Carp Seining In Front of Norm's Hideaway

777 Lake Level at Landing near Fergie's

777 Lake Level at Mallwood

Doyle on wrong side of DNR veto

Racine Journal Times

...The DNR is no stranger to controversy. It has stepped up and faced the heat on numerous occasions on issues like the Crandon mine, Perrier’s proposal for commercial drilling of a central Wisconsin aquifer, deer-hunting policies and the distant proposal to cool a nuclear plant with the shallow waters of Lake Koshkonong.
_____________________________________

A nuclear plant near Lake Koshkonong?!?!?!

Hearings on rules affecting shoreland properties are a moment to take a stand, opponents say

WI State Journal

..But Phil Salkin, government affairs director for the Realtors Association of South Central Wisconsin, said property owners have said the mitigation costs could be as high as $25,000 for shoreland construction projects. He also questions the effect the regulations could have on property values and has called for an economic study, something the county says would be "unprecedented."

Devil's Lake cleaning up, thanks to an interesting bit of science

A good example of boots-on-the-ground data collection - not textbook analogies; which is exactly what RKLD has done from the beginning for Lake Koshkonong.

WI State Journal

...The pipe proved a simple and effective solution to a complicated problem — phosphorus, which had collected in the silt at the bottom of the lake and was the legacy of years of sewage running into the water from cottages, resorts and even a long-broken sewer main in the park. That phosphorus fed the growth of algal blooms which, in turn, served as a host for the snails that cause swimmer’s itch.

Near Norm's - Lake Level at 777.02

Tuesday, 11/10/09
East Lake Drive (near Norm's Hideaway)

Boat Ramp at

Norm's Hideaway

DNR abandons attempt to regulate within 1,000 feet of lakes

Lakeland Times

...Under the new proposal, property owners within 300 feet of the OHWM of any navigable water body could now cover 15 percent of their lot with impervious surfaces without any required mitigation and cover up to 30 percent with a recorded mitigation plan.

Gov. vetoes DNR secretary bill

Janesville Gazette

Lake Koshkonong has crested

Yesterday = 777.08 >>>>>  Inflow = 1,840 cfs
Today  = 777.06 >>>>>>> Inflow = 1,650 cfs

Weather forecast is unseasonably mild and dry this week.

Bass fishing is hot on Rock

From the Janesville Gazette (11.07.09)

The past 10 days have offered some of the best smallmouth bass action anyone can remember on Rock River. Unfortunately, few are out there to cash in on a bite that may set the bar for years to come.

Water temperatures tumbled here several weeks ago, falling right past numbers where bass feel compelled to feed heavily before slowing down for the winter. Although nights remain cool, water temperatures have actually rebounded several degrees to register nearly 50 on those rare sunny afternoons.

Smallmouth are attracted to the warmest water where food is easily available right now. They are congregating near shallow, rocky points in less than two feet of water—sometimes even shallower.

Tributary and drain tube entries near points are proving to be especially attractive to these fish, which are gorging primarily on minnows that call these small creeks home.

Not every point with a creek entry or drain tube is holding fish. Unproductive water can be eliminated with just a few casts of a yellow twister tail on a small jighead.

When you finally find fish, there will likely be a pile of them. Don’t go looking for other fish once you find the fish. Change the presentation slightly once action slows on the twister. Try other plastics. You can catch bass all day long with a lively fathead minnow suspended about 6 inches beneath a cork.

Because these fish are so vulnerable right now, specific locations of two Rock River honey holes can’t be provided. But this much can be said: If you probe every point and creek entry on the west side of the River between Afton and Beloit you’ll eventually find the fish.

When you do, please free these fighters—and don’t spill the beans to those folks who lack the gumption to go prospecting.

This bite will come to a screeching halt when water temperatures fall into the mid-40s. You can look for this to occur within a week or so. When this benchmark arrives, don’t put away the rod.

It’s walleye time!

Tailwaters at Indianford, Monterey and Beloit dams and similar spots above Lake Koshkonong are obvious places to start looking for walleyes. Water from the VFW down to the tip of Blackhawk Island above the lake is probably the most productive community spot on the entire Rock River.

The community aspect of this spot is not conducive to stringing a limit of fish. If you’re in a pack of a dozen boats and see one fish caught every 20 minutes this does not mean the action is fast and furious.

A better strategy is targeting the interface of slack water and faster water, commonly called a backeddy.

Since the Rock is a medium-sized river, backeddies are generally small, perhaps the size of an Olympic swimming pool, often smaller. It doesn’t take much time to probe such a spot with a jig and twister or jig and minnow combination.

There are dozens of potential walleye locations between Indianford and the Highway 14 bridge west of Janesville.

If you don’t know what a backeddy looks like, drive out to the Highway 14 bridge and look directly downstream from the concrete pilings that support the bridge.

See the quiet water between current plumes passing by on either side of the pilings? Those are backeddies.

If you’re wondering, Gee—could there be a walleye there?, The answer is yes.

But you will catch them only if you’re the first one to present a hook in such a way that the walleye living there can’t help chomping down.

Ted Peck, a certified Merchant Marine captain, is an outdoors columnist for The Janesville Gazette.

Lake Koshkonong at Buckhorn Supper Club = 777.05

Mallwood Shoreline at Lake Koshkonong level 777.05

Comment from a duck hunter on water level

Brian -
Today a longtime acquaintance of mine who had just been hunting on the "Lautz bay" hunting preserve and dammed-up private estuary established back in the dark ages of history.... shared some interesting information......He told me the water level is "just absolutely perfect, nobody can get on land without standing on private property, so no person can get to cover to hunt."

It seems the flood last year removed all the cattails in water and the balance of the vegetation is on walking supportable marsh base. So in my estimation this is likely to be the case over the whole lake in the marsh areas....... I asked, "Why not agree with the lake district to maintain the level where it is?"

He said they should!

Then expanded somewhat in that the summer is fine as well since the Lilies are so heavy in the summer nobody can get really close with a boat to fish or get ashore and upset the nesting activities.

XXX

Today Lake Koshkonong at 777.03

Anyone underwater?

Harbor Rec Marina at 776.98

White Crow Road Shoreline at 776.98

Comments re: DNR Winter Drawdown

Brian -
The draw down that starts on Oct. 15 makes for a dangerous mix as that is the timing that many pull their watercraft. This low level can make it dangerous and nearly impossible for some of us to get our boats out of the water. The ramps extend only so far and it becomes impossible to sink the trailers far enough to properly load our boats…Nov. 1st or beyond seems more reasonable…
Chip

Robotic Fish Can Swim, Maneuver, and Monitor Water Quality ::

Green Design and Manufacturing

“As air temperature increases, the lakes and reservoirs also heat up,” Litchman continued. “Increasing water temperature creates strong stratification within the various layers of the water and this may lead to increased growth of harmful algae. Some of these algal blooms create poor conditions for fish and exude toxins that also endanger people.”

Mother Nature does not support DNR Winter Drawdown

Lake level = 776.88 and rising

Nearly 1 1/2 feet ABOVE winter target.