Panoramics

A few photos from 2012. Click to enlarge

West Shore Lotus Bed

Northwest Shore

Emergent Planting

Eurasian Water-milfoil

Emergent Planting Report

The emergent planting is a success going into winter.  We will now have to wait and see how they handle ice, snow, muskrats and the high water of spring.   We will lose some plants, but overall they are looking good as the lake freezes.  A report is available with many photos of the plantings.  Click REPORT to see it.

Site 2a the most successful planting so far.  

November 15, 2012 Water Monitoring Report

Last one for the year!  Unfortunately I ran out of time to go up river.  However, the river upstream of Puckaway was very clear as usual, and the Secchi disk was visible sitting on the bottom to of the inlet.  The big difference on this day was the water clarity in the West Basin, which was the second best of the year for that location.

October 21, 2012 Water Monitoring Report

Temperature of the lake today was about 48-50 degrees, no wonder turtles are still sunning themselves in the fall sunshine.  With recent rains water levels are back up, and all the plants we established look good standing in the water.

Secchi disk was still visible on the bottom of Fox River Inlet

October 2, 2012 Water Monitoring Report

Not to much new to report, most of the plants are dormant, or soon will be for the season. There were a number of diving ducks bobbing up and down in the West Basin, and hundreds of coots in East Basin.  Even though the water is no longer that green, algae is still abundant.  It is not as noticeable at first because the green and blue-green algae we see in the summer is now uncommon.  They have largely been replaced by the golden-brown algae (diatoms).  The current algae bloom happens to be the diatom Melosira granulata as seen in the photograph below.

Secchi disk was visible on the lake bottom at Fox R. Inlet.  

September 25, 2012 Water Monitoring Report

Water was ridiculously clear on the Fox River upstream of Puckaway.  With an almost complete lack of wind and bright cloudless sky I took the opportunity to fish watch along the Northern bank of the river.  I saw hundreds of bluegills, but only a few fit for the frying pan.  Lurking on the bottom was a beat up flathead catfish about 26", and several channel cats in the 18" range.  I also saw two dozen largemouth bass, two legal, and a dozen of their smallmouth cousins, the largest of which were 10"  There were thousands of baitfish, and two northern pick lurking in ambush for them.  No trophies along the shore, but it is nice to see them and make me wish I could have brought a fishing pole.

This Saturday is the duck opener, and  there is at least one large raft of coots, or as members of my family call them, mudhens, checking out the west shore.  I didn't go into much of the vegetated areas of the lake, so there could be many more coots and ducks tucked away here and there.  Good luck on Saturday!

Fox R Inlet and Deep Hole, could not be accurately measured because the Secchi disk was clearly visible on the bottom at both sites.  I would estimate that clarity at the Deep Hole was really 13-15 feet.

September 18, 2012 Water Monitoring Report

A cold September day on the lake and river, but if the fox squirrel I encountered swimming down the  middle of the Fox River can't complain than neither will I.  Water temperatures were 57.7 - 61.8 degrees. Water clarity is slightly better on the lake, and decreasing on the river.  The decrease on the river is expected, because the last reading was the best out of two years of monitoring, vegetation is breaking up in the lakes and rivers this time of year, and we should expect a little debris from Buffalo Lake in the river.  

Secchi disk was visible resting on the lake bottom at Fox R. Inlet.