I live 10 miles from Grand lake and it is a crying shame. This did not happen over night. There is more to the pollution than just the farmers. I hope they can get it cleaned up yet in my lifetime. I have spent thousands of hours on that lake and now it is gone.

thats a lowdown dirty shame!

i bought a home in jan. of this year about a block or two away from the lake. i was thinking about going fishing  every weekend this summer. but now since this alge and toxins have showed up, i can't even go out my front door without getting hit with the foul odor of the lake. so now i have to find another fishing spot for my family that is not to far away. this totally sucks

bstaley, I know what you mean. It really does suck. I use to live in Villa Nova on the north side of the lake for 12 years. Moved to New Bremen after a divorce. The lake was just a couple blocks away. I am glad I don't live that close any longer. This spring the lake looked the best it has in years and I took my boat out fishing on it for the 1st time in 4 or 5 years. Now this, what a crying shame!!! You don't live to far from Lake Loramie. It has alot of places that you can fish from shore with the family.

Gentlemen, the Battle of Grand Lake St. Marys isn`t over, and forgive my perhaps seemingly overly optimistic outlook but IT HASN`T EVEN BEGUN YET,  the easiet way to suffer defeat is to GIVE UP. This stage of this endeavor requires we find a (or alot of) LOCAL Duke of Marlbough type(s). Some one with a personal stake in WINNING this WW 2 scale battle, absolutely honest, and politely put a cunning , resouceful and utterly relentless force able to sell a snake a pair of shoes AND convince him he NEEDS and really WANTS them. Dredging IS the only realistic LONG TERM option. And yes, it is a huge lake; it didn`t get this way over night, and so it won`t get back to it`s former glory quickly either. The US Army Corps of Engineers are the ONLY resouce with the equipment AND fire and horse power to stand a chance, probably by dividing the lake into sections temporarily then restoring it`s former depth or slightly deeper. To the timid and "quick fixer uppers" that hope short term cheap bandades will work, well, good luck with that. And REALLY hope it works. IF it doesn`t 2 choices will remain;  A tuck tail and sell while the property is still worth something or just put up with the stench  B roll up your sleeves and get into this fight. IT`S YOUR LAKE AT STAKE!! Find those LOCAL Duke types and turn them lose on this!

Ffish, will not be unrealistic but it CAN be done. Won`t try to say will be easy, cheap or drama free, however harder fights than this have been won. Just depends on several factors, most CRITICALLY one (or better yet several) LOCAL trustworthy individual(s) need to come to the front of this endeavor and throw their hat(s) into this fight. He (she, they) must have community support, be VERY persuasive, and be politely UTTERLY RELENTLESS in pursuit of the goal of restoring the lake. And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, if ANYONE has a BETTER idea of a VIABLE LONG TERM solution other than dredging out the phosphat ladden muck and sediments of 150yrs please we need to hear it NOW, Anyone? Forgive me but dredging it out and restoring 5-8 fow is the ONLY REALISTIC guarenteed way of LONG TERM fixing the lake that am currently aware of. Can ANYONE else think of any other viable solution?

Pardon if looking too far back in history for a comparable type of leader, perhaps would be more usefull to suggest an Eisenhower, leading upto and planning D Day, the invasion of Nazi held Europe. Believe that endeavor was called OVERLORD, after Ike`s nominal title. Realize will be multiroles to fulfill in the Battle of GLSM, but the idea is the same, a LOCAL leader who is granted primary responsibility for success of undertaking, politically correct and able to build Alliances while still maintaining freedom of action to do WHATEVER needs to be done to see this completed. FIND THAT PERSON!!!

