I found out that the U S Forest Service Plans to lower the water level of the Day Lake Flowage this fall by 8 feet.  This lake has an average depth of 6 feet or so outside the river channel.  After fishing this lake since 1974, the deepest water we have ever found is 17 feet deep.  The Forest Service claims they are doing this to allow the weeds to be frozen out.  Now it seems to me that any lake that shallow is going to have weeds and they will grow back if you cut, freeze or poison them.  Now for what I beleive is the worst part about this.  This lake has a large number of small musky, and a even larger number of big bass.  We catch 20 to 30 bass a day and catch many over 16" with several each year over 20".  What will happen to these fish during the winter after a draw down, if any of them make it out of the shallow pockets before getting trapped.

Sounds like another waste of Federal Tax dollars.......

Protect the Second Amendment, without it there is no Constitution. Mertigs Guide Service

    I don't believe the draining of a lake cost anything more than the electricity to raise the gates. Plenty of flowages have been drained and refilled it the past few years. I would guess they know what they are doing. If it didn't work on the other flowages they wouldn't keep doing it.
Jim USArmy 1986-Present Life Member NAFC Member Western Fishers Member Full Moon Fishers A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone. Henry David Thoreau

Other than the death of most of the fish in this lake and all the money they have spent over the years to stock this body of water.  Not much lost.....to drain a lake that is this shallow so you can freeze out weeds only to have them grow back again seems like a waste of time.  This lake has weeds because it is shallow, the weeds in turn offer a place for the baitfish to hide, which in turn feeds the bass and musky.
Protect the Second Amendment, without it there is no Constitution. Mertigs Guide Service

I looked on the USFS website....and can't find ANY mention of that

 

http://www.fs.fed.us/

Life Member David BB Linkmeister US Army '78-'85 West Central Wisconsin

Just an update on the Day Lake situation.  The Forest Service still intends the draw down in September.  My family has been camped at the lake since June 18th and will leave sometime in the next few days.  Between 4 of us that fish regularly ( 3 stayed at the lake, I drove over for a few days here and there ) we have at this time approximately 500 bass caught and approximatly 100 musky.  Many little musky, most bass average 14 inches, with about 20 over 18 inches including 1 22.5 inches.  The average lake depth is 6 feet and the water has dropped on it's own by atleast 10 inches already this year.  Can't see any of these fish surviving the winter if the draw down 5 to 8 feet of water.
Protect the Second Amendment, without it there is no Constitution. Mertigs Guide Service

Just an update: They did not drain the lake, they want more study. I think the cool weather and the amount of complaints they recieved may have something to do with it. Anyway, I will be back on this lake early this year and chasing those Bass.
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Recieved an email from the Forest Service about their plans.  They will be sending me a hard copy of the proposal when it is ready.  I responded and offered to take them fishing on this lake to show them what a great bass lake it is.  I believe they are going about this all wrong. 
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Well, they did drain it down for the winter or 2011-2012.  We fished it this summer and found that he fish were not as cooperative as years past.  Found a lot of bottom timber and roots floating up and some of the bogs had been changed.  Did not observe very many minnows this year as in years past.  Will monitor it again this summer, they did not draw down this winter as we expected they would.  We think they will in the winter of 2013=2014