NEWS FROM THE LAKE SHORE SPRING 2012 B LACK LAKE NEWS

Meetings A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT All meetings are held on the second Monday of the month RON DULAK 989-733-2565 at 7:30 PM in Grant Township Hall. The Black Lake Association direction into the fish- May 14–Speaker Geof- (BLA) is beginning its 84th ery goals, objectives frey Steinhart—LSSU year as an organization and management June 14– 6:30PM POT striving to accomplish its plans for Northern LUCK. Bring a dish to mission as stated in its By- Michigan’s Inland Wa- pass. Laws. This mission is to terways comprised of, Caption describing July 9 monitor Black Lake for Pickerel, Crooked, environmental and ecologi- Mullet, Burt and Black August 13 cal changes and to pro- Lakes. September 10 mote activities which will enhance water quality, October 8 These are goals that we fishing, boating, safe navi- have met and now we gation, swimming and all have to look ahead to Ron Dulak and Erin McLean work Volunteers other activities enjoyed by maintain Black Lake as with the Lake Superior students those that use the lake. one of the most pristine planting walleye fish mats. President—Ron Dulak lakes in Northern Michi- During the past two years gan. Vice President—Virgil our association has taken which could serve as a Smith many steps toward accom- Last fall the BLA Board of fishing pier. plishing that goal. These Directors and the Fishery Treasurer—Cindy Tre- steps include: panier Committee held a meeting These potential projects 1. Working with the DNR with the DNR to discuss to stock over 344,000 will be discussed at the Secretary—Linda Smith some potential future pro- summer general meeting walleye. jects for the improvement where all of you can have Trustees—Erin Mc Lean, 2. Working with Lake of the lake. Some of the input . We definitely need Roger Selvig, Dick Hop- Superior State Univer- suggested projects are: your involvement. kins sity’s Aquatic Re- search Department , Membership Chairman– through a partnership Fish shelters around With a membership of over Sharon Dulak with Hammond Bay the lake 550 families, volunteers Angler’s Association, Walleye spawning are always needed. This Technical Advisor—Rusty to improve our walleye reefs year the BLA Board of Di- Gowland rectors will be looking to fill fishery. Improved boat launch- the positions of Secretary 3. Acquiring our 501-C-3 ing ramps at the state Secchi Disk Readings— and one trustee. There are tax Status. park Bob Williams also many chairperson- 4. Becoming an active Increased parking ships open. We need you Newsletter—Sharon Du- member of the North- spaces for cars and to volunteer to help make lak ern Inland Lakes Citi- trailers at the state this the great year it can zens Advisory Commit- park. be with your help. I am tee. It reviews and Banquet—Linda Smith A longer, more effi- looking forward to meeting and Kaye Hoefflin provides input and cient, enhanced jetty and working with all of you.

Black Lake News

W ATER LEVELS ON BLACK LAKE V IRG S MITH 989-733-8089

Water levels on Black Lake Circuit Court Order on August the point that the Smith Rap- order is used as policy for the have long been a topic of dis- 28, 1964. The order set the ids, not the dam, controls the operation of the dam. cussion and concern. During summer level (May 15 outflow from Black Lake dur- ing periods of high water.” this past spring, the water through October 31) at 612.2 The aging Alverno dam has reached a level of 613.8 feet feet above sea level and the This past years experience with water levels supports the required significant mainte- above sea level, causing boats winter level (December 1 nance throughout the years. and pontoons to float off through April 15) at 610.5 findings of the Corps’ study. During the time the lake level It is now at a stage where hoists, docks to separate and feet above sea level. underwater concrete must be property damage. The highest was 613.8 feet , the pond level at Alverno Dam was replaced and repaired. This recorded water level was 615.1 repair will require significant feet above sea level, occurring During the 1960’s, the US 610.0 feet above sea level. Army Corps of Engineers com- water level drawdown and on April 21, 1960. The lake prior notice to various agen- water level is documented with pleted a study to determine the cause of reoccurring high Alverno Dam was completed cies and Black Lake property a chart recorder located at the in 1905. It is 19 feet in owners. Although timing has Black River Marina. There is water levels on Black Lake. Their study determined the height and was built using not been determined, it most also a gauge at Alverno Dam earthen constructions, timber likely would occur during the for measuring water level cause was a section of the Black River known as Smith cribs, rock fill and concrete. It fall , after some future Labor within the dam pond. Rapids, approximately 1.2 has the capacity to generate Day miles downstream from Black one million watts of electrical power. The dam is currently Legal water levels for Black Lake. The Corps’ study states, owned and operated by Black lake were established by “The Smith Rapids section is a channel constriction that River Limited Partnership. restricts the flow of water to The legal water level court