Saw where a recommendation to restore wetlands to allow filtering/ settling effect on waste water/ fertilizers and/ or herbicides will be a MAJOR step in shaping the battle to restore GLSM. Will be VERY helpful by simply allowing alot of chemicals to be dealt with naturally before they can settle and be stored in the muck deeply layered for now on the lake bottom. Ultimately that phosphat rich muck still will need removal to bring the lake`s PH back to a tolerable level when it`s hot out and there is a great volume of boat traffic churning the lake even unintentionally. Mean to or not, with a modern high thrust prop alot of bigger more powerful  watercraft have angles os attack that can`t help but blow the sediments 6` underwater into phosphat rich silt soup for thousands of feet with each wide open run. The lake is JUST TOO SHALLOW TO AVOID THIS, atleast at this time. Dredging the muck down even 6` will give 10-12fow over most of the lake. Conversely, establish ENFORCED no wake zones/ areas and RUTHLESSLY ticket offenders in areas left undredged. And am not suggesting dredging the ENTIRE lake, realistically doing even 1/3rd will SIGNIFICANTLY improve the lake`s overall health. Ideally, do atleast HALF of it. And while your`e at it, place fishing cover selectively. That and restoring the former weedbeds and cattails will fix ALOT is currently the matter with GLSM. Whom will be the OVERLORD? FIND HIM (THEM)!!!

WOW this is just a horrible story. I grew up in coldwater and fished the lake many many times over my 18 years there. My folks who still live there told me this was going on, but I still can't believe it!! GLSM used to be an awesome crappie and perch lake and we had many tasty meals out of there. Now you could get who knows what disease....and what about all the streams like Colwater creek, beaver creek, Montezuma creek, etc?

Yea you would not reconize the lake. Some parts are the lake don't look too bad but when you get to the bad spots it looks like a sludge lagoon. The governor has been here and letters sent to congressman Jordon, who has responded back. Let us see what they will do about it.

Forgive my optimism, but if put "politically correctly" they WILL do what ever is asked of them. IF NOT..... and don`t get me wrong, am sure it will take some letter writing, some gentle political shoulder dislocation, and community outrage (in a nice sort of way), but give them this; once it is plain that the persons who ELECTED them to the office they currently hold are flat bent out of shape about the situation and that their future political carreer(s) are threatened with being voted OUT of office by someone more able to LONG TERM "fix" the problem, well, would bet the Battle of GLSM will be half won at that point. Now for the BAD news: without the local IKE(S) to keep it going towards the best outcome possible, it could lose support and steam. This is where those LOCAL IKE types will become priceless- and when said they better be able to sell a snake a pair of shoes and convince the snake he WANTS and NEEDS them wasn`t kidding. With ANY improvement in the lake there will be many who will feel prematurely that every thing is now OK, and no they don`t want to spend any more of their tax dollars to continue on  to completion. Having the CORPS of ENGINEERS involved will forestall any "short cuts" to decisive LONG TERM fixing the lake. Hope the IKE types are already coming to the fore front, without them this won`t actually get the "permanent" fix everyone wants at least for now. Get on board, there is certainly strenght in shere numbers. Remember, quantity has a quality all of it`s own. Don`t believe that? Just ask a politican on Election Day!!!

The governor met with the local Ikes and especially the business owners that a taking a beating the last couple years ripped on him pretty good. I understand his butt was much smaller when he left.

Ffish, understand that those who have the most to lose (and/ or gain) SHOULD be the ones to speak up, however, they represent a handful of those affected by the problem, without overlooking their interests. Same as they also unintentionally helped to create that same problem, just as much as the farming practices of yester years certainly did too. Basically, between uncontrolled farm runoff and septic systems draining directly into the lake along with lawn fertilizers and people destroying the weedbeds with Round up so they had that mini beach look shoreside of their house... add a whole lot of over developement and super farming almost down to the edge of the lake and you see where we are. More than enough blame to go around. Unfortunately, there are the few who, upon being told their rearends were on fire would rather slowly burn to death than simply say "OUCH!! OUCH!!" and proceed to deal with it. That is where having the IKES will come in- they won`t be out to hurt anyone`s feelings- they will be out to LONG TERM FIX the lake REGARDLESS of anyone`s feelings. This thing will take every resident there is and more support than the locals can muster, hence dragging in the Corps of Engineers, with them in the fight doubt there will be a "quick fix", BUT when they FIX something, it TENDS TO STAY FIXED! Even if they dredge half the lake and reestablish a minimun barrier of wetlands and settling ponds the hard part will be getting the locals to accept they too will have to CHANGE how they treat the lake, set realistic PROTECTIVE laws and regulations to ENFORCE everyone`s compliance, for the good of ALL; it will do NO good to dredge and do the rest if the lake simply slowly returns to it`s present state. Whom shall we blame THEN??  We have met the enemy and he is US!! US must change our ways of doing things IF we REALLY want to WIN this battle AND KEEP IT THAT WAY!!!

