By Annette Newcomb Editor
Weeds and dropping lake levels are what’s plaguing local fishermen and boaters these days.
Dan Roanhaus of the Twin Lakes Bait Shop, 108 Lance Drive, Twin Lakes, said Monday weeds are a big problem for fishermen locally.
“They’re catching a lot of fish, though. We sponsored the kid’s fishing during Libertyfest and the kids caught a lot of fish…the lake is really low though, it’s about 8 to 12 inches lower than usual,” he said.
Roanhouse, who is co-owner of Twin Lake Bait Shop with Beth Buri, said he was boating at the Delavan Inlet two weeks ago and his outboard hit bottom, “Something that has never happened before,” he noted.
The low lake levels in Twin Lakes should have all boaters enjoying the lake with an eye cocked for submerged hazards that are starting to surface.
Twin Lakes Police Chief Dale Racer said Monday the Water Patrol Supervisor will be marking some sand bars and rock beds and generally warning boaters to watch for low areas. He also said water patrol are also warning boaters as they launch to watch out for the low areas.
Lake Elizabeth spans 638 acres and has a maximum depth of 32 feet in places; the mean depth is 11 feet; Lake Marie encompasses 297 acres with a maximum depth of 33 feet; the mean depth is 9 feet.
Silver Lake Police Chief Dan Kingsley said the lake has been very busy, so much so that the Department of Natural Resources lent a hand over the pre-Fourth weekend to help with boat traffic.
“I spoke with my water patrol officer and he didn’t mention any problems with the lake levels,” Kingsley said.
Kingsley said a man came in Monday morning and requested permission to moor his pontoon off his pier because the man believed the water level would make it too hard to move the pontoon out into the lake. Kingsley said there haven’t been too many other complaints about the lake levels.
Powers Lake boaters are starting to moor further out into the lake as levels are getting shallow near the piers.
Brian Gates, owner of the Geneva Lake Bait and Tackle Shop on Highway 67, Delavan, said the lake and inlet are a little low but “not severe.”
“The big complaint for us are the weeds, they are really thick.” Delavan Lake covers 2,072 acres and has a maximum depth of 56 feet and mean depth of 21 feet.
Gates said the problem goes all the way back to last winter, when there wasn’t much snow and the ice covering came late and melted earlier.
“The sunlight got right in there and there wasn’t enough cold weather long enough to kill off the old weeds. The warm spring just set it off. The weeds are just heavy all over, he said.
Courtney Castelein has worked at LeatherLips on Wrigley Drive in Lake Geneva for three years and said she has noticed the water level has dropped on the lake.
“We keep our wave runners up on ramps and we are having a hard time hauling them up as far as we want, they just won’t come up because the water isn’t there.”
Castelein also said she has noticed the “scum line” showing on the bridge supports. The bridge is located next to the Chamber of Commerce in Lake Geneva on Wrigley Drive.
“Usually you don’t notice it. But by looking at it you can see the lake is down about three or four inches. It’s hard to see because of the waves coming in.”
Lake Geneva covers 5,262 acres with a maximum depth of 135 feet and a mean depth of 61 feet.
Fish kills
In Illinois, the Department of Natural Resources is warning that fish kills may occur due to the hot weather and lack of rain. None of the fishermen contacted for this article reported any evidence of fish kill as of press time.
Fish kills do occur naturally between July and September. The IDNR says small pond owners will see the largest fish in the pond go belly up, followed by bass, bluegill then to the smaller fish, as oxygen levels drop. While small ponds may be affected first, streams and large lakes can also be impacted.
A good soaking rain would be a welcome sight right now.