B LACK L AKE S TURGEON S EASON

The scene was set for the opening The second sturgeon was speared the season. He felt that 90 per- day of sturgeon season, Saturday, by Lance Williams from Cheboy- cent of the participants knew it February 4, 2012. The DNR law gan. It was also a tagged male. It was over within three minutes. enforcement officials and person- measured 53.5 inches and nel were waiting in the fishing ar- weighed 32 pounds. The time was Most of the fishermen and women, eas to report a catch as soon as it 10:02 AM February 4, 2012. 55 percent, were from northern occurred. The sturgeon fishing Hot Michigan, while an additional 38 Line was ready to be used, and The Hot Line was used, the can- percent were from southern Michi- lake wide cannons and sirens nons boomed and the sirens gan, south of M-72. Three percent were in place to signal the end of screamed. The 2012 season was were from Ohio, another three per- the season when it came. over. It had lasted two hours and cent were from Wisconsin, and the 2 minutes. rest were from the Upper Penin- There were 197 registered anglers sula and Alaska. on the ice, set up and ready to go. The DNR were pleased with the outcome. They felt that all the The season opened at 8:00 AM precautions they had put in place and the first sturgeon was speared to end the season worked well. at 9:30 AM by Ed Crawford of Tim Cwalinski stated that within Afton. It was a 58.7 inch tagged 20 minutes of the last sturgeon male that weighed 45.4 pounds. caught they had effectively closed

Black lake news Page 3

2011 BLACK LAKE WALLEYE Lake Superior State S TUDIES University GEOFFREY STEINHART, LSSU Students at Work.

With the support of the Black limited to the week of April 23 duction of walleye in 2100 Lake Association (BLA) and to May 7 egg mats collected. was very low. the Hammond Bay Anglers If this catch is extrapolated to Association (HBAAA) three the whole area near the state Lake Superior State University park, it was estimated that Larval walleye consume small (LSSU) students have been about 24,000 eggs were de- crustaceans, or zooplankton, conducting research on posited. While this is a rela- so Dana DePlonty collected spawning and larval walleye tively low number of eggs, zooplankton from near the in Black Lake and its tributar- sampling occurred in only a state park from April through ies. small portion of Black Lake, September. She is still count- ing and identifying the sam- so it reflects only a fraction of the total spawning effort for ples, but has found Daphnia The Spring 2011 walleye sam- the lake. species, one of the preferred pling was an overall success species for larval fishes. It

