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TURNING EAGLE LAKE INTO A FISH
TANK
by
L.A. Van Veghel,
WCSFO, Secretary & Media Director &
Wisconsin Fishing Club, Media Director
I
have been fighting against the humongous proposed minimum size
limits being pushed for on Eagle Lake, Racine Cty., because they are
set so high that male largemouth bass almost never reach 22-inches
and male pike never reach 40-inches.
I got this info from Randy Schumacher who is currently in
charge of the SE Wisconsin inland waters and the lower portion of
Lake Michigan. Also,
Mike Staggs, the head of the state’s fisheries told me that male
pike never reach 40-inches. Both
Schumacher and Staggs said that male pike die at around 32-inches.
In effect, I believe PETA is behind these larger than
life minimum size limits, and that many of the new wave of fisheries
biologists are fish tank keepers and not pro-sport angling.
Also, all
of the aquatic plants in Eagle Lake were killed off, and this
left the panfish who were already stunted due to a lack of food
without any aquatic insects to feed on.
These are the insects who travel up the plant stems as they
“evolve” into winged insects.
Plus, the 8- to 10-inch perch we caught a week after the weed
poisoning tasted like weed poison.
Thousands of crappies died after the poisoning.
This is news the newspapers are AFRAID to print.
Note, Doug’s use of “slow
growing” for the panfish is one of those politically correct
terms. They are STUNTED
due to lack of high protein food to let them grow naturally.
In
fairness, here’s Doug Welch’s response to my email.
Hello
Larry,
Sorry
for the delay in responding to your E-mail. I've been on vacation
and am still catching up.
Thank you for attending the June 8 public meeting held by the
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) to discuss fish
management and water quality for Eagle Lake.
Aquatic plant treatments are permitted and monitored by WDNR water
quality staff. A private contractor treated a 100 acre area of Eagle
lake with the herbicide 2-4-D on April 26 to control the exotic
eurasion water milfoil. A followup visit by WDNR water quality staff
confirmed that the treatment was effective in controlling milfoil
2-4-D targets milfoil and does not harm native aquatic plants. One
small additional herbicide treatment occurred on June 14 on the east
side of the lake. For future herbicide applications and specific
information about herbicides, please contact our water quality
biologist, Craig Helker, at 262-884-2357.
Aquatic plant abundance is down in the lake this year. The herbicide
treatment was effective in knocking down the milfoil in the areas
treated. The lack of milfoil in the nontreated areas is open to
speculation. Eagle Lake did experience a significant decline in
milfoil one year in the late 1990's. This is consistent with reports
of natural dieoffs of milfoil in other lakes. Eurasion water milfoil
has historically exhibited cyclic growth patterns on other lakes,
where the plant is extremely abundant for a few years and then
suddenly crashes. This may be the reason for the extremely low
density of the plant in Eagle Lake this year. Hopefully, future
herbicide treatments, if needed, will continue to suppress this
undesirable plant. Native plants currently growing in the lake
include chara, lilly pads, sago pondweed, elodea, and crows foot. It
may take a while for these natives to fill in behind the millfoil
which has dominated the plant community and squeezed out the
desirable plants. Growth of native plants will provide habitat for
the aquatic stages of insects and other invertebrates that will in
turn provide food for the fish.
Eagle Lake did experience a crappie dieoff this spring. The
herbicides used on Eagle Lake are certified for aquatic use and if
used properly will not harm fish. Eagle Lake experienced a similar
crappie dieoff a few years ago. At the time crappie numbers were
very high. High crappie densities, warm water temperatures, and
increased bacteria levels combined to kill many surplus crappies.
This phenomenon is common in nature and is nature's way of thinning
an overabundant population. The most recent crappie dieoff is likely
due to the same factors.
Yes, Eagle Lake is a shallow, fertile lake high in nutrients.
Managing for fishing and water quality in fertile lakes like Eagle
Lake is by no means straight forward. An Eagle Lake Management Plan
has been written that discusses a multi-pronged management approach
for the lake. Our management approach needs to be different than on
most of the other lakes in Racine, Kenosha, and Walworth Counties
where nutrient levels are lower and water quality is better.
Restoration of the fish community and water quality is going to take
a concerted effort by the WDNR, lake property owners, anglers, and
the general public. Our fish rehabilitation project on Eagle Lake in
1991 was successful in terms of providing anglers with excellent
fishing opportunities, excellent water quality, a diverse native
plant community, and control of carp As you know, fishing and water
quality have declined over the last several years in spite of our
fish stocking efforts. The fish community is dominated by abundant,
slow growing panfish. Gamefish numbers are down, the plant community
is now dominated by eurasion water milfoil, and water quality is
poor.
Improving the situation on Eagle Lake will require management of all
its major components (fish, plants, and water quality) through
cooperation between the Eagle Lake Management District, Dover
Township, anglers, the general public, and the WDNR. My goals for
the fishery are to: 1. Re-establish a bluegill population that is
comprised of more fish bigger than 6 inches 2. improve natural
recruitment of largemouth bass and increase the number of big bass
and 3. Increase size and numbers of northern pike. Attainment of
these goals should provide excellent fishing and water quality
through biomanipulation. Biomanipulation involves the interaction of
aquatic plants and animals to maintain healthy fish populations,
good water quality, and diverse plant communities. For
biomanipulation to work in Eagle Lake, zooplankton (microscopic
aquatic animals) densities must by high. Because zooplankton,
especially Cladocerans, feed on phytoplankton (microscopic aquatic
plants), high Cladoceran densities will help control phytoplankton
and thus reduce the severity of algae blooms. Fewer algae blooms
mean better water quality. To encourage high zooplankton densities
we need to reduce the number of young, small panfish that feed on
the zooplankton, and promote high numbers of large, old gamefish
like bass and northern pike. In order to create and maintain an
abundant predator fish population we need to protect bass and
northern pike from harvest. Conservative fishing regulations must be
used to limit gamefish harvest. That is why I am recommending that
future fishing regulations include a 22 inch minimum size limit and
1 daily bag limit on bass, and a 40 inch minimum size limit and 1
daily bag limit on northern pike. The angler must release most of
the bass and northern pike he catches in order to do his part in
restoring the fish community and water quality in Eagle Lake.
I believe biomanipulation of Eagle Lake will be successful if
everyone does their part. Anglers have historically been at the
forefront of efforts to protect and enhance aquatic ecosystems and
the fish communities that inhabit them, and I believe that they will
continue to do that by supporting the proposed Eagle Lake fishing
regulations and management plan. WDNR, for its part, must implement
and enforce the proposed fishing regulations, implement the fish
salvage and rotenone treatment, implement a biologically sound fish
stocking program, regularly monitor the condition of the fish
community, and designate sensitive areas. Eagle Lake property
owners, the Eagle Lake Management District, and the Town of Dover
must do whatever is necessary to ensure that the improved water
quality that will be created through biomanipulation will be
maintained. That means boating ordinances that promote good water
quality (expanded no wake zones, expanded no skiing hours,
designating the lake as a no wake lake), ordinances requiring the
use of non-phoshorus lawn fertilizers, and appropriate use of
herbicides. The general public can do their part by following the
local ordinances.
I will keep you informed regarding fish management activities for
Eagle Lake. As mentioned above, I suggest you contact Craig for
information on aquatic plant management activities.
Sincerely,
P Douglas E. Welch
Senior Fisheries Biologist
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Sturtevant Sevice Center
9531 Rayne Road, Suite 4
Sturtevant, WI 53177
(()
phone: (262)884-2364
(()
fax: (262)884-2307
(+)
e-mail: Douglas.Welch@dnr.state.wi.us
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