Q: My husband and I are interested in doing some Florida camping where we could do some bank fishing. Do you know of any areas that would have this? I would also like to know the status of algal bloom in Florida's freshwater lakes. Thank you -- Karen Underwood

A: Well, Karen, it took me long enough, but I finally got some information for you.

The bank fishing part of your question wasn't hard. I would like to recommend Lake Kissimmee State Park and Myakka River State Park. Lake Kissimmee SP, near the city of Lake Wales, has the largest campsites I've ever camped on. And fishing is very popular here. You don't have to go out on the lake - you can fish from Zipprer Creek, which extends from the lake through the park. And also at Myakka River SP, near Sarasota, you can fish on the bank. (You can fish on the dike if it's not covered by water!) Camping at Myakka is nice, but don't go in the rainy season, or your campsite may be closed for the flooding.

Special note: In our spring 2000 issue, we detail Myakka River SP for several pages. We cover everything from camping to wildlife watching to renting canoes.

As far as algal bloom goes, there's the harder part. Many people are familiar with the red tide that appears in the Gulf of Mexico. In freshwater, however, the little annoying organism is similar, but a bit different, from what I understand.

The St. John's River Water Management District's algal bloom expert, John Burns, said these cyanobacteria blooms are a problem on the St. John's River, but "At this time, we are not aware of any human health problems associated with [them] or risks due to recreational exposure (such as fishing)."

And from the Southwest Florida Water Management District, Brian Nelson gives a lesson in aquatic life:

"Free-floating (planktonic) and attached (periphytic) algae species are common and very important components of both freshwater and marine habitats. Algae, along with plants, are primary producers. They are able to utilize sunlight to make food (photosynthsis) and are the basis of the food chain for all aquatic organisms from zooplankton to shrimp and crayfish to largemouth bass and seatrout.

"Water bodies are often classified based on their productivity or ability to grow aquatic plants and/or algae, which is based on the amount of nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus (fertilizer) in the water. Oligitrophic lakes have few nutrients. They are characterized by small amounts of plants and algae, clear water, and little sedimentation or muck on the bottom. Eutrophic lakes are characterized by high levels of nutrients, abundant plant and/or algae populations, green water, and lots of sediment or muck on the bottom.

"As lakes age, they become more eutrophic as nutrients from their watershed are washed into the lake. This is a natural process that takes place over thousands of years. However, the process can be greatly accelerated by storm water runoff, the discharge of sewage, excessive use of fertilizer and other man-induced alterations within their watersheds. This process is called cultural eutrophication. This process can also affect estuarine areas such as Tampa Bay.

"Excessive algal populations that are common on eutrophic waters are considered detrimental for numerous reasons. They reduce water clarity, shading out more beneficial submerged plants that provide necessary food and habitat for fish, waterfowl, manatees and other aquatic life. In extreme cases, excessive algal populations can reduce dissolved oxygen levels in the water to a point where fish kills occur. These occurrences where algae becomes super-abundant are often referred to as algae blooms.

"Cultural eutrophication has impacted many freshwater and estuarine waters within our district and throughout Florida. For this reason, the water management districts, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and other agencies have enacted educational, regulatory, restoration and protection programs to restore and protect water quality."

So it's a possibility that algal blooms could be a problem and affect the fish you're after, but there haven't been many documented cases of people getting sick from this.

Last year, the Centers for Disease Control issued this statement: "PEAS [possible estuary-associated syndrome] is not infectious and has not been associated with eating fish or shellfish caught in waters where pfiesteria has been found. However, persons should avoid areas with large numbers of diseased, dying, or dead fish and should promptly report the event to the state's environmental or natural resource agency."

PEAS symptoms include headache, skin rash, sensation of burning skin, eye irritation, upper respiratory irritation, muscle cramps, and gastrointestinal symptoms, the CDC said.

More than you wanted to know, huh?

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