Shoreline managment = bettter fishing

[Swill]

Is it just me or does anyone else feel that not enought fisherman and lakefront property owners realize the negative effects deveolping lakefronts have in relation to any fish populations? I have recently been to someone cabin this last year and the person loves fishing. In the water next to their boat they had a weed rooler. He said it is great because they can go swimming and not touch those weeds.
The funny thing was that person loves fishing and the outdoors but they did nto see the harm in the weed roller.

I then saw this book from the DNR which talked about the negative effects of developing lakefront property and how removing weeds destroys the habitat needed for bait fish to live in which then effects sport fish.

What ever happen to regular cabins and leaving the lakes natural? It is no wonder fishing is not better in the cities when you see huge lawn leading to sand filled shores and weed rolls to make sure nothing ever grows there. If everyone used on of those things where what would happen to our fishing?

Reading pig_sticka's post on closing lakes made me think about this larger problem. Just look a Brainard... What does everyone else think?

[Pig_sticka]

ur on da money with that one. trout streams are already going thru the processes. all area lakes are really bad with shorelines. it wont fix overfishing but it will help in a few ways.

[Guest]

You hit the nail right on the head with this one Swill. I find it sad how many people make that monthly call to ChemLawn and fertilize the dump out of thier lawns, just to have grass that is a little greener than the neighbors. I speak of a lake in particular that has milfoil and dense weeds to begin with and these people fertilize twice a month. Swill is talking about the removal of aquatic plants and I am talking about the addition of unwanted aquatic plants. They are different but the same, I couldnt agree with you more Swill, some people just dont understand. I know the DNR is always trying to make restrictions for lake shore owners but it is an uphill battle.

morriscode

[HOGEYE]

Lakescaping is something that could be practiced by far more people. In order for this to happen, people need to realize that's in their best interest. It's OK to have a beach, but one doesn't need to have the whole frontage a beach. One only uses a little bit of it anyways. Less raking this way also. Then there are the people who have a freshly mowed and ferilized lawn going right up to the edge of the lake. Buffers and riparian areas will help decrease nutrient overloding and hyper-eutrophication of lakes as well as provide privacy and areas for wildlife. If you don't care about that, look at it this way. You won't have to spend the whole weekend mowing.

[smartguy]

I know that the city of Lakeshore (Northern part of Gull Lake) outlawed fertilizer use within a certain distance from the water. I don't know the exact wording of the ordinance, but at least it's a start. I wish this would have been passed many years ago -back when Gull Lake was still beautiful.

[shefland]

I've learned that all the so called hard rules for lakeshore owners put out by the state or county mean little or nothing IF you play the game by there rules, pay the fees, go in front of there review boards and they will let you do about anthing., do it on your own and they will hammer you. They preach one thing and then let people dredge out creeks and create boat harbors, makes me ill. this does happen here in Hubbard and Cass counties

[mistermom]

Good topic Swill!
I have been mulling this over for some time and I think that leaving lakeshore undeveloped and restoration of developed lakeshore ought to be something that FM.com promotes. Actually should have been brought up as a plank in the outdoor platform in the outdoor politcal power forum.

mm

[DARK30]

Yes, this is an interesting topic and maybe should be moved to the political forum....Even though I hate politics. That way it won't be burried out of sight in two days either. I would ask if Swill has any objections to moving this topic though....Has that ever happened on here before?

About Shoreline Management....I would love to "develope" a shoreline if I had one but it would be in the fishes best interest. The DNR is real stern on what you can do with your shoreline and in most cases, rightly so. We need to get a grip on our water pollution!

I hear stories of people who put rocks on the shoreline to prevent erosion, only to have the DNR tell them to remove them or else. I think some people could do whats right for the lake without all the "help".

I would have alot of fun developing a shoreline and the water itself in a fish friendly way just as you would with your backyard birds. Rocks are good, sand is good, and the plants are good. I think it would be easy to put all of them together in the right way to encourage fish to move in.

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cast,cast,cast,cast......

[Guest]

(My first post--generally a kurker.) What you guys are saying is right on the money! Our community has been and currently is facing extreme opposition to lakeshore zoning efforts. Our zoning admin and Wisconsin DNR have come up with a set of regs aimed at maintaining and improving water quality in our flowage (and others in the county.) Those in opposition include large land developers (many of whom are local realitors) and individuals who are already in non-compliance and want restrictions loosened. As lakeshore owners, our lake association is facing an uphill battle. The philosophy seems to be that shoreline zoning is "good" as long as it doesn't impact "me". What is lost in the arguments against zoning is that what is desired is better water quality--good for us all.

[SpikeRoberts]

Great thread. While its no panacea, the legislature did adopt restrictions on phosphorous fertilizers which should help some. There is still a great deal of education (and eventually maybe legislation) that needs to be done. Dennis Anderson wrote a very interesting series on the "State of the State's Resources" last year which is still on-line at the Star Tribune Site. One of the articles in the series addresses this very subject and is worhtwhile reading.

On a related subject see this alert posted by Backwater Eddy in the Political Forum [Thanks Eddy]:

http://fishingminnesota.com/ubb/Forum68/HTML/000072.html