as far as data collection, al- remains to be seen if the though the results were dis- Larval walleye sampling was Daphnia and overall zooplank- Alex, Luke and Dana collect heartening. Luke Kaiser con- conducted by Alex Ingersoll ton densities are conducive zooplankton. firmed walleye were spawning once a week from mid-April to for good larval growth and in the Black Lake study site the end of June 2011. A total survival. near Onaway State Park, but of 500 larval fishes were no walleye eggs were found in caught with yellow perch be- the Rainy River or the Upper ing the most abundant (80% The final results of these pro- Black River. Other eggs were of all larvae), along with a few jects will be presented at the found in the rivers (suckers in unidentified whitefish and May BLA meeting, so stay the Rainy and sturgeon in the minnows. No larval walleye tuned. All students learned a Black), so the egg collection were found. All larval sam- lot in the process and appreci- methods were effective, but it pling was again near the state ate the support of both the is possible that the high flows park, so it does not likely rep- BLA and HBAAA. in the spring disrupted wall- resent larvae that could have hatched in other areas of the eye spawning in the rivers. Contributions to this article lake. Given the low density of were made by L. Kaiser, A walleye eggs and the appar- A total of 721 walleye eggs ent lack of walleye larvae, it Ingersoll and D. DePlonty were found in Black Lake, Luke and Mike check mats on appears that natural repro- Black Lake.

W ALLEYE RAFFLE WINNERS— 2011

The winners of the 2011 raf- Third prize, a Kenmore gas fle were drawn on July 23, at grill, went to Todd Wilms the Black Lake Banquet held of Black Lake. at Lorenzo’s Restaurant on

Black Lake. Dana, Alex and Luke working Fourth prize, a $100.00 on the Rainy River. gift certificate at Tom’s The first prize, an Old The second prize was a Market in Onaway, was Town Kayak was won by Fishing Charter by TLC, won by Mike James of Jake Tribisondi of Millers- won by Skip Lemon of Onaway. burg. Black Lake.

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Saturday July 21, 2012 Lorenzo’s Appetizers and Social Hour 5:30 PM Dinner 6:30 PM Buffet of Prime Rib, Barbequed Ribs and Perch $25.00 per person

IT’S A LUAU!!!

This year the co-chairpersons for the luau banquet are Linda Smith and Kaye Hoef- flin. They are looking for volunteers to help with the many various and fun jobs con- nected with planning a party. They are also looking for people to donate their time, talent and creative art and treasures. Whole beaches can go together and built a basket of goodies to auction off. Everything that is donated helps to make the ban- quet a little more fun, especially for the people who win and take home the prizes. For even more fun, you can come in Hawaiian dress and really enjoy the spirit of the LUAU. Linda 248-515-4726 Kaye 989-733-4586

There is limited seating for 100 people. Please mail your reservation in now!

Mail to: Black Lake Association, P.O. Box 302, Onaway, Michigan 49765

Please reserve _____ dinners for the July 21, 2012 banquet. I have enclosed $______to cover the cost of the dinners. Name______Address______Phone______

Tear off and mail by July 14.

Page 5 Black Lake Association Fishery Committee Report Erin McLean, Chairman 989-733-4661

With another successful year in the from 2005 to 2008, the DNR shocked are also located at several locations past, it is time to look back on what has each year and only recovered two, age throughout the area. We are consider- taken place. The BLA Fishery Commit- 0 walleye in that whole four year span, ing many project options. tee was formed several years ago to before we started stocking Black Lake. address the decline in the walleye population and also to accomplish things that will have a positive impact The BLA Fishery Committee, along with The Fishery Committee would like to on our lake. And we are seeing some its partners also planted Black Lake in thank everyone for their support over 2011. We planted 10,167 fall finger- success! the past year. Without this support lings in October. These fish were from the BLA, HBAA, the Northern In June the DNR planted 119,983 planted at the Onaway State Park and spring fingerlings into Black Lake. Lakes Walleye Club, and everyone who the State Forest Campground. These bought raffle tickets, donated to our These fish were approximately 1.8 walleye were six to eight inches in inches in length. All these fish were donation jars, none of this could be length and were from the Saint Mary’s possible. A special thanks also to the dipped into a solution that dyes their strain in the UP. They were dyed as spine so they can be identified under a DNR, especially Dave Borgeson and Tim well. With the latest two stockings, the Cwalinski, fisheries biologists our of the microscope. In early fall the DNR did a BLA and the DNR have planted over shocking study on Black Lake to hope- Gaylord office for working so closely 344,000 walleye in Black Lake since with us to improve our walleye fishery. fully capture some walleye. They suc- 2008. This is really starting to have a cessfully shocked 40, age 0 walleye positive impact on walleye fishing in that were approximately six months old. Black Lake, with numerous reported The committee members are Erin It was later determined, under a micro- catches of sub legal walleye coming in McLean, Ron Dulak, Virgil Smith, Mike scope, that these fish were planted in from all over the lake. Parrott , Mike Kretz and Mike Beuerle. Your suggestions, questions and dona- June. This proved that the stocking was again a great success. They also got tions can be directed to any one of 17, age one walleye that were put in This year, we will again be having a these individuals. raffle to raise money for projects to the year before. Keep in mind that better Black Lake. Our donation jars

