On Sunday, I launched my solar/electric canoe by the well used dog park at Lake of the Isles. I have a small "weedless" propeller and only got about 10 feet before I started unwrapping milfoil from the propeller. In the area by the shore the weeds are just under the surface but for large stretches especially around the islands there are huge floating green mats of weeds. There were lots of folks paddling around the Lake in kayaks, canoes and a few fishing boats. Many in rental boats with more enthusiasm than expertise. I paddled through the channel, which is filled with weeds, to Cedar Lake. Because of the depth and bottom structure, I have always liked swimming in the middle of Cedar Lake where it is cleaner (and colder) than the official beaches. But Cedar Lake also has huge floating green mats of milfoil in all the shallower areas. I motored over to Brownie lake and then back trough the channel. There were two guys fishing from the top of the Bridge overpass. One of them called down to ask me if I would help take a fish off their line. They were about 15 feet above the water and had hooked a 32" Tiger Muskie. Staring into the open mouth of a Muskie is pretty scary, but sticking your hand in its mouth seems even more foolish. I was able to remove the hook and set him free. It was a really big hook with a really big barb which made it hard to extract the hook. So if you are going fishing for fun and are going to release you fish- Please take the barbs off your hook. A twist with a needle nose pliers or filing off the barb make releasing so much easier for the fisherperson and does a lot less harm to the fish. I went through the inlet to Lake Calhoun. There was lots of activity around the Tin Fish and the docks in that area, but there were no sail boats sailing on the Lake. The Tin Fish restaurant operates the boat rental and I stopped to chat with one of the workers. The boat rental is per boat-$10/hr ( the last time I rented a boat it was $6/hr) and they have paddle boats, canoes, one and two person Kayaks. He said they get lots of business from the hotels who recommend this as a fun outing for their guests. So this is an international destination. I think it is a great spot because, starting from there, you can explore 4 very different Lakes, a very fun thing to do. We are doing things to improve our water quality, but we need to reduce the milfoil to save our lakes as swimmable, fishable waters. We also need to do better stormwater education, so that what goes down the storm drain and into the lakes has less leaves, grass, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizer, auto wastes, toxins and sediment. But the biggest factor is reducing stormwater quantity, slowing down that first flush, keeping the water in our yards and gardens, infiltrating, filtrating, and better using this precious resource. For more info see _http://www.cleanwatermn.org/learn/learn.asp_ (http://www.cleanwatermn.org/learn/learn.asp) and click on journey of a raindrop ( it's actually pretty amusing). It looks like a good day to be out on the water and if it warms up, a good day to be in the water. The Park Board has approx. 6400 acres of park property, 1400 of that is water. So 22% of parkland is water. Walleyes in Powderhorn Lake? I have been told that Powderhorn is now a great place to fish. It has been stocked by the DNR and is part of the fishing in the neighborhoods program (FIN). Another way to get on the water is at Boom Island on the Minneapolis Queen, the new paddlewheeler docked on the Mississippi River ( handicapped accessible)_http://www.minneapolisqueen.com/specials.html_ (http://www.minneapolisqueen.com/specials.html) Who needs a lake cabin to have fun on the water? Thanks, Scott Vreeland Seward I have been following the Lake of the Isles reconstruction saga for many years now. I wonder how all of that rocky dirt wasteland on the west side of the lake can be transformed into something greener and more ecologically beneficial to lake quality? REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list.
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