Catfish Lake News - Eagle River, WI

Cougar Siting

northwoodsdeals — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 02:44:10 +0000

Some documentation that it was not very far away. Folks in Boulder Junction have also caught it on trail cams.

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/outdoors/130031863.html

Cougar Siting – Catfish Lake Road

northwoodsdeals — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:18:36 +0000

Many Northwoods residents have made claims to seeing a large wild cat. The DNR has reluctantly admitted that there might be some truth. The Northwoods has many bobcat but these cats are pretty small. They are an integral part of the Northwoods ecosystem as they are third largest predator of deer (coyotes are 1 and wolves are 2). Lois Derrick’s relatives spotted the cougar 2 weeks ago near Catfish Lake Road.

In other news, there is about 16″ of ice and there is an ice fishing tournament at Braywood this weekend. I hope all can make it! It should be fun.

It has been a warm winter but we still have lots of snow and ice. The trails are very good except where the sun can hit them during the day. However, we got 2″ yesterday and expect another 2″ to 4″ Thursday. A big storm is bearing down on us for Sunday so the trails should be fabulous!!

Ice On

northwoodsdeals — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 04:43:53 +0000

Catfish Lake actually froze up November 21. However, we had such a warm Thanksgiving week that it opened up again! Warm weather just cannot stick around long this time of year and the lake refroze on November 28. We then got a lot of snow on December 3 (6″). The quality of ice could remain poor because of the insulating quality of snow. That will affect ice fishing ans snowmobiling for some time. Not the best of news for winter enthusiasts.

Ice Status

northwoodsdeals — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:17:42 +0000

The lake water temperature has dipped below 36 degrees. The air temperature the last few mornings has been in the mid teens. Ice has formed on the shorelines but the wind has been too strong to freeze up the lake. I suspect that we will be iced up over the weekend. The smaller lakes have frozen up.

Eagle River Chain of Lakes Association meeting

northwoodsdeals — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:45:10 +0000

Here is the report from Catfish Lake Association, Lois Derrick.

Last night I attended the annual presentation by Onterra who does the surveys & management of the milfoil treatments on our Chain. Next year will be the 5th year that we have received DNR grants to help with the cost of the treatment plus the 25% the municipalities contribute. The DNR grant pays 50%. Eddie Heath from Onterra gave the report. When they were hired in 2007, they found 278 acres of milfoil on the chain. They only found 93 acres in 2011 & have identified 38 acres to be treated in 2012. Catfish Lake alone had 71.4 acres treated in 2010, 11.8 acres in 2011 & they have marked only 6.2 acres for 2012. No milfoil was found on two of the lakes. Ideally, what happens is that the native weeds take over where the milfoil was & crowds it out. That happend on the west end of our lake after we aggressively treated the milfoil in 2002 & 2004. We were reminded that we should not become too complacent but must be vigilant so the milfoil doesn’t flourish again. I want to thank all of you who have faithfully paid your dues & donated to the milfoil control. We only received dues from 132 members this year from a potential of 200 members & 300 total property owners. Just want to remind you that I send out the Catfish newsletter in April with the request for payment of dues. ERCLA sends newsletters in Jan. & mid summer requesting dues for their organization. They do good work for our Chain. They sponsor the interns who have been monitoring the boats at the boat landings, they had boat safety cards printed last year to be handed out at marinas & resorts, they arranged for trash pickup by Eagle Waste at the boat landings & they will be instrumental in pursuing a Lake District for the Chain. So you might want to support them as well. We had our first significant snowfall a couple of days ago. I am one of the few property owners who will spend the winter on Catfish Lake.

Catfish Lake Update – November 9, 2011

northwoodsdeals — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 03:29:26 +0000

The first significant snowfall of the season. Eagle River only has gotten about 4″ of heavy wet snow. Rhinelander, 26 miles to the south has already gotten 11″. The lakes are still open (even small lakes are still open). Temperatures in the 40′s are expected this weekend so the snow won’t be around long.

Catfish Lake Turnover

northwoodsdeals — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 17:07:36 +0000

It appears that turnover is over. Water clarity is back to 3-4 feet.

For those of you unfamiliar with turnover, it happens when the surface water temperature cools off to below the temperature of the deeper water. This causes the warmer water to rise to the surface and forces the cooler water deepr. This phenomena is known as turnover and the fish have a tendency to become idle during this time. Water clarity is greatly reduced during this time as well.

Catfish Lake October 25, 2011

northwoodsdeals — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:58:16 +0000

The water temp is down to 42 chilly degrees. The wind is raw as the air temp is 35 degrees. It is snowing and soon the loons will be gone. The pier is out, the boat is snug in its shed for a long winter’s nap. I am certain that there are “wall hangar” muskies out there and this is the time to boat them. I simply am not robust enough to go out in this weather.

