Clear in spring and green by late summer, algae blooms are an annual occurrence throughout the north - most common to the highly fertile and vegetation-rich flowages, drainage lakes, and eutrophic lakes. And although its stench and green color can be gross, blooms can create advantageous opportunities for the finest bass fishing of summer. In recent years blooms have intensified across the Northwoods and occurring with more frequency. A combination of natural and man-made events triggers them. Warming water temperatures in combination of heat and intense sunlight accelerate algae cell growth. Calm winds enable algae to photosynthesize and produce even greater. And local nutrient runoff through inflows and shoreline property owners entering the system – phosphorus and nitrates – feeds the rapidly growing algae. It can be nasty to be on lakes that are blooming. Many anglers look at these conditions and immediately talk themselves out of fishing them. But if you are on the right fisheries, find the right spots, and fish properly, blooms can produce the summer’s most consistent largemouth fishing. Blooms are an annual occurrence from late July through Augus