Prior Lake Smarts
FUN AT THE PLA FAMILY FISHING TOURNAMENT
In
spite of morning showers and cloudy weather, the Prior Lake Association’s
eighth annual family fishing event had 21 families and 43 young boys and
girls compete for prizes on Sunday, August 3rd.
The first, second and third place winners by category were:
Crappy: Reed Kappes, Elsa Kappes and Riley Bester
Sunfish: Eric Dols, Braeden Roske and Reed Kappes
Bass: Joshua Fourre (2.43 lbs), Dylan Stocker and Riley bester
Northern: Jackson Miller (only one caught)
Open: (Bullheads & perch this year; we are still looking for the first carp)
Eric Dols, Sarah Thibault and Corey Compton
Walleye: None caught this year
Each youngster was given loud cheers and applause by their families and
audience as their name was called.
Special thanks to Prior Lake Bait & Tackle for providing ten bait buckets
filled with all kinds of fishing stuff.
Also thanks to Wal-Mart and Gander Mountain for their contributions
so that all youngsters could go home with a prize.
The Prior Lake Association thanks Captain Jack’s restaurant for providing
their deck and facilities as headquarters for this event.
Pictures from the Family Fishing Tournament can be viewed on this website.
In
other lake news the water clarity in Upper Prior Lake as of Wednesday,
August 6 was two feet with noticeable green algae.
The surface water temperature was 78º F.
The elevation at the Wagon Bridge was down to 901.60 ft.
Enjoy your lake; keep it clean and slow down for safety and economy.
Lake Clean-Up Day is Saturday, June 14th - May 24, 2008
The City of Prior Lake has proclaimed and designated June 14 as its official
Lake Clean-Up Day. The city is asking lakeshore owners to clean up their own
beach areas. The Prior Lake Association (PLA) is partnering with a group of
scuba divers from the Prior Lake area, but all scuba divers are welcome to
participate in Lake Clean-Up Day. The dive will be conducted from 8 to noon
on Saturday, June 14th at Captain Jacks. The PLA will provide the
participating divers with a boat ride to their dive locations and provide a
platform to store their "treasures."
The PLA is seeking volunteer boaters to bring divers to their dive areas and
provide assistance as the divers bring up the debris. Boaters will be
provided with dive bags and tarps to collect the retrieved items and to keep
their boats clean. Divers and boaters interested in participating with this
dive event are asked to contact Donna Mankowski at (612) 964-6808.
The PLA is also beginning its fundraising efforts to secure the monies for
our annual Fourth of July fireworks. Thanks in advance to all members and
business sponsors who have contributed to this great show.
In other lake news, the water elevation as of Wednesday, May 21 was 902.78,
slightly down from last week. The water clarity in Upper Prior Lake was 10.5
feet, an increase of five feet in a week as the brown algae has disappeared.
The water surface temperature has increased six degrees to 61 degrees.
Enjoy your lake, boat safely, and obey the rules in the No-Wake areas.
The Handling Difference between Cars and Boats - May 17, 2008
Sometimes there seems to be confusion or misunderstanding between operating a motor vehicle on the roadways, (with brakes and firm, positive steering), and operating a watercraft (with no brakes and no firm, positive steering) on a body of water. A motor vehicle can be safely driven within a few feet of another motor vehicle as on a multi-lane highway or passing another vehicle. This is not true when operating a watercraft and is unsafe and dangerous.
Boating rules and laws state that a passing watercraft must keep a sufficient distance away to avoid a collision or endanger any other watercraft from its wake. A watercraft's wake must not endanger, harass or interfere with any person, property or other watercraft. So watch your wake - is it rocking other boats so that their passengers have to hang on to avoid being tossed about? Also when the Scott County Water Patrol has stopped another watercraft, be sure that your wake does not toss those two boats about. The Water Patrol states that they and their watercraft are frequently tossed about by other watercraft coming too close to their stopped watercraft. A ticket can (and should) be issued for endangering, harassing or interfering with the deputy's official duties.
In other lake news, the Secchi Transparency Summary for 2007 was Mean 3.8 feet, Minimum 2.0 feet, and Maximum was 7.0 feet. The long term trend data from 1980 to 2007 shows slow improvement form 2.6 feet to 3.3 feet. The current reading as of Wednesday, May 14 was 5.0 feet. The inflow stream from Spring Lake is running vigorously, and is well over the spillway at Jeffers Pond. The elevation is 902.90 feet, the same as last week. The surface water temperature was 55 degrees. Enjoy your lake, think safety and give other boats plenty of leeway.
Lake Smarts articles are written by the Prior Lake Association and are printed weekly in the Prior Lake American.