With winter fast approaching, we are gearing up for our annual Fisheree on Long Lake.  This event is always a great time to come back to the lake for those who only spend the summers here and get caught up on the changing seasons.  This year will be extra special!  As always, the club will be erecting a tent out on the lake (weather permitting).  Many of you know that the access to the lake from Mr. Ed’s Campground has been closed.  Well no more.  This past weekend, I visited the new Timber Lake Lodge bar which has opened at Ed’s and was informed that the launch will be opened.  This means that our tent will be placed just out from the launch with easy access from highway 67.  YAH!!  For the past several years, those wishing to come to the tent have had to get on the lake from either Benson’s Hide-a-Way or the State Park.  Having access from 67 will most certainly increase the number of people joining us out on the ice. 

 Club members will be out on the ice early Sunday morning serving coffee, hot chocolate, doughnuts and getting the tent warmed up.  As the day progresses, we will serve chili, burgers, brats and of course refreshments.  The fish registration will start measuring fish at 6 a.m. and throughout the day.  This is a great attraction.  We are hoping to have some big fish to view in our live tank, as well as fish hanging from the board.  As always our plan B in the event that the ice is to thin for the tent will be to move the food and beverages to the Dundee Sportsmans Club, but the fish registration will be on the lake even if Charlie has to sit in a boat.  For right now, we are keeping a positive attitude. 

 For those of you, who would like to get more involved in this activity, please give me a call.  I can be reached most evenings at home 920-533-4770.  We are always looking for help raising the tent on Saturday, February 2^nd.  We get started about 9 a.m. and are usually done by noon.  Take down is another time we need your help. This happens on Monday morning February 4^th.  See you on the ice!

Milfoil from page 2

Biological control (or biocontrol) is one possible tool that deserves further consideration. Biocontrol offers several potential advantages over conventional methods, including reduced cost, long-term effectiveness, and little or no negative impacts on other aspects of aquatic systems. Several aquatic insects have been associated with declines of Eurasian Watermilfoil (see Sheldon and Creed 1995), providing the impetus for research into biocontrol of Eurasian Watermilfoil. Current efforts in Minnesota and elsewhere are focused on the native milfoil weevil, Euhrychiopsis lecontei, which has been associated with natural declines of Eurasian Watermilfoil (e.g., Creed 1998) and has shown potential in controlled experiments in the field (e.g., Creed and Sheldon 1995, Sheldon and Creed 1995), and experimental tanks (Newman et al. 1996).

 The milfoil weevil is native to North America and is a specialist herbivore of watermilfoils. Once exposed to the exotic Eurasian Watermilfoil, the weevil prefers Eursasian over its native host northern watermilfoil (M. sibiricum) (Solarz and Newman 1996). Adult weevils live submersed and lay eggs on milfoil meristems. The larvae eat the meristem and bore down through the stem, consuming the cortex, and then pupate (metamorphose) lower on the stem (Sheldon and O'Bryan 1996a). Develop from egg to adult occurs in 18-30 days at summer temperatures (Newman et al. 1997, Mazzei et al. 1999). The consumption of meristem and stem mining by larvae are the two main effects of weevils on the plant and this damage can suppress plant growth (Creed and Sheldon 1993a, 1995), reduce root biomass and carbohydrate stores (Newman et al. 1996) and cause the plant to sink from the water column (Creed et al. 1992). Although the weevil has been quite effective at some sites, it has not been effective at other sites. Currently, we cannot predict when, where and how the weevils will or will not be effective. The aim of our work is to improve our understanding so we can predict effects and appropriate circumstances for use of biocontrol.