It is a very clear lake. They have been stocking trout in it for at least 20 years, I have not personally noticed any change in clarity recently. If there is a situation like Square lake, why hasn’t there been any news about it?
Yes, it is a 2 story lake. There was a big ordeal a few years ago because the access was closed for several months when they found zebra mussels in it. I don’t know why the DNR stopped stocking it, but I do know the lake association has been pushing to make it a private lake. I have a lot of memories fishing this lake over the last 20 years, I am not going to be happy if the public access ever closes
Unfortunate, but I’m not surprised at all.
Lund said the information learned will help with future rapid response treatments and pilot projects
It seems to me the lesson learned from this is “once they are in a lake, you can’t stop them”…
Thanks Guys. I tried it both ways, the sugar definitely helps make them a little less strong. I think the other modification I will make next time is to rinse the salt brine from the fish after the first 24 hours of soaking(They say to drain it, but not rinse the filets). But all in all, they turned out good.
The camera works for me right now. Assuming it’s active all the time, it’s actually pretty cool. This way I will know if there are spots available before I even hook up my boat.
The parking lot situation is really getting ridiculous here. The last 2 times I have tried to launch here, all of the parking spots were full. When I went this weekend, there were 2 stalls with trailers, the trailers were small, probably for 12-14′ boats. All of the other stalls were filled with cars that did not have trailers. I asked the inspector if these cars were swimmers, and why there were so many of them. The inspector told me that all of the non-trailered cars came with the 2 small boats. Based on the size of these trailers, I can’t believe these boats were rated for more than 2-3 people each. Both tow vehicles were easily capable of holding 4-5 passengers, and they apparently got there right at 6am. I just can’t believe anyone would be this inconsiderate, unless the intention was to keep the public from using the lake. Of course, without a parking space, I couldn’t launch and see if there were as many people in these boats as there were cars parked at the launch. But regardless of whether this was an evil plot by homeowners or just a group of people meeting there to fish, what a bunch of jerks.
Sounds like you have too high of a pitch. I would start with putting a tach on if you don’t already have one. Your outboard probably has a max RPM of around 5000-6000rpm, look at the spec to see what it is. Now, measure your rpm at WOT with both minimum load and maximum load. Usually, going down in pitch by 1″ will raise your RPM by 200, as long as you are using the same kind of prop (In your case a 4 blade stainless).
One other thing you can do to get more RPM is to raise your outboard with a jack plate. The higher the prop is in the water, the less drag there is. This adjustment can make a huge difference.
I agree that the water clarity does not seem to be as good. The fishing has been different this year, I can’t say It was really worse or better, just that the fish were not as deep as they normally are. In addition to these treatments, we have had some odd weather the last 2 seasons. In 2014, it was still cold/snowing in may. This year, I launched my boat on March 31st!
Size is another issue, but I don’t think that’s directly related to the treatments. Over the last few years, the average size of the sunfish in xmas has really started going down. My theory has been that there are too many big ones being kept, so I always try to release bigger ones when I catch them and just eat more of the average sized fish.
As far as my catch rate this year, I saw slightly more crappies than usual, slightly less sunnies and only a few very small examples of other species like northern and bass.
The landing is different now too. The new ramp is less steep, which is probably a good thing. There is an entire parking spot dedicated to the decon machine, and another parking spot that is completely blocked with the concrete slabs from the old ramp. So there are 2 less parking spots for boat/trailer combos. The decon machine is now required for all wakeboard boats and any boat that is not dry. If you frequent this lake, they will give you a tag for your boat that lets you launch next time without an inspection, assuming you don’t break the tag by launching (it’s basically a zip tie that goes through your bow eye and trailer that will break when you launch). Despite feeling like you are in a sci fi movie and being quaranteened, the decon isn’t as big of a deal as it looks. As long as your boat is dry, and you aren’t coming from a zeeb infested lake, the inspection is a quick minute of your time. The only hassle at that point is getting stuck waiting behind another boat that is being decon’d, but I have only experienced that once.
Nice fish. I limited on rainbows like that with a friend a few years ago, and it was a blast. When the trout are on, they are on!
Hallelujah!!!!!!! It’s about time!!!!!
From what I have heard, Minneapolis area lakes currently have anywhere from 1-10 inches, in some cases this variation can be on the same lake/bay. Be careful going anywhere that doesnt have evidence of someone else being there first.
W….. T…… F……..
