Fishery & Water Quality Committee Minutes
Fishery & Water Quality Committee Update, Fall 2020
By Jim Zach, Chair
The LLAA application for a WI DNR fish stick permit was approved October 28th. The application process was more complicated and took longer to gather all the necessary information than expected. The application was accomplished with the assistance of Steve Kircher, Forest County Land and Water Conservation Department, and Greg Matzke, WI DNR Fish Biologist for Forest and Florence Counties. Funding for this project has been provided through a grant from the Forest County Potawatomi Community through the Town of Lincoln. The revised design shown below includes up to 42 fish sticks along the shallower southern area of Lucerne bounded by Anthony Island and the DNR-owned islands. There are 6 private landowner host sites — 3 along the northern third of Lucerne, 1 on the eastern shore mid-lake, and 4 on the south end. Joe Heilmann volunteered to order and assemble the cables and anchoring materials over the next few weeks for securing the trees, so we’ll be prepared by January, 2021.

The remaining uncertainties at this point will be weather, ice conditions, COVID, and coordinating with the Novak family’s Managed Forest Law thinning of Anthony Island which is our source for the trees. Several volunteers (labor and equipment) have offered to assist, but for a project of this nature we can use additional offers. Please contact me if you are interested in helping, 715-572-4646. Given the warmer winters and heavier snowfalls Lake Lucerne has experienced in recent years, creation of ice roads would help assure the access to cut the trees on Anthony Island for the Novak family and for LLAA volunteers to drag trees to fish stick sites over the ice and assemble them in bundles of 5 trees. In particular, a skid steer with tire chains and a hydraulic grapple would be very helpful.
For more information, please review this link: https://p.widencdn.net/jcv7ac/Outreach_FishSticksBestPractices
Lake Lucerne Fish Stick Project Update
Jim Zach MD
Chair, Fish Habitat Committee
November 29, 2019
The LLAA Board approved moving forward with the proposal developed by the Fish Habitat Committee for creating multiple fish sticks along the shore of Lake Lucerne at our September 21 meeting. This project utilizes a grant provided by the Town of Lincoln and the Forest County Potawatomi Community, the assistance of our local DNR Fishery Team, and the generosity of Lake Lucerne property owners.
The goal is to promote our lake’s fishery by restoring an element fishery researchers are finding to be important for a healthy fishery — the woody carbon of submerged trees in the near shore environment. This is where life begins for some fish species, as well as providing food sources and habitat within the littoral zone’s cycle of life. The fish sticks will primarily be located in the shallower southern end of Lake Lucerne, but some can be established elsewhere along the shoreline.

This photo is a fish stick built a few years ago by the DNR’s Fishery Biologist’s Team in Keyes Lake, Florence County. A fish stick consists of 2-4 trees cabled to the shoreline and secured to the lake bottom with anchors and steel cables.
If you would like more information about this project, please refer to the LLAA website (http://www.lakelucernewi.com), and click on “Fish Habitat Committee” tabs on the lower left side of the LLAA webpage.
At this point, I have two requests of LLAA members:
- Are you are interested in hosting a fish stick along your shoreline?.
- Are you are interested in volunteering to personally help with this project?
Possible volunteer labor may be to help attach and detach tree dragging cables and temporarily attaching butt end of trees to the shore. The final cabling and anchoring of trees to create a fish stick would be done by the DNR’s Fishery Team.
If you are interested in one or both options, please let me know soon. Fishery Biologist Greg Matzke will be starting the design phase of this project soon. We will then need to submit a permit to the DNR. If the weather and lake ice conditions cooperate, we could begin placing trees later this winter. What doesn’t get done this winter can be continued next winter.
I can be contacted at: jzach@wi-net.com, or 715-572-4646.
The LLAA Board appointed a Fish Habitat Committee fall of 2018 to study options for creating additional habitat to promote the Lake Lucerne fishery. The Lake Association received a $10,000 grant from the Forest County Potawatomi through the Town of Lincoln for the purpose of improving fish habitat.
Members appointed include Mary Heilmann, Ed Mullaney, Jim
We met on Feb 21, 2019, and participants included 3 local fish biologists with knowledge of Lake Lucerne: Greg Matzke (DNR), Mike
A very interesting and detailed discussion of Lake Lucerne’s past and present status regarding the fishery occurred, and there have been additional discussions with the biologists and a Rhinelander DNR Water Resource Management Biologist who wasn’t able to be at the meeting, Scott Van Egeren. Rick Hermus has also had additional discussions with Mike
Lake Lucerne has some significant fishery ecosystem challenges.
The long term management goal of a self-sustaining walleye population has not been achieved over several decades of stocking walleye. The main obstacles seem to include lack of forage fish and the possible persistence of a rainbow smelt population in the deeper waters of the lake. The recent
There seems to be
There is an abundance of smallmouth bass in Lucerne which are also contending with a lack of adequate forage. This is resulting in stunting of their growth potential and depletion of crayfish forage. Bass are not the cause of the fishery problems leading to an abundance of bass, but by their numbers in Lucerne, they do create ecosystem problems. As Greg Matzke says, “All fish eat all fish.” As a response to try reducing the bass population, the DNR in 2018 eliminated the size limits on harvesting bass. An advantage for persons to consume smaller and younger bass and other predator
In the late 1980s/early 1990s, LLAA members constructed 128 fish cribs on the ice which dropped into 15-20 feet of water. Many were stuffed with
Two other options have come out of subsequent discussions:
1) Scott Van Egeren has offered to work with LLAA to have the DNR fully fund a habitat survey of the entire lake. This would be a complete survey of the lake’s current habitat — rocky/gravel areas, woody debris, and vegetation; so that we have a more science-based perspective to make decisions regarding habitat in the future. This information could also become part of a revised comprehensive lake management plan. Our last one was done in 2005, and those of us who have been around awhile, have seen how our lake is changing since then.
2) The DNR is also offering to assist in possibly making use of our FCP grant by doing a few tree drops or fish sticks in the shallower south end where there is warmer summer water and isn’t deeper water walleye habitat. The presence of coarse woody vegetation has been demonstrated to improve populations of invertebrates, which provides food and shelter for smaller fish, which provides forage for bigger fish including perch, bluegills, large/smallmouth bass, and northern. In a less developed shoreline than Lucerne, aging of trees and storms would be contributing more woody vegetation into the shallow littoral zone
It would be useful to know what the predator fish of Lake Lucerne are eating. It could provide evidence if smelt
Submitted by Jim Zach MD, 3/27/2019
Chair, LLAA Fish Habitat Committee
LLAA Board Member