The Division of Wildlife District 1 will be attempting to return as many muskies (and other sport fish) to the lake as possible, on July 18th and 19th when the Corps of Engineers dewaters the stilling basin for maintenance.

This effort will begin on Monday July 18th at 9:30 AM. To assist the DOW, you will have to sign a release form. They are bringing a big crew, but would be happy to see people willing to help haul the fish up the hill to the waiting tanks, and experienced muskie people at the ramp helping to revive and release struggling fish. Members and muskie enthusiasts alike are encourage to come out and help if you can.

I will attempt to post a series of emails I exchanged today with the biologist in charge of this effort. I've re-ordered the messages so you can read them top to bottom and they should answer any questions people have. I'm not sure how it will show pasted to the message board, but I'll give it a shot.

While this effort is a great thing, we all need to recognize the DOW can't run down there everytime some fish get out. I was really encouraged to hear the message Scott Hale from DOW delivered at our meeting last night regarding long term plans for study so that preventative measures can be proposed based on solid data. Everyone who attended heard me pledge the full support and assistance the chapter can give, but I would encourage everyone to understand that this study and any proposals that result will take time. There is no quick fix, so in the mean time let's be thankful they are doing what they can for this year's conditions.