I got an email back from the DNR saying they would open the access for ice fishing, which made me happy. But now they are going to put icemelt into the water. This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Is the intent to get people’s trucks to fall through the ice so they can fine them to recoup the cost of the zebra mussel treatments?
I thought they killed all of the zebra mussels already. I am seriously considering just moving. Why pay higher taxes to live in an expensive area near a lake I can’t use?
Any news on this?
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:</div>
Lemme know when the lake dies, then I’ll tell the paper it’s time for a headlineBrilliant…Wow.
Well, considering Christmas lake’s access has been closed for almost 3 months, the lake is “dead” to anyone who wants to fish it.
Scouting out some more local lakes to fish since Medicine is still under construction, find out Lake Independence has its 3 rivers launch closed for Zeeb eradication until Nov.10 earliest.
Its now starting to PI$$ a guy off……………..
Tell me about it, the lake I normally fish (Christmas Lake) has been closed since August. These treatments are a waste of money. The boat inspections are inadequate and that is the real root of the problem.
Treating for Zebra mussels when there isn’t a good way to stop them from getting spread back into the lake again is like running an engine without ever changing the oil… It’s not cost effective since you end up replacing the engine every 10,000 miles when it blows up instead of just doing the maintenance and have it last for 200,000 miles.
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.
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/
I would like to give lake elmo a try for some fall fishing. Does anyone know what the surface temp is right now?
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:
You don’t fish the metro much do you? Indy Waconia white bear and bald eagle all had no wake as long or longer than Tonka. No wake had no effect on the spread of zeebs.
This isn’t the end of the world people it’s not a pandemic or the collapse of an ecosystem. Look at Lake Erie it’s had zeebs for more than 20 years and is widely regarded as the best walleye fishery in the world. Tonka has had them for 5-7 years and I haven’t seen the fishing effected at all. Adapt and change folks…
I don’t fish WBL, Waconia, or independence. But I do know that Xmas lake, which I fish all the time, had it’s no wake restriction lifted before tonka did. Add to that, the AIS inspectors at Xmas were not there at least 4 times that I went on weekends. I watched a huge wakeboard boat launch when I was leaving the lake, no inspector was there. This was during the time that Minnetonka was still restricted, and Xmas was not. Not saying that particular boat is the reason for the infestation, but there’s a good possibility that it was a lake minnetonka homeowner launching it there because they couldn’t use it on the lake they lived on, and that the boat was not properly decontaminated… and it puked those 5000 zeebs from its ballast tank. Certainly possible.
I agree that it’s going to be difficult to stop the spread of these things, but when my favorite lake’s access is closed and could potentially be poisoned with chemicals because of this, I have a hard time calmly saying “who cares, they will spread anyways”. I’m not going to repeat everything that has been said in the Xmas lake thread, and sure, I can go to another lake… but what happens when more and more lakes start getting closed because of homeowners associations and/or the DNR deciding that all of the fish in the lakes should be nuked to stop this, and then close public access permanently to stop it from happening again.
The sky may not be falling because the zebra mussels have gotten into a lake, but it can fall very easily if someone with more money/power than us makes an idiotic decision and gets their way.
It is a shame. I fish Waconia quite often. I am curious what other guys do to clean their boats after fishing. Just a hose down in the driveway, high pressure wash at the car wash? I’m assuming we all check for weeds when we pull out.
I always lift the tongue of my trailer up to get all water to the back of the boat, and remove all of it immediately with a sponge and/or shop vac. If I have been in a zeb infested lake, the boat gets hosed down. My boat is stored indoors in my garage, and is always kept in there for at least 5 days after drying before going to a different lake.
My boat has a channel in the keel that seems to catch all water under the floor and divert it to the back, but only if the tongue of the trailer is lifted up. However, not all boats are made like this. My previous boat was impossible to fully drain this way, you had to get in there with a sponge or vac and get in between all of the floor ribs, or tip it over.
UPDATE:
Lake Independence listed as INFESTED today
http://www.startribune.com/local/west/277675171.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y#continue
How many more this Fall????
I think the no wake restriction that was in effect this summer is probably the biggest cause of all of these infestations. The problem is that it was not consistent for all lakes. So people on a lake like Minnetonka that had the restriction still had somewhere else they could go at any given time. They should have made the restriction effective for ALL metro lakes. The people who likely spread this aren’t used to inspections, they just leave their boat tied up to their dock.
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!
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:
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?
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.
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.
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.
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?