Black Lake Membership Sharon Dulak—989-733-2565

Thanks to all the wonderful people who volunteer their time to help the Black Lake Association maintain the beauty of Black Lake. I offer special thanks to all the beach representatives who collect dues and deliver membership cards and decals. We are always looking for more volunteers to help with the various beaches around the lake. If you are looking for exercise, fresh air and meeting new people, you are a candidate for a beach representative. Please feel free to call and volunteer.

This year please try to mail your dues in the enclosed envelope. By doing that you will make the job a little easier for your beach representative.

Many thanks to the following people for their efforts as Beach Representatives:

Liz Gowland Graham Edwards Kay Hoefflin Sarah Soule Linda Smith Donna Lory Mary Bonner Mike Kretz Dana Brophy Elda Shull Norman Schwartz Lois Overton Florence Roberts Ray Garrison Sheila Kraycs Julie Johnson Dar Grund Gary Shepherd Norma Lind Eugene and Grace Osantowski Dianne Kade Bette Hopkins Mabel Leppler Marlene George Charlene Swihart Lynne Henzler Mary Rocco Gail Smith

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Summer Events in the Area

June 8-17 Lilac Festival on Mackinaw Island

9-10 Free Fish Weekend Black Lake 10– 11 Spring Arts and Craft Show - Rogers City Banquet Luau 13-14 Cheboygan Chamber of Commerce Art and Craft Show

14 BLA Pot luck—Bring a dish to pass and your table setting

16 Wooden Boat Show - Presque Isle Harbor

 Saturday, July 21 23-24 Mackinaw City Arts and Craft Show

 Appetitizers and social 26 Cheboygan Wanigan Festival and Parade hour 5:30 PM 29 St. Ignace Auto Show  Dinner 6:30 PM July 3 Indian River Fireworks  Buffet 4 Onaway Fireworks, Mackinaw City Fireworks  Prime Rib 7-8 Dancing Hippopotamus Art and Craft Show  Barbequed Ribs 14-15 Port Huron to Mackinaw Island Yacht Race  Perch 17-22 Annual Indian River Summerfest  $25.00 per person 21 Black Lake Association Banquet at Lorenzo’s

21-24 Chicago to Mackinaw Yacht Race

26 Summer Street Fair –Rogers City

Party Time!!! 31 Nautical City Festival - Rogers City

August 7-9 Cheboygan Sidewalk Sales

25 –26 Mackinaw City Arts and Crafts Show September 3 55th Labor Day Bridge Walk

Black Lake Pot Luck

First Prize: Old Town 120 Dirigo Kayak

June 14, 2012 Second Prize : 3 Burner Kenmore Gas Grill Grant Township Hall

6:30 PM Third Prize: $100 Gift Certificate from Tom’s Market Bring a dish to pass, your plate and silverware. Fourth Prize: $100 Gift Certificate from Tom’s Market Come and enjoy the fellow- ship and wonderful food. Tickets are $2.00 each or 6 / $10.00. The drawing will be held on July 21st at 8:00PM during the banquet at Lorenzo’s Restaurant on Black Lake. Sponsored by the Black Lake Association