http://www.epa.ohio.gov/pic/glsm_algae.aspx

http://www.epa.ohio.gov/portals/47/...onplan.pdf

The first link above will take you to the Ohio EPA website set up for the issues at G.L.S.M. There you can find test results from samples taken from the lake. The second link is the action plan as it stood at the end of July.
One thing the horrible conditions of this summer has produced is to bring this situation to the front page of the news. I also have waterfront property on the Big Chickasaw and live there year round. At first the reports from the media infuriated me due to the inaccurate statements made. But it did get the attention of higher government and it APPEARS there is at least some action planned.
Lowellhturner is right, the cause needs a local champion as well, and some oversite as to how all of this new money coming to bear on the issue is dispersed.
I also agree the Corps Of Engineers is the best group for the job, the lake was under their care in the beginning. Through ciircumstance and timing, the lake has gone downhill ever since it was turned over to the state. This lake is too valuable to the entire community to let it die. There are some very well meaning grassroots organizations in the community that take donations and use the funds to help improve the lake. These people have truly made significant strides into finding a solution to the problem and they and their benefactors deserve praise for their efforts. Millions of dollars annually come into the area directly from recreational use of the lake. It does not seem unreasonable to expect the state to reinvest some of the tax dollars it has been reaping over the years to correct a situation it has allowed to develope while under the states stewardship. The people of the community and those that come to the area for recreational activities have been paying the state for the proper care and feeding of this resource all along and have been getting short-changed by the lack of adequate regulations and the failure to enforce regulations already in place. Let's not let the people who have mis-managed the resource benefit from the work, (and money) of others.

Okay, I will get down off my soap box now.
Everybody have a great day.

Well said!!!  You are right . this whole situation did not happen over night. 31 years ago I worked at the state park for a few years and I know even then how things were managed that eventtually hurt the park and lake. It is time to put forth the time, effort and money to fix this problem the right way.

