As a result of our LLAA bylaws changes, the Fish Habitat Committee is now the Fishery & Water Quality Committee. It has new membership that also includes: Pete Davison, Mike Heim, Tim Sprink, Mary Heilmann, Dave Schlitz, Jeff Turriff, Tim Turriff, Verne Kamenick, Ed Mullaney, Ryan Siggelkow, and Jim Wienser.

This Committee shall represent LLAA“at WI DNR hearings and local meetings relating to in-lake water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, and water levels. It shall offer proposals to the Board regarding water quality monitoring and ecological management of the fishery.” If you have any questions or suggestions relating to our committee’s responsibilities, please contact me. Please read the accompanying newsletter article regarding the Healthy Lakes Grant program.

Status of our fish stick project:

This winter’s ice conditions were not conducive to have worked on this project. In addition, we need the following information from LLAA members to proceed:

1. Do you have a site along the shore where you would like to host a fish stick? We are especially looking for sites along the southern quarter of Lucerne that have a more gradually sloping lake bed, although we can consider sites elsewhere that are more than a thousand feet apart from each other.
2. Would you be willing to volunteer your labor to help with moving trees across the ice from the Novak family’s island (Antony) to sites where fish sticks will be created?
3. Do you have equipment that you are willing to operate to assist with dragging, winching, and cabling trees close to the shoreline where the fish sticks will be secured with the help of DNR staff in the spring? Tractors, and vehicles with winches, are needed.

Please let me know if you would like to help. Once we can determine the scope of our project, we will submit a proposal for a DNR permit. We then plan next steps — and hope for a colder winter and less COVID.

Last summer, WI DNR aquatic ecology staff completed a detailed shoreline habitat survey of Lucerne. They did find that Lucerne is low in coarse woody debris (CWD) in our near-shore environment compared to other lakes. The presence of CWD supports the biological web of life that supports a healthy fishery. This project partners with DNR fishery staff to help restore what has been diminished by decades of lakeshore development that resulted in fewer trees falling into Lucerne.

If you would like more information about this project, please refer to the LLAA website, and click on “Fish Habitat Committee” tabs on the lower left side of the LLAAwebpage. You can also contact me at .

Fish Stocking Plans for Lake Lucerne

The next planned stocking will be large fingerling Walleye in fall, 2021 according to Greg Matzke, DNR Fishery Biologist. Cisco and Lake Trout stocking are possibilities if sources of those fish become available during 2020 or 2021.