Water Level: As you know we had a cold and snowy winter. When the ice went out this spring the lake level was 3.50′, up 7.5” from last fall’s level at ice over of 2.87′. Today the level read 4.00′, up 6” from spring ice out and 13.5” from ice over last fall.
Loons: It has been a tough spring for the loons. They nested in May but were driven from their nest by Loon Black Flies. Apparently this phenomenon occurred with nearly every nesting pair in Vilas County, WI.
The Loons nested again and sat on the nest for at least a couple of weeks. A Loon was observed on the nest on June 11. With all the vegetation on the nest it is possible the nest could have been occupied even earlier. On June 26 the Loons were observed to be off the nest and have not returned.
While it is highly unlikely they will attempt to breed again, the buoys at the entrance to the West bay will remain in place until we know for sure, but will certainly be up for the 4th of July weekend.
Newsletter: It has been a while since a newsletter has been published. John Sick has volunteered to take over responsibility for the newsletter and is shooting for getting in out in mid to late July.
Fish Stocking: There has been no stocking of fish in Moon Lake since 2011. The Brown Trout stocking program has proved largely unsuccessful. Thanks to the tenacity of John Sick, a representative from the Michigan DNR Fisheries met with the board on the morning of June 30. If more stocking is to be done, some temperature monitoring of the lake must be done. John Sick and Dale Sharpe have volunteered to do the monitoring. If the temperature data indicates a good fit for Splake planting, that could be done next Spring. Not guaranteed, but fairly likely.