D Fergeson, FFFish forgive the drama, but loved to fish GLSM in the late 80`s and 90`s haven`t been back but once since. Remember how the lake WAS and honestly breaks my heart to see how "cheaper, faster, more, more, and MORE profit"  for a few unaware individuals whom were kindly put totally clueless of the consequenses of their "improvement" plans for developements, AND some farming practices or "cost saving" ideas- " my septic system and leechfield is practically brand new (even if the runoff DOES go straight into the lake I live next to) WHY should I PAY to help install a public sewer system?" A LOCAL leader MUST arise to assume the OVERLORD post. Without him (them) this will take MUCH LONGER and will be MUCH LESS effective! Hold a LOCAL election if necessary BUT get THAT (THOSE) trustworthy and vigorous person(s) into a position similar to that one Eisenhower was assigned in late 1942. And though some might "envy" them, honestly would more respect and have empathy for what he (they) are about to embark upon.  To ACTUALLY BE EFFECTIVE he (they) MUST be elected to have SOME (not ALL) power to influence the outcome of the looming Battle of Grand Lake Saint Marys. Ike on  D-Day only gave 3 TACTICAL orders; #1 he ORDERED the US Navy to dispatch 6 brand new destroyers to do VERY close (point blank range) gunfire support for the first 4 waves coming ashore, knowing they and many crewmen would probably be lost- 2  of the ships were. BUT they silenced defending gun batteries that otherwise would have gutted the OMAHA landings, # 2 upon hearing a single platoon of  12 TIGER tanks were being rushed forward towards OMAHA but were stopping to begin refueling in a small village 18 miles away he sent a WING of B-17s ( 124 strategic bombers) to that village and UTTERLY OBLITERATED IT. 124 X 8 X 1,000 lb bombs = bye bye TIGER tanks, eliminating the ONLY immediate strategic threat on D-Day. #3 ordered 3X the numbers of anti sub ships and aircraft deemed necessary to prevent excessive U Boat sucesses AND also had EVERY U boat within 100 miles REPEATEDLY attacked by every otherwise available aircraft and ship- more than a dozen U boats were sunk on June 6th alone. The  15 survivors didn`t DARE come within 20 nautical miles of the beachheads and reported over 300+ attacks in just 24 hrs. The other services AND some ALLIES balked, but IKE doggedly REFUSED to par his requirements down, and FORTUNATELY his bosses agreed- there would be NO  possible overlooked or under estimated threat left when the first soldier**** those horrible beaches and began the Liberation of Europe and the overdue destruction of Nazi Germany.  Our Ike won`t call in naval gunfire or a wing of strategic bombers or sink any U boats BUT MARK MY WORDS there WILL be the "cheaper, easier, faster,  half a$$" we`re going overboard and let`s only do LESS than the absolute MINIMUM to fix `er up  platform `cause it ain`t my problem (even though I live right on the lake) " crowd.  When said this undertaking IS on the scale of a WW 2 battle WASN`T just grandstanding! To WHOM EVER (God help them!) assumes the mantle of the OVERLORD would suggest 1 thing... ADOPT the ancient Roman Engineer`s formula- if  "X" will work, DEMAND 3X!! DON`T BOW to popular sentiment, YOUR JOB IS NOT to be popular, IT IS TO LONG TERM FIX THE LAKE!!! The motto of the Roman Engineers was "I build beyond my own life..." because if their project failed, they were publically CRUCIFIED, regardless of their status or connections. If you fail to LONG TERM FIX the lake  that might seem not so bad! And to the rest of us, GET INVOLVED! Letter writing, call your local, state and federal representatives and senators. DEMAND A LONG TERM FIX!! And make it VERY obviously CLEAR to ALL the afore mentioned to  IMMEDIATELLY put any Bandades back in to the box they came out of OR ELSE WE WILL VOTE YOU OUT OF OFFICE  (in a nice sort of way). FIND THE OVERLORD(S)!! Dredge, baby, DREDGE!! And those couple of other things that need done, too.

????? WTH

Forgive my long winded , well, long windedness! Rumor has it 2 Lake Erie dredges are currently sitting idle somewhere. We aren`t talking the local pond dredges, we are talking some MAJOR muck (re)moving capability. Obviously, they would need to de dismantled, moved and reassembled which will take some time. HOWEVER, comparatively speaking would be the difference between digging a basement with a hand shovel versus using a backhoe at worse or a power shovel at best. And realistically even with an Erie dredge it will still take several yrs to complete the MINIMUM amount of dredging necessary to seriously begin to tip the scales, so to say. And pray they DO NOT do less than the bare minimum required to help the lake; otherwise, we haven`t LONG TERM seen the last of the blooms. Am personally a strong supporter of the 3X plan myself,  "fix it beyond our own lives" is ACTUALLY more economical and COST EFFECTIVE in the LONG TERM. After all, it didn`t get this way overnight and realistically the "solution" should last longer than overnight as well. And who wants a repeat of things as they are now in a decade or 2? NO THANK YOU!

Still no solid news? Am afraid the Band Aide Brigade may gain the upper hand-"it`ll COST too much; it`ll TAKE too long; it`s too hard; I don`t want to be inconvienanced..." the same group that indirectly HELPED put the lake in the shape it`s currently IN. And the one guy`s editorial comment..."remember, the lake wasn`t always like this; maybe it won`t happen again next year!" well, KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED! And a clothes pin nearby, just in case...where has this guy BEEN the last 20- 30 yrs? The lake (and surrounding area) has changed in that time dramatically, hasn`t it? Am sure he means well, but THAT WON`T FIX THE LAKE!

I have not heard much lately either. Now that the EPA has dropped the warnings there is less of a stir going on. It will reoccur again next year. The algae bloom was by far the worst ever this year. But is was not the first one either. This has been going on for years and years. It just gets worse ever year. There is a lake improvement organization that has a lot invested in the economy in the area. They will not let this die. You may not hear much right now but they are still there. Something this hugh takes some time to get right. I am hoping they do the proper thing this time.
Lowell did you mention that you might be interested in participating in our panfish tournament?

