Christmas Lake in Shorewood Temporarily CLOSED!

@mplspug1
You out-of-staters always think you know what is best for our lakes.
DT

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

That white slurry looks real healthy for the lake.

Glad I’m not swimming/skiing in it.

deertracker wrote:

@mplspug1
You out-of-staters always think you know what is best for our lakes.
DT

Cuz we do! Can I get a high five Iowa and Wisconsin? …

Not sure if I’ll be able to get there right at 6. Hopefully they will let me in a few minutes late.

Anyone else going to be there?

I didn’t stay for the whole meeting…. But here is my assessment:

1. Based on what they said, the boat ramp could be open as early as 2 weeks from now. This gives them time to test the effectiveness of the treatment. If you look at it from the perspective of time since the treatment, and the fact that they are dredging and replacing the boat ramp at the same time, I think that’s fair. If it stays closed until ice-up, then we have an issue.

2. There were a few homeowners that clearly wanted the boat ramp closed, but most of them seemed to be more concerned with the effectiveness of the treatment and any side effects it might have on the lake.

3. The Zebra mussel expert (designer of zequanox) did not have a valid explanation for how 5000 zebra mussels that were “big enough that they were not born in this lake” got into such a small area. He mentioned it would take about 34 big pieces of milfoil from a trailer to get that many of them into the lake, but said it was “a mystery” how that many of them got into that small area of the lake without spreading.

4. It seems like some misinformation also exists among the homeowners. One of them thought that all boats entering the lake were being decontaminated with hot water before they were allow to launch. I’m sure most of them think there is always an inspector present.

5. One homeowner brought up a very valid point about ballast tanks in wakeboard boats, and asked why wakeboard boats were allowed to launch there when it was impossible to verify that their ballast tanks had been fully drained/decontaminated. The response from the presenter was ridiculous. He basically said that there was no answer as to how many zebra mussels could be inside a ballast tank, and that they could not confirm or deny that zebra mussels could be spread that way. He then said he knew everyone there was concerned about two things: “How did this happen and how can we prevent it from happening again?” He quickly followed those rhetorical questions by saying that we were not in this meeting to discuss those questions. I left right after he said that. I was tempted to say something about the lack of inspections, but after hearing that I realized that the meeting was a complete waste of time. It seemed like the purpose of the meeting was to sell the homeowners on zequanox more than anything.

Got a report Friday, 9-19-14 that the MnDNR Diver’s were there checking it out following the Zequanox Treatment.

More Juvenile Zebra Mussels were found outside the Barrier that had been setup. The Diver speaking to my friend stated they (MnDNR) now believes there was an Adult Pair of Zebra Mussels in the Riprap near the access that made it through last winter and bred this year resulting in the large number of Juvenile Zebra Mussels within the Riprap. The divers were scouring the whole bay checking for more on docks, were, rocks, etc.

A Newspaper Reporter was notified and said they would head over to get a report and check it out. It will also be interesting to see if the MnDNR makes an official public report and publishes the Facts of their divers report.

We’ll have to see how this ends up. IMO, it does not look good and would be a waste of time spending any more money on Preventive Treatments or keeping the access closed any longer than absolutely necessary to dredge out and replace the riprap and install the new access concrete pads. Dumping any more chemicals &/or Zequanox Treatments will only slightly slow the spread of the Zebra Mussels and within the next 2-years we’ll see them covering every dock and lift on this beautiful lake.

IMO, overall from the meeting, my impression of the meeting is that the Majority of the Lakeshore Owners just want to keep the access closed and their own private lake.

But, that being said, this (Christmas Lake) is a Public Lake and thus the access should be rebuilt asap and reopened.

http://www.tout.com/m/c7fdhh

Video report from the Chanhassen Villager, after speaking with the diver’s from the MnDNR at Christmas Lake.

Was that video taken down? I don’t see anything about Christmas lake on that site.

In other news, the homeowners are apparently constructing their own boat ramp on private land now:

http://www.christmaslake.org/news/CLHA%20boat%20out%20inst.pdf

This is really going to be a tragedy if the public access is not re-opened. I have a lot of memories fishing on this lake, the last time I took my grandfather fishing before he passed away was on Christmas lake. This is the first lake I took my son fishing on, he’s only 4 right now so I was looking forward to this lake being a part of his childhood as he grows up. I probably use this lake for more hours than most of the homeowners who own lakeshore on it.

