in 10 FOW . Fish was medium size tossed back about 15 small ones
Good job
Cyberwolf, I enjoy your reports, but ya' killing me! :( I live just a few miles from Cleco and haven't been able to get out there to fish in the last month. :banghead The times I was out there last fall, it was for bass and did okay. Water still a bit dirty despite the ionic filter system they installed.
Question. I fish from kayak. Are there any good spots within a mile of either launch? When it's cooler, I can paddle /pedal farther, but for now 95 degrees I'd like to stay close. Don't need to catch many, a half-dozen to dozen would make a good meal for our family.
Yes I fish no more than a mile from the sharp landing im sure you can get there without any problems if you ever want to come make a trip with me I have a open seat in my boat every weekend all you need to do is show up at the landing and i would be thrilled to have you along for the ride i have every thing we need ready to go I fish almost every weekend and here lately it has been at cleco both days. do you fish from a hobie? I ask because is see you talking about peddling I had a pro angle 14 for a year or two and i sold it once i got my new boat but i miss being able to get into the small areas and fish from it Im serious when I say come make a trip with me if you canQuote:
Originally Posted by FishesWithFlies
The ionic filter system is gone!!!!:dono
it was a filter that Cleco used to try and clear up the water in the lake i will cut and paste the from it if i can find itQuote:
Originally Posted by woody123
LENA – Can innovative, cutting-edge water treatment technology help restore Cleco Lake to its past glory?
It just may if a three-month pilot program proves successful.
Working with Ecolotron, a water treatment company located in Dickinson, Texas, Cleco officials began the program on Sept. 9 using a process known as E-Floc, which hopefully will lead to the reduction of the turbidity (cloudiness) and improve the clarity of the water.
The high turbidity is due to charged clay particles which are too fine to fall out of suspension. The E-Floc process changes the charge of these clay particles which then allows them to settle to the bottom of the lake.
Placed on the warm side of the lake, two large machines draw in the cloudy water filled with the charged particles, treat them and then discharge the water back into the lake where the particles' charge has been changed. The treated particles sink to the bottom.
Cleco Environmental Operations Specialist Jacob Hudson
Cleco Environmental Operations Specialist Jacob Hudson shows some of the water samples he’s taken from Rodemacher Lake after implementing a new water cleaning process. (Photo: Tia Owens-Powers/ [email protected])
Since the mid-2000s turbidity has been an issue at Cleco Lake.
"Several factors have combined to cause this problem," said Jacob Hudson, the plant's Environmental Operations Specialist. "The lack of submerged vegetation is one and the other is changes to forestry practices (clear cutting) in a 34-square-mile watershed that feeds the lake.
"Based upon extensive and favorable laboratory testing of the lake's water after it has been subjected to this technology, I believe it will succeed," Hudson continued. "While this is the largest application of this technology ever attempted, we are really pleased based on our testing and studies so far."
Still, the task is a daunting one as Cleco Lake, also known as Lake Rodemacher, is a significant body of water consisting of 3,070 surface acres. It is 2 miles wide and 4 miles long and contains more than 10 billion gallons of water.
"While it is not on the scale we are attempting here, the oil industry has been using this process to treat their wastewater for some time," Hudson said. "We are hoping we will have the same results here. Just from what I've seen in the lab it is working."
"Cleco is pursuing this experimental project voluntarily," Plant Manager Greg Coco said. "We want to be good stewards and we would especially like to see the lake return to its place as one of the top fisheries in the state. We believe this process, which is the most cost effective, can help to bring about that recovery."
Pumps bring water from Cleco’s Rodemacher Lake into
Pumps bring water from Cleco’s Rodemacher Lake into a water cleaning processor. (Photo: Tia Owens-Powers/[email protected] )
District III Inland Fisheries Biologist Manager Ricky Moses said complimented Cleco for its efforts to benefit fishing on the lake.
"The water they use to cool their plant is not affected by the turbidity," Moses said. "So, on their own, they have decided to use this cutting-edge technology to help improve the lake. I hope they succeed because it will help bring Cleco Lake back. The department is also very interested in the results. There may be other possibilities to use the application to benefit other lakes around the state."
Completed in 1974, the lake is used to provide cooling water for the power plant. However, Cleco decided to also open it up to public fishing and the LDWF has not only assisted with the management of the lake but has also invested a considerable amount of resources and funds to help improve the fishing.
"At one time, Cleco Lake was named as one of six quality lakes in the state," Moses said. "The department removed that status earlier this year."
To make the lake productive again for fishing means it must have submerged vegetation and that means clear water.
"Long-term turbidity can be a real killer," Moses said. "When the sunlight is unable to penetrate the surface of the lake, it means there is little to no growth of aquatic vegetation. Without the vegetation, the fry do not have adequate cover or food. The fish population suffers and begins to decline.
"In one of our most recent surveys, we found the fish were not looking very healthy," Moses said. "And there was very little submerged aquatic vegetation. All those factors work against having a healthy, productive lake."
Cleco Environmental Operations Specialist Jacob Hudson
Cleco Environmental Operations Specialist Jacob Hudson shows how the water being taken from Rodemacher Lake goes through a new water cleaning process. (Photo: Tia Owens-Powers/[email protected] )
In the late 1990s, hydrilla appeared and started getting jammed in the power plant generators. By 1992, almost 50 percent of the lake was infested with hydrilla, causing significant problems at the water intake structure.
Over the next three years (1993-95), a total of 32,250 grass-eating carp were stocked into the lake and the lake kind of followed the same timeline as Caney Lake. With the grass, the bass fishing exploded on the lake.
When the carp were introduced, the grass went away and the fishing got tougher but not impossible. The problem became compounded when the land around the lake was clear cut which brought a fine clay from the watershed and into the lake.
"The particles had no vegetation in which to stick or cling to," said Moses. "Because the water is constantly being circulated around the lake, the water is constantly stirred up, which creates a murky, cloudy effect."
While Coco believes Cleco Lake could eventually heal itself, he realizes it would take much too long and the fishery would suffer even more. He hopes the process will help to speed along the lake and the fishery's recovery.
"Eventually, Mother Nature will heal this lake," he said. "With all the rain we've gotten this summer, we've noticed some difference. Still, if we can use this program to give Mother Nature a helping hand, I am all for it."
And if this application is successful?
"We wouldn't mind sharing it with others," Coco said. "I am sure the Wildlife and Fisheries could find a use for it."
I was a solids control technician in the oilfield and I'm assuming that's what they were trying It can be done if they are using a centrifuge with a polymer or floculant but it has to be maintained 24 7 I could make drilling saltwater look nice and clean it just is a steady deal you can't set it and forget it
Cyberwolf, you have got their number down on Cleco. Congratulations on all of the fish you and your wife have been catching. And thanks for offering to take FishesWithFlies. That is definitely a very good crappie.com gesture. Hats off to you!
Your welcome I would love to have any one on board my boat to teach me some new tricksQuote:
Originally Posted by Pastor
I can teach ya how to......well.....get sunburned for instance....LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by cyberwolf
Cyberwolf, thanks for the offer. I'll definitely take you up on it!
As for kayaks, I've had a few, currently own two, the one I fish most from around here is a Native Ultimate. It's light enough to do combat launching, and the frame seat is much better on the back. My only knocks on the Hobie PA12 - other than weight - is that it doesn't do well in grass or do reverse. I had a Diablo, which I sold and am looking to replace it with one of the new framed-seat yaks that can adapt a trolling motor, either the NuCanoe and Wilderness ATAK (paddle yaks).
Re. Cleco. Rickey Moses told our fly fishing club that their first recommendation was to add gypsum to the lake. The effect would've been immediate. Some professor from a Texas university was consulted and advised against it because it wouldn't solve the problem long term (I disagree, and have the background to say that, but that's another story). As others have mentioned, the filter system will work but it's not something you can turn off when the water finally clears up a little. At least not on Cleco. On the other hand, the gypsum solution (or ag lime, if applied in winter) would've been beneficial long term even if more suspended silt entered the lake. By increasing the water hardness just a small amount, it increases fish production substantially.