Keeping the bass lake clean paying off

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Left, Mike Morris, former Lycoming College student holds the Blob, a Bryzoan found in a lake. Above, Bryozoan and top, freshwater jellyfish.

A popular bass fishery, Rose Valley Lake is renowned for its suitable fish habitat - and members of its watershed organization are helping keep it that way.

Mel Zimmerman, a Lycoming College biology professor and director of the college's Clean Water Institute, said he and his students work with the Rose Valley Lake-Mill Creek Watershed Association to help ensure suitable water quality and habitat.

Water chemistry and plankton analysis are key to the sampling, according to Zimmerman, who also is a member of the watershed association.

Rose Valley Lake, which is considered a bass fishery, has a nice mixture of other fish. Zimmerman said there's everything from small fish that eat algae and microanimals, up to the top predators on the freshwater food chain.

"The lake is a very healthy lake," Zimmerman said. "It's a nice system." He said its water pH is neutral.

The lake's nutrient level is intermediate, where it should be, according to Zimmerman.

A swampy area provides habitat for fish to congregate and nest, and Zimmerman said the lake stays cool. It even offers a good ice fishing opportunity.

Daphnia magna, one of the largest zooplankton in North America, typically blooms in the spring. Zimmerman said there's a nice population of Daphnia magna, which is considered a microorganism, but can be seen with the naked eye.

Zimmerman has sometimes seen small jellyfish, the size of a thumbnail. He said they don't present an electrifying hazard.

Based on its appearance, some lake visitors call bryzoan "the blob," Zimmerman said. Masses usually float to the surface in fall and drift to the shore.

Although Rose Valley Lake is ecologically sound, Zimmerman said there still is some room for improvement.

More vegetation and riparian buffers are needed. "It helps species that use the edges," he said.

Members of the watershed group work with Zimmerman to keep the lake pristine.

"As an organization, we're wanting to keep the water as pure as it is so it accommodates all the fish, including the bass," said Virgil Probasco, president of the Rose Valley-Mill Creek Watershed Association. "We spend a lot of time and effort cleaning up there and, unfortunately, a lot of time cleaning up after other fishermen."

Probasco said the watershed group strives to keep the water pure by working with Zimmerman and his students to test the water quality.

"The lake is in beautiful shape right now as far as water quality," Probasco said.

Another member of the watershed association, Jerry Zeidler of Montoursville, fishes for bass in Rose Valley Lake.

"It's close to home," he said.

But, that's not the only place he fishes. Zeidler could be found fishing just about anywhere when bass season opens Saturday.

"I favor fishing when a lot of other people aren't," he said. "I could be at a private pond somewhere."

Although he said he enjoys fishing for bass for the good fight they put up, Zeidler may not even be fishing for them on opening day. "On that day, maybe I'll fish for catfish somewhere," he said.

One of his favorite memories of Rose Valley Lake fishing occurred several years ago when he and his son each caught a bass within 15 feet of each other, within a 10-minute span.

Rose Valley is "a very healthy lake" that also supports muskellunge, perch, catfish, bluegills and walleyes, Zeidler said.

Lately, he has been pleased to hear about anglers hauling in 20-inch smallmouth from the Susquehanna River. He just hopes they throw them back, because the harvest season hasn't started.

About 10 years ago, Zeidler said he pulled a hefty smallmouth weighing more than 6 pounds from the river, near Montoursville.

When he's bass fishing, Zeidler's likely to be using artificial topwater lures and barbless hooks.

He tends to stay away from live bait, he said, as bass tend to swallow it and injure their gullets.