Here are the winning catches:

Heaviest Walleye
1^st: Tom Bornstad, Okoboji, IA – 7.9lbs/28”
2^nd: Lee Nieuwenhuis, Hospers, IA – 7.26lbs/26.5”
3^rd: Brian Plowman, Adair, IA – 5.14lbs

Heaviest Stringer (3) of Walleye
1^st: Tom Christensen, Spirit Lake, IA – 11.64lbs
2^nd: Torrey Krause, Everly, IA – 9.76lbs
3^rd: Larry Benblin, Spencer, IA – 9.1lbs

Heaviest Northern Pike
1^st: Tom Dahna, Bingham Lake, MN – 10.14lbs/37”
2^nd: Barry Williams, Ames, IA – 7.4lbs/32”
3^rd: Zach Edwards, Waterloo, IA – 6.7lbs/29”

Heaviest Stringer (5) of Panfish
1^st: Dan Youngblood, Spirit Lake, IA – 6.38lbs
2^nd: Matt Rozeboom, Inwood, IA – 6.0lbs
3^rd: Rick Allison, Sioux City, NE – 5.5lbs

Heaviest Stringer (10) of Bullheads
1^st: Ryan Cunningham, Sioux City, IA – 18.57lbs
2^nd: Jason Flammang, Sioux City – 18.5lbs
3^rd: Christine Birdsell, Sioux City, IA – 18.39lbs

Heaviest Bass
1^st: Sonny Vanlenning, Spirit Lake, IA – 5.47lbs
2^nd: Harley Wittkopf, Algona, IA – 5.18lbs/19.75”
3^rd: Henry Vrieze, LeMars, 5.1lbs/19.5”

The number of registered anglers broke the previous record by nearly 600. The big draw to this year’s event was a combination of terrific fishing conditions and the increased price tags for reeling in a tagged-fish. In all there were 24 tagged fish, including perch, bullhead, and crappie, but all went unclaimed.

The Easter Seals of Iowa is a non-profit, statewide organization that provides daily services to adults and kids with disabilities.

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Yesterdays owners Marilyn and Duane Zahradnik (left) greet excited patrons at the opening of Yesterdays Restaurant on April 26.

One of the official marks that the Okoboji summer season has arrived is the opening of some of our favorite seasonal businesses. Yesterdays, the area’s premier seafood restaurant for more than 25 years, opened its doors for the season on Thursday, April 26. The restaurant is located on Broadway Street in Arnolds Park.

Owners Duane and Marilyn Zahradnik were on hand to serve a full room of excited diners. For more information, visit http://www.yesterdaysokoboji.com. 

Mike Hawkins, Fisheries Management Biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, issued an update this week on the Asian carp situation in the Iowa Great Lakes.

Following are his findings:

The commercial angler has been keeping our office updated on catch each day they work on the area lakes and are required to provide all catch records for the season. The commercial angler has been sensitive to the situation and has been providing us with very timely updates.

The numbers of Asian carp being caught at the Narrows on East Okoboji Lake by the commercial angler are heading in the right direction. This is one species’ catch where we like to see diminishing returns. There is little known of their tendencies and habits in a large natural lake. We don’t know how they are distributed, if they are schooling, concentrating in certain areas, or if these tendencies with change seasonally or from year to year etc. With only repeated seine hauls in the same location at the Narrows, the numbers in the net tell us surprisingly little about the situation.

Our local staff is working with our own in-state experts along with regional and national experts to explore ways to learn more about the population of Asian carp in the Iowa Great Lakes. We have discussed radio tagging these fish, but tagging and releasing a silver carp and then having it land in someone’s boat, potentially injuring them, is not an option for us. Any and all Asian carp collected will be removed from the lake.  As time goes on and more seine hauls are made and other sampling is done we will learn more about these fish.

Summary of current efforts besides the commercial seine hauls:

During this year’s walleye and muskie broodstock collection efforts, 9 state crews netted 8 nights on Spirit Lake, East Okoboji, and West Okoboji. Each night, each crew set 3 – 320 foot long by 8 foot tall entanglement nets (over 200 net nights of effort). Our objective during this effort is to collect adult walleyes and muskies, but these nets have been shown in other studies to capture bighead and silver carp.  In all of that effort, 3 silver carp were collected on East Okoboji Lake.  The three fish were caught near Stoney Point and Parks Marina.

In addition, our research team has been on the lakes electrofishing for 6 days this spring and have shocked along shorelines on the lower chain, main lakes, and canals. They have not sampled or seen any Asian carp. Silver carp are very sensitive to electrofishing and will exhibit their jumping behavior readily if they are near one of these boats. This effort is continuing.

Over the next two weeks we will be assisting the Aquatic Invasive Species team from Boone on sampling efforts in the Little Sioux River. We will be looking specifically for Asian carp. Again, we believe nearly all of the Asian carp that migrated up the Little Sioux River from the Missouri River that didn’t get into a lake retreated back downstream last fall as the river levels fell. Our sampling on Milford Creek and the Little Sioux River last fall confirmed this, but we will do extra sampling this spring to make sure.  Low water levels will make this effort difficult.

Temporary Barrier Option:

We are exploring a temporary physical barrier system on the Lower Gar dam as a way to provide some protection between now and when the electric barrier is constructed this fall. This may seem like an easy task, but after meeting with contractors with some experience in these systems, we keep running up against the same problems: constructing a barrier that is strong enough to hold up to the massive pressures associated with moving water, and at the same time not adversely impact the ability of the weir to convey water. Any physical barrier placed at the weir will plug with vegetation and other material and we need to have a plan in place to keep the system free of debris, especially during the unlikely event of high water like we experienced last summer A strategy to keep a barrier clean during high water presents a logistical problem and a risk to the person/s tasked with keeping it clean.  We are continuing to aggressively explore options.

Carp Reproduction:

Over the past few years and especially in the last few months we have been communicating with a number of biologists, engineers, and researchers specializing in Asian carp and fish migration. Below is portion of some recent correspondence with Duane Chapman with the USGS in Columbia, Missouri. Duane is one of the nation’s foremost experts/researchers on Asian carp.

Regarding Asian carp in natural lakes, “This is a common situation in China, and there is a fair amount of experimentation that has been done in other countries as well. There has never been any indication that Asian carps can reproduce in these types of environments, but the fish do live and grow well.”

“It is highly unlikely that bighead and silver carp with reproduce in the Iowa Great Lakes. The apparently small to moderate