AbstractDensities of bacterioplankton and phytoplankton were studied in relation to water retention time, temperature, nutrient concentrations, and other variables in a eutrophic montane reservoir (Bluestone Lake, West Virginia, U.S.A.). Weak temperature stratification occurred occasionally during the summer, but the reservoir did not become anaerobic. Water retention times were short (3.9 to 9.7 days between June and December), and differences in flushing rate within that range were important in regulating phytoplankton populations. Green algae and planktonic diatoms were dominant in summer during periods when water residence times were shorter. The occurrence of blue‐green algal blooms in fall was related to increased water residence times. Retention time was highly correlated with the percent composition of phytoplankton represented byAnabaenaspp. andMicrocystissp. (r=0.898,p<0.001). Advective effects limited phytoplankton biomass when retention time was shortest, but were not as important when retention times were longer. Peaks in bacterial densities often coincided with decreases in viable algal cell densities, so bacterioplankton were less directly related to retention tim