A vital part of maintaining the health of our lake, the use of an aerator helps stabilize winter oxygen levels assuring the survival of most of our fishery. Joe Hubers coordinates the maintenance of the MLA owned aerator, the timing to turn it on and the installation and removal of safety fencing. We can always use volunteers to help on short notice.
20+ years ago the lake suffered several significant winter kills of our fish. Heavy snow and long winters affect the sunlight that keeps the plants growing. In time, the plants die off and they consume oxygen as they decompose. The MLA installed a large compressor aerator system that opens up a significant surface area to allow natural oxygen transfer into the water column. We have not had a significant winter kill since.
The area opened by the rising warmer water from the bottom can create open water up to 20 acres. Therefore, we must install a safety warning fence to encircle this area. Once started, the compressor must be run continuously until ice out. This is a significant expense for the MLA. Many property owners are adding various systems to maintain open water around their piers in the winter. Wisconsin law requires similar warning requirements whenever ice is removed by artificial means.
The MLA has been monitoring the water quality of the lake since 1990. The results of these tests are tracked over time. While the data may swing seasonally and year to year, the trends will be the early indicator of significant changes we want to be aware of.
At least four times a year we monitor the following
Water clarity is influenced by algae, wind, sunlight and boating activity. Typically, it varies from 2.5’ to 5’. This is the key indicator that most people observe.
Dissolved Oxygen and Temperature is checked at various depths. These indicators tell us where the lake is stratifying and the oxygen available for our fishery. Temperature and winds can affect these measurements.
Chlorophyll is a measure of algae and organic matter. Lab testing tells us these levels. This is a primary factor that people observe as the quality of the lake.
Phosphorous is the measure of the amount of nutrients in the water. This influences plant and algae growth. Lab results are trended over time. While the lake has a naturally high level, human use can influence these trends. Keep your septic in order, don’t use fertilizers and be aware of your prop wash stirring the sediment.
This is the main menu page for Lake reporting taken at the Deep Hole on Muskellunge Lake.
An MLA committee maintains contact with WDNR fishery managers. In most years the DNR does a brief electrofishing survey at night in the spring. Their primary purpose is to get a sampling of the fish population and diversity. They generally are looking for young of the year fish to get a sense of natural reproduction of our fishery. We are also advised when fish stocking occurs. In general, this stocking of walleye and musky was once many small young fry. Recently, this practice has changed to stocking larger fingerlings in lower quantities. This seems to improve the survival rate of the stocking efforts.
This link goes to the history of fish stocking in Muskellunge Lake. Search for Vilas County, Muskellunge Lake.
John Kurhajec reported that we can always use volunteers to help Clean Boats/ Clean Waters inspection / education efforts at the boat launch. If you have an interest in becoming an inspector, contact John at 262-930-0368.
John indicated we have not had a lot of volunteer activity. Few inspections have been conducted by residents recently. We need more participation. The supply chest is located behind the garage adjacent to the launch. It is a good way to spend a few hours helping the lake and perhaps meeting a few of your neighbors.
It is required that anyone doing CBCW inspections is properly trained. This link provides good information on the CBCW process as well as a link to On-Line training. We hope you can help.
Keeping new invasive species from finding their way to muskellunge lake is a priority for all of us. Prevention is the key. A new sign has been erected by the MLA at the landing to help guide this process.
Some good background and the importance of CBCW efforts are linked here.
These are the aquatic plants sampled from Muskellunge lake during our Point Intercept evaluations.