Yes, Ffish, my scheadule other than the project has cleared, will make time to join you if at all possible, Thank you for the invitation. Will try to bring the significant other if possible, if that`s OK (and you don`t mind possibly getting out fished)

Not a problem Lowell, the ladies are always welcome.

Will let her know. Again, thank you and here`s to good weather!

Amen to that. Weather always plays a critical role. Seems like we get alot of wind in the fall. Hopefully we will have an outstanding day.

Saw on Ch 7 that the plan now is to use a sophisticated alum spraying boat and to only treat a small section of the lake in ideal weather conditions (lower than mid summer temps, hopefully little to no wind, and admittedly declining algea levels to start with) ; if the "test" is "sucessful" under all but ideal conditions, then the state reportedly is willing to spend upwards of $6,000,000+ to "fix" the lake "for good".....forgive my pessimissum, but remember the comments `bout the "quicker, easier, faster Band Aide commitee"; well, HERE WE GO! Have to wonder who`s getting quietly paid off to make the problem "go away" long enough to be forgotten, and 2cnd how much of the lake COULD have been dredged for $6 million? Last question- here we have a major watershed for sediment for the last 150+ yrs that used to average 5-8 fow in the past, with a large no wake zone and limited lakeside developement, that is now 3-5` deep with almost no horsepower restrictions anywhere on it with 3-5X the developement of the past on the shorelines as before... be truthful... does ANYONE really think this will be the "fix" everyone around the lake is depending on? (And notice, did not say "LONG TERM" even once.) ANYONE at all? One thing IS certain, by mid August, we shall see....and to be fair, again, I honestly hope it works on the algea; as far as deepening the lake so the boat propellers don`t keep plowing it up and releasing the stored phosphate.....hopefully it  somehow will "fix" that too...somehow. Kinda like running  in the Indy 500 in a Yugo with  a dead cylinder, a leaking gas tank and faulty brakes...whats the WORST that could happen? It don`t work for $6 mill? And to whom shall we give the credit for this "cure"...? On the bright side; if at first you don`t succeed...

I got a letter from Congressman John Boehner yesterday discribing all this and the long term plan to get the lake cleaned up. Hope they succeed. But I have some doubts.

Haven`t heard anything yet, am sure will get something today or Monday. DO pray tell what yours says! As suggested, HOPE all the local business/ property owners REMEMBER this next election..... a "Band Aide " to cure gangrene.....wonder why they waited till NOW instead of trying this under the WORST conditions possible (this summer, for instance) when the plan would have been put to the acid test, so to speak...leave it to the politicans, and the "easier, faster, CHEAPER" commitee.....as said previously, the 1 good thing is if at first you don`t succeed, there`s always the year after this next summer to try, try , try, try, try again. Am sure after `bout 5 more cheaper, faster, ad nausium "cures" the IKEs will finally get sick of having Ohio`s largest cess pool at their doorsteps and DEMAND the state LONG TERM FIX the lake at long last. Shouldn`t take more than 4 or 5 more YEARS for this to ACTUALLY get started.... in the mean while, enjoy! Bet everyone`s looking forward to next summer!

i spoke to someone at ohio wildlife.. they lifted the ban on boating you can fish all day but gotta release the fish i read thier gonna turn the lake around

We all hope they do. And actually am an optimist, simply am not sure releasing alum this late into the season will be a realistic test, or that it will have any impact on a lake that has become too shallow to allow high power ski boats on, their propellers dig furrows in the bottom, leaving muddy plumes behind them, and releasing accumulated phosphates to fuel the algae blooms. All the alum on earth won`t work to DEEPEN the lake. Adding it is like sticking an extra strong odor eliminator next to an over flowing kitty litter box; smells alittle nicer, but it just IS NOT the realistic answer...