Eagle River Chain of Lakes Water Quality Pledge

northwoodsdeals — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:52:34 +0000

Native Plant Protection Pledge

Catfish Lake Association Meeting Minutes 2011

northwoodsdeals — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:50:25 +0000

CATFISHLAKEASSOCIATION

MINUTES OF ANNUAL MEETING

JUNE 25, 2011

President, Lois Derrick, opened the meeting at 9 A.M. There were 33 members in attendance. Dave Shuh motioned to accept the minutes of the 2010 annual meeting.

Mike Lau seconded. Motion carried. Treasurer, Susan Baker, gave a year-to-date financial report. Dues received from 120 members were $3,000. Milfoil donations were $4,955, interest was $1.56 for total receipts of $7,956.56. Expenses were $164.40 for the newsletter; $10 for the state annual filing fee, $195 for liability insurance & $2,274.44 for the 2011 milfoil treatment for total expenses of $2,643.84. The checking balance as of June 21 is $11,074.98. Motion to accept treasurer’s report by Herb Tennies; seconded by Kathy Monty. Motion carried. Our C.D. at M&I bank earning 4.5% interest matures on 8/18/2011. Lois said she would like to move the C.D. to the First National Bank when it matures because the First Nat’l Bank has given the Unified Lakes Commission a “bridge” loan for 3 years without charging interest. That enables the Commission to pay the contractors for the surveying & treatment of the milfoil. The bills must be paid before the state ofWis.will reimburse the Commission. Motion to transfer C.D. to First National Bank by Jessie Petrovic; seconded by Herb Tennies. Motion passed.

A report by Jim Rechlitz regarding late ice out, fishing & heterosporis was read.

Lois reported on the 2011 milfoil treatment. While 18.6 acres of milfoil were found in the late summer survey, only 11.78 acres were found & treated this spring. Lois contacted the survey contractor & the DNR to express disappointment that all areas were not treated. We will be receiving a refund for the difference.

Membership was discussed. Lois reminded members that the newsletter received early in the year is from ERCLA. Some of our members pay dues to ERCLA, thinking they are paying to our Association. The Catfish Lake Newsletter is sent out in April. Last year Erik Westfall suggested we have membership signs attached to the fire number posts likeScatteringRice & CranberryLakeshave. Erik volunteered to place the signs onEverett Rd.& Wooded Lane. They cost a little more than $4 apiece. Motion by Susan Baker to purchase the signs. Erik Westfall seconded. Motion carried. We will need volunteers to affix the signs on other properties. We could also distribute them at next year’s meeting.

ERCLA has received another state grant to hire boat landing inspectors to this year. They are U.W. students who will put in 400 hours at the boat landings with the highest usage.

Purple loosestrife is the latest invasive species of concern. Pamphlets were distributed. Volunteers will be marking areas where the loosestrife is found during late July & Aug.

The native loosestrife has round stems while the invasive plants have 4 sides on the stem. Property owners are asked to cut down the invasive plants & destroy them before they go to seed.

Lake District: Lois reported that the Unified Lakes Commission is proposing aLake Districtfor the Eagle River Chain of Lakes. If that happens, there will be no need for individual lake associations, ERCLA, or theUnifiedLake’s Commission. ALake Districtis a special purpose unit of Government. Its purpose is to maintain, protect & improve the quality the lakes for the mutual good of the members & the lake environment. There are approximately 17,000 property owners on the Eagle River Chain. Only a very small percentage has contributed to controlling the invasive milfoil weeds. All property owners would have a vote in the affairs of the district & would be taxed according to the assessed valuation of their property. The tax collected could be used for treating the milfoil, for stocking walleyes in the Chain or other needs that arise. They would need 51% of lake property owners to agree to the formation of the District. Public meetings will be held & information distributed in various ways. The process could take two to three years.

Additional information will be presented at the ERCLA ANNUAL MEETING TO BE HELD ON JULY 23^RD AT 9 A.M. AT THELINCOLN TOWN HALL ON SUNDSTEIN RD. (across from the Fairgrounds.) If possible, please try to attend.

Members were asked to sign a pledge form to refrain from pulling native plants on their shorelines. The pledge is good for one point towards the grant application. The Pledge Form is attached for those who did not sign at the annual meeting.

Election of Officers: Motion to elect Susan Baker for another two year term as Treasurer by Jessie Petrovic; seconded by Sue Dick. Motion carried.

Motion to elect Lois Derrick for another two year term as President by Herb Tennies; seconded by Sue Tennies. Motion carried.

New Business; The DNR has extended the Pier Regulations deadline which requires those with oversized piers to register them with the DNR, to June of 2012.

ERCLA is preparing a brochure on boating safety rules, to be handed out to tourists who rent boats from the marinas & resorts.

Some lake residents complained about Canadian geese making messes on their lawns. Geese like lawns that are manicured right to the lake. It helps to allow grass & plants to grow tall on your shoreline or to get a dog to chase them away.

Some members have requested we change our meeting date to the Saturday before or after the 4^th of July so they can attend. Next year we will schedule the annual mtg. for July 7^th, providing theKalmarCenter is available.

Respectfully submitted by Lois Derrick, President