Found the video, It’s buried under others… you need to scroll down in the list of videos on that page. Too bad it doesn’t actually have an interview with a diver, but at least it’s something.

More official news confirming Carroll’s info…

http://www.startribune.com/local/277112961.html

http://kstp.com/news/stories/S3571422.shtml

So far, they have found 25 zebra mussels outside the containment area, which is certainly better than 5000. The treatment inside the area apparently worked… But the lake is still infested, and the boat ramp is still closed because they want to expand the treatment area and treat it again. And even though the zequanox supposedly worked, they are going to treat again with something else(probably copper sulfate?) I’d love to hear an explanation of why zequanox is not effective when the water is colder?

Not looking like I will be able to go fishing on this lake again in 2014. Anyone have any recommendations for fall trout lakes?

Trouten wrote:

Not looking like I will be able to go fishing on this lake again in 2014. Anyone have any recommendations for fall trout lakes?

How about Courthouse Lake, behind the Carver County Gov’t Center in Chaska.
Can’t boat but I used to see guys shore fishing around it

I’ve heard courthouse lake is basically fished out right after both spring and winter opener, but I’ve never fished it before. There is also Little long, which gets very little stocking attention. I have not had success on Little Long, however I don’t have near as many hours in on it as I do on Christmas.

Back to the original topic, I was under the assumption that the potash treatment to follow up zequqnox was already approved at the meeting. Guess not:

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/277144471.html

Trouten wrote:

{clipped}
Back to the original topic, I was under the assumption that the potash treatment to follow up zequqnox was already approved at the meeting. Guess not:

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/277144471.html

No other Chemical Treatment has been approved.
They have to get EPA Approval to use Potash as a treatment option.
They have applied for Emergency Use Permits and urged the owners and others to call their Senators and Congressmen to support this use.

That said, and knowing that you can buy a 40#-50# bag of Potash (Potassium Chloride) at Menards, Home Depot etc for under $10, I would not put it past someone to dump this in around their own docks or the access area.

I strongly oppose this as the Environmental Repercussions are unknown, other than it will kill Native Mussels, Plants and Fish, etc. Seems as though the Christmas Lake folks don’t care as I’ve heard different reports that it had been stated in the past that their (the Lakeshore Owners) plan was to “Kill Off EVERYTHING in the Lake and start over”. I’m looking to try and find the article and will post when I find it.

Problem being, if they do this, what happen to Minnetonka when this all start to flow/drain into Minnetonka? How much damage, How many fish & plants would be killed and on how large of an area would this occur? What will even a little of this do to the Trout in the lake?

Yes, Zequanox killed off according to reports 100% of Zebra Mussels in the Treated Area. Well, of course, when use at the concentrations used to deplete 100% of Oxygen in the water in that area, virtually everything there was killed, as nothing lives without Oxygen!

Even though they’ve found & removed 25 Zebra Mussels from outside the barrier, now they are going to extend the barrier, if and when they find enough material. What I don’t get is they just don’t give up and use common sense and stated they are there to stay. How can they believe that the Veligers did not get pushed/transported further out into the lake? IMO, they must all have the song “The END of the WORLD as we Know IT!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0GFRcFm-aY running through their heads. on replay.

IMO, I can only surmise that there is only ONE AGENDA ITEM for the Lakeshore Owners of Christmas Lake, “Remove the Public Access” and make this Lake Private once and for all, that is their plan and they will stop at nothing to accomplish that goal!.

Now, onto other thing with the announcement that Lake Waconia & White Bear Lake have both been designated as Infested with Zebra Mussels.

http://www.swnewsmedia.com/chanhassen_villager/news/local/article_63784cbf-d951-599c-8fbb-e360a140c086.html

I have been fishing Christmas at least once a month for 10 years.

let’s face it the homeowners wanted the ramp closed, now they have it. But look at what they have to deal with now. They have to build their own launch on private land (I would love to be the guy that owns that land. think how much I could charge all the millionaire homeowners to launch their bots) and schedule when people take their boats, docks and lifts out. Have you ever watched a person that launches their boat twice a year do it? It’s comical for the first half hour, then you just get annoyed watching them fail. By the way are AIS inspectors going to be on sight to inspect the homeowners at their private ramp?