The letter from the congressman was probably nothing you have not heard before. The alum testing was a part of it and to see how that worked. A large part of the long term thoughts were focused on farming practices and what they could do to reduce the nutriuent runoff from farm land. Providing some monetary incentives for them to put in buffer strips and such. He stated that this was not going to be reversed overnight and that it was going to be a process. I just hope that it is before I get to old and decrepite.

i also asked how lake loramie was for fishing. he told me someone saw some algea the EPA put up a warning done testing for two weeks straight gave the all clear
this was in august, when they spray alum i doubt it will be one boat might be more

Ffish, still haven`t gotten any info, probably priority is on local residents at the moment, with the upcoming elections.  Let us do a grass level poll; does anyone  else believe dredging the lake deeper, even 5` will help the lake? Am sure you could guess would say "YES",  it will and  it would solve 50% of the lake`s problems by itself. Chime in- simple yes or no. Ffish? And like you, hope within my lifetime to enjoy the fishery Grand Lake St Mary`s USED to be again and feel safe to eat the fish harvested there.

I personally think the best overall solution would be to drain the lake completely down. Get the heavy equipment out, bulldozers, earthmovers, ect. Clean the muck down to the hardpan and start over from scratch. Dredging would be ok also but it would be to easy to miss areas that way. I got a letter from the congressman because I wrote to him first. We had a letter wriitng compaign here and I put my name to one. I am sure that he reponded to all of those letters.

Recieved mine today. Am sure is similar to yours. Won`t say you are wrong, simply figured dredging would allow some use of the lake while it was being done. And too, with GPS controlled equipment, could easily dredge accurately, the technology already exists. Personally, am not saying that think the agency tasked should dredge the ENTIRE lake, but doing 70- 85%  SHOULD  turn the tide  decicively, along with restoring the wetlands, particulally on SW corner and ALL the feeder creeks.This would include rigorously ENFORCED  "no wake" zone where the lake isn`t dredged. Lastly, FORCE all property owners living within 2,000` of the lake onto municipal sewage . This has been suggested (and DEFEATED) several times, if memory serves. Am sure some will feel am an a$$ being rather long winded, but genuinely miss the Grand Lake St Marys of olde....

Taalked to a friend of mine last night. He said that there has been some alum trials in selected parts of the lake coming back with mixed reviews. Some reports said that it was clearing the water and others said that it did not do much. But it also said that the fish died in the areas that they treated. I just don't see this as a cure. All it is going to do is accumulate everything on the bottom to stir it back up again later. Lowell looking forward to meeting you in a week at the tournament. Did you look on the ohio site to see where and when to meet?

Yes, am loking forward to meeting you and the crew...

Forgive the double dipping, but just can`t seem to keep my big mouth shut; if spraying the alum DOES work killing the algea, but it also KILLS ALL THE FISH, are the agencies responsible suggesting we all start fishing for ALGEA?!!! Never fished for algea before, what kind of rig would you use? And if the @#$% ^&*% algea is TOXIC to begin with, what GOOD does it do to fish for it in the 1st place? If they aren`t going to dredge or find SOMEWAY of deepening the lake SOON then have a realistic suggestion for the lake; at ice out have daily ultra high power speed boat races to get the bottom completely and thourghly churned up into a thick brown algea rich mousse and start several algea- to- biofuel farms. Those running (and profitting off of) the farms would be responsible for supplying the entire local population with clothes pins and ultra powerful air fresheners and offering to buy out anyone who just can`t stand the stench and wishes to move away..."none are so blind as those whom simply do not wish to see the obvious..." Are there any local/ state / federal candidates who are FOR dredging/ deepening the lake? If so, guess whom would be voting for...

Well I agree, if you don't get that nutrient rich muck out of the lake they are just wasting time and money.

Ditto. Ffish, seemingly, something has reared it`s ugly head and although I personally think it has the same odor GLSM had this summer, I must decline your offer to join you and the others for what am sure would have been an enjoyable outing at Indian Lake. Won`t print what am thinking `bout what I get to do INSTEAD...

Lowell, you have me a little confused. Is it something about the tournament that you don't want to join us or something that has come up that you have to change plans that day.

Forgive any confusion, my fault. And wasn`t fully aware of exactly what the heck was going on here. My significant other`s grandmother was supposed to go to see a doctor Friday, no big deal. The doc wanted to admit her for the "flu" or something, she wasn`t willing.  Sat night she had extreme difficulty breathing and went by squad to the hospital, which we wasn`t aware of, at first. She was in bad shape as it turned out, and the family came and stayed most of the night into early AM, Chris and I stayed most of today . Forgive me, wasn`t that didn`t want to be there, but she was looking badly. She`s a wonderful older lady and I admit like her alot. There will be other opportunities, and still looking forward to meeting you sir.

Sounds like you all have alot going on down there. I know all to well about what that hospital stuff is all about. I have a daughter with a rare metabolic disease and have spent way way to many nights trying to get a few winks at the hospital. We have a prayer request thread on the Ohio BB. You might say something there and get her on our prayer list. We will miss not getting to fish with you next Saturday. If things change and she gets out of the hosptal by then you are still most welcome to join us. I pray that all turns out well for her.

Just got back from hospital, FFish, she`s doing ALOT better than she was. Hopefully she will be home Thurs evening. Fogive me if came across as a jerk. Didn`t realise she origionally went to hospital in a squad. I do like Grandma alot, just honestly didn`t know how bad off she was, but neither did Chris. And for the record, without seeming to be a cad, would`ve rather gone up and enjoyed the wkend with you guys. Chris seemed to look forward to it. There will be another time soon, God willing. (You DO icefish, don`t you?)

Glad to hear she is doing better. I never thought that you were being a jerk. I just wasn't sure what you were talking about at first. Yes I do Ice fish. I have a one man shanty, a velixar flasher and lots of warm clothes. I enjoy fishing the hard water. Well I know you have a lot going on, but if time permits you are welocme to come to the fish friday Saturday afternoon. If not I will eat a couple fillets for you. LOL!!!

When she gets out, we are taking a turn staying with her to make sure she`s back to normal, as far as know. As said, there will be another time. As far as the ice fishing, cant wait, have 651 reasons to go this winter. And appreciate the offer to eat a couple fillets for me, YOU ARE ALRIGHT!

Does CJ Brown freeze up good and solid. One of our members from down in Dayton that goes by River memtioned that the winter has to be really cold for awhile for it to freeze up good and safe.

Varies. Last yr there was 14", 6-7 yrs ago it barely got skim ice along the edges. However, if it don`t have 6" of smooth clear ("dark") ice, personally won`t go out on it. And forgive my " old lady" attitude, but will ALWAYS take a 100` rope and "cat`s claws", just in case. Fell thru the ice once,  it WILL cure you of EVER willingly risking doing THAT again (assuming you survive)!  But that in mind, have had some very good days doing it. #9E and F, 11C*, 12*, 15A*, 16*, and 18C* and D* are usually good spots.

When winter gets here I will look for your ice reports. Once the ice is safe I will make a point to come down and do some ice fishing with you. it is fun to fish new water once in awhile. I have fished CJ Brown from a boat before, but not on the ice.

Would be honored, Ffish. Can`t guarentee results, of course, but certainly have done well on those spots in the past W/O cover; last yr did VERY well on 4 of them, but cover wasn`t a yr old yet...results this winter should be interesting to say the least...

Nothing is ever guarnteed when it comes to fishing. That why it's called fishing. I will enjoy it no matter what. If I get a nice mess to clean that just makes it better. I will be looking forward to it. I hear this winter is to be a cold one. So maybe there will be some good ice.

Still hoping to sink the last 50+ attractors before ice up, if we can, shouldn`t HURT our chances any, although won`t guarentee no snags on them...

You guys will pretty much have the bottom of the lake covered soon. It will be like fishing a big ole reef.LOL!!! It is good that CJ has a group like yours dedicated to improving the fsihing there.

Thank you for the encouraging words, sir. To put our effort in perspective, Debra Walters from ODNR District #5 has told us it would take 30,000+ to significantly change the fishing in CJ, and was quoted as saying "realistically, it`s a drop in the bucket." She said that in general overall conditions they would not have a significant effect, considering the size of the lake, which, hate to admit it, she`s probably correct. On the other hand, she DID say that depending on WHERE they were deployed that they could dramatically effect some locations, that some species will surely get a much greater use of them than others, both seasonally and/ or in general. Perfect example #10, between the outlet Tower and the main Beach, and 600` from the best walleye netting area, towards the Tower. The WHOLE project was origionally a TROJAN HORSE to get that 1 spot done, and here`s why; take 2 identical walleye spawning areas, 1 with cover and none on the other. Assuming good weather, a female walleye ready to spawn will spend 4-6 hours on a bare spawning area and head back out, done for the yr. On that same area WITH cover what happens is at iceout male yellow perch show up early and "stake out" territories and vigorously defend them. Male walleyes show up, and finding food, tend to gather earlier and in greater numbers. Then the prespawn females arrive, and finding abundant prey, tend to spend upwards of 4-6 days in that area, before actually spawning. If a net is present that means she is many more times more likely to end up in that same net as 1 on a spawning site with no cover. Finally, female yellow perch show up and spawn. Also, 80% of what the walleye in CJ eat from mid January on untill they spawn is yellow perch, more perch = more and bigger female walleye in that net assuming good weather. 2008 that area produced 480 walleye. 2009 - 471.  2010- 883, and 96 were over 10lbs. Coincidence? We will see come this Spring.  The other areas was simply additional spawning cover for yellow perch, who`s overall numbers were gradually declining over the last 10 yrs. Realistically, we are running out of steam (and volunteers), we probably are not going to get 1,000 in, but we honestly did not expect to get 700 in, either. All that effort for 1 target... was it worth it? Time will tell....but just between you and me, would have rather we got a "drop and 1/2" in...

Sounds interesting. I hope all you efforts will be fruitful down the road. The perch population may go down as the walleye's go up, as they are more fish eating on them. This will interesting to follow over thenext few years.

Shouldn`t hurt the crappie fishing come this spring. #16 (the handicap fishing platform) did VERY well  this yr.

Not to change the subject, but several websites have comments that apparently the lack of rain and higher than normal temperatures have indeed caused yet another surge in the algea bloom on GLSM, though luckily this late in the season it (hopefully) won`t last too much longer. Come Spring though...no OVERLORD candidates are readily apparent just yet, or atleast no one throwing their hat into the public ring openly. With the elections coming up have trouble believing not 1 candidate LOCALLY is running on a platform of just fixing the lake; with the economic implications for the next several yrs of "no use" this is puzzling and almost disturbing. Ironically, have done some research on other admittedly smaller projects that sold the dredged muck as fertilizer to local farmers to help pay for the effort, a couple had to limit the amount each farmer was ALLOWED to buy due to accusations of favorism and "good ole boy" politics. Wouldn`t that be a unique problem to have, as big as GLSM is doubt there would be any shortage. Mark my words, SOMEONE locally will get rich dredging the lake and SELLING the crap AND become a local HERO...and the alum sprayer will have to quietly take his paultry 6 mill and go somewhere else...

We were talking at work yesterday about the alum process and that it was like putting a couple bandaids on someone that had hundreds of cuts. It is just a waste. I have not heard anything about another algea bloom. The water temps have dropped alot, so that would surprize me that it did. The guys were talking about duck hunting on the lake and I said I would not let my dog in that water. They said the state cleared it for them to get into the water. So who know what is true in the rumor mill.

Don`t believe it`s gotten nearly as bad as this summer was, simply that apparently was enough to be noticeable. Must confess, was only up to the area twice this last yr, and only saw the lake once; but the "aroma"in the area said it all. Forgive the 2cnd hand report. Still, hope someone has the inginuity and guts to start what MUST be done, and hopefully SOON...otherwise, pass out the clothes pins for spring...

Ffish, apparently, after some hardcore "negotiations" ( involving the locals threatening to vote for SOMEONE  who`s willing to DO it) the State has concluded they ARE going to dredge Grand Lake Saint Marys, and rumor has it they will use 3 large GPS controlled dredges to speed the process, cutting several YEARS off the time required to do the job!! There was some talk about restoring lost wetlands at the mouthes of the drainages flowing into the lake too! Wonder if there will be room for a couple of fish attractors anywhere in the restored lake? HHMMMM.....let the Battle of Grand Lake Saint Marys begin!! Isn`t democracy great?

WOW! That is great news. I hope they really follow through with it and DO the WHOLE process right. I might actually get to fish it again in my lifetime. Thanks for sharing the news.