Can bluegills live or feed in ponds covered with algae? What happens to a lake/pond with no fishing pressure, if it is good to start out with.

[Frank Ribble]

Checking out some new lakes & ponds. Will bluegill feed, if a pond is totally  covered with algae. Second lake in chain water is very clear. About a mile walk down a mountain bike trail. I rider said he has been biking there since he was a kid & never seen anyone fishing. Read at another lake that the fishing was good there. Bluegills, pumpkinseeds, black crappie, yellow perch, & largemouth bass are reported. Almost need a chainsaw to get to the second lake. No lawnmowers in sight. Heavily wooded area with a lot of black flies, marshy. Fairly clear water. Down a bumpy dirt road, with a long walk to lake. Wondered if it would be worth it?

  3rd spot - road between 2 lakes easily accessed & good parking. Caught and released a  7" sunfish spawning. Two others about the same size I couldn't get to bite. Didn't have any worms with me. Caught with a piece of a jig tail. Bluegills had a lot of the black spot disease. Pumpkinseeds didn't.

[Tony Livingston]

Nice Seed' Frank. Sure, BG will live in a pond covered by algae. Are you certain it's algae? This time of year Duckweed and Watermeal can completely cover a pond's surface..... Fertile water produces a lot of aquatic growth, which can be beneficial to the fish but can also lead to a lot of stunted BG, dependent upon some other factors also.

If no one fishes it, there may be two scenarios. One, it doesnt hold fish worthy of most anglers consideration. Two, it's simply too much trouble to fish it, kinda' sounds like what your describing. If that be the case, it could be well worth your time to pay it a visit, provided it is open to the public?

[Frank Ribble]

THANKS, FOR THE INFO THERE ARE SO MANY LAKES IN THE AREA I AM SUPRISED SOMEONE HAS FISHED THEM ALL. THAT IS IN ONE CITY, NOT COUNTY. TONS OF OPPORTUNITY. GOOD THING I CAN FISH MY WAY HOME FROM WORK 3RD SHIFT. HARD TO EVEN TELL WHAT ROADS MIGHT HAVE ACCESS TO THE LAKES. ONE HAS A FISHING PIER, WHICH SEEMS TO BE THE KISS OF DEATH WHERE ALL THE SMALL FISH CONGREGATE. MY ANSWER TO FISHING LAKES THAT HAVE STUNTED LAKES IS FISHING WITH 3 # 6 PRERIGGED HOOKS WITH A SMALL SINKER ON THE BOTTOM. SOMETIMES, I CAST IT OUT & REEL IT IN. EVEN IF THEY ARE SMALL, IT IS FUN TO CATCH 2 OR 3 AT A TIME. IT SEEMS TO HELP FIND A BIG GILL AMONG SMALLER ONES. USUALLY, I CATCH THE BIGGEST ONE ON THE BOTTOM HOOK.

[Walt Foreman]

As Tony mentioned, whether the weeds are algae, such as filamentous algae which many people call "moss," or watermeal or duckweed which grow on the surface, makes a big difference.  Algae isn't necessarily bad; watermeal and duckweed almost invariably are, and often cause total fishkills.  If you take a photo of the weeds, pretty close-up, I can probably tell you what they are.

As long as the bass or other predators have not been fished out, lakes with little to no fishing pressure often hold big bluegill.  I've even read articles by devoted bluegill fishermen up your way in which they state that's one of their primary criteria for choosing a lake to fish - they try to find the most remote, least-fished lakes they can. Less fishermen means the 'gills have a better shot at getting big.