AIS inspections were a joke at best at the public ramp. My fishing buddy was still pulling weeds off my trail AFTER the inspector said we looked good. They checked my 30 gallon live-well 1 time out of 3 or 4 dozen times we launched at the ramp. I agree we need to be more careful about aquatic hitchhikers, and I make sure I do my part, but why have inspectors that don’t do their job correctly.

Was Zequanox effective, YES (GREAT NEWS!), but Zequanox at this moment is not the answer. The cost to treat the littoral area of Christmas in product alone, based on the volume and cost of the product used in the area they already treated would be $281,435,000, yes that’s over a quarter BILLION dollars (How much of that are the homeowners going to pitch in?). But also note that the littoral area goes to a depth of 15 feet and zebra mussels can live to a depth of 33-45 feet.

Christmas lake is a great lake, and I have met some very nice homeowners that have given us great fishing tips. We all have to do are part to ensure Christmas lake is open for years to come.

jeff belsheim wrote:

I agree we need to be more careful about aquatic hitchhikers, and I make sure I do my part, but why have inspectors that don’t do their job correctly.

+1000
The inspections need to be more thorough to be effective, and most of all the inspectors need to actually show up during the hours that the ramp is open!

Video coverage of the homeowner’s temporary boat ramp, and the article also states that Christmas lake’s public access is officially closed for the rest of the 2014 open water season:

http://kstp.com/article/stories/s3580345.shtml

Didnt notice the decontamination station at that temporary landing. Thats right. Lake shore owners do not transport AIS.

If the video is correct, the boats shown pulled out didn’t stop to look for weeds or ZEEBS from a KNOWN lake that contains Zeebs.

Since the plug law assumes I’m going to carry water and ais, shouldn’t we assume they are transporting zeebs?

Remember, whether the boats are going into storage or not, it’s an offense to transport AIS.

I didn’t see any plugs pulled either.

I’m sure with this cold weather all the decontamination stations are being use at other, more important lakes. LOL!

I can’t make this stuff up.

These rules are here to stay. People might as well belly up and take control over their own equipment. The sooner the status quo of fishing boaters goes according to the rules, the sooner these lake associations will realize that they are the only factor left in the ais wars.

Potash still not approved, so they are going to put copper sulfate in.

http://lakerpioneer.com/2014/10/20/christmas-lakes-fight-against-zebra-mussels-continues/

“But the good news for Christmas Lake is Zequanox worked where it was applied; additional treatment is only needed in the expanded area.”

Good thing the expanded area is only 265 acres, and at $3 per square foot, that’s only $34 million dollars to treat the expanded area….

Why havent the lake association ponied up the cash yet? $34 million too much for a clean lake?

Why should they pay when they aren’t responsible? The public using the public access is to blame.

All they really want is a private lake anyway.

biggill wrote:

Why should they pay when they aren’t responsible? The public using the public access is to blame.

All they really want is a private lake anyway.

You just don’t get it

Well, doesn’t it make obvious sense?

Close the lake so that no more zeebs can get in. Any more zeebs in the lake could become a problem.

Or maybe if the close the landing, the zeebs won’t be distributed throughout the lake and only be confined to the public access area.

Your tongue in cheek is pretty dry.

I think we close the access in December so the lakeshore owners cannot use the lake next year.

F’ em.

I am curious to see what happens….
1. When the lake freezes over. There is absolutely zero reason that the access remain closed for ice fishing.
2. In the spring if the boat ramp is still closed. The lakeshore owners now have a private ramp that they used to remove their boats. Are they going to sneak their boats in that way?
3. With Trout stocking. If the boat ramp is re-opened in the spring, and it is determined that the zeebs are here to stay, is the DNR going to keep stocking this lake with trout? I know of at least one other lake with zebra mussels that gets trout stocked (Big Watab), so I sure hope the excessive money they are spending trying to fight zeebs doesn’t ruin the stocking program.

Trouten wrote:

3. With Trout stocking. If the boat ramp is re-opened in the spring, and it is determined that the zeebs are here to stay, is the DNR going to keep stocking this lake with trout? I know of at least one other lake with zebra mussels that gets trout stocked (Big Watab), so I sure hope the excessive money they are spending trying to fight zeebs doesn’t ruin the stocking program.

If the access is reopened I would imagine that they will continue stocking.

If the access is not open it’s against the law for the DNR to stock fish in the lake.

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=97C.201

See latest update in a New Post:
http://www.in-depthoutdoors.com/community/forums/topic/christmas-lake-update-ice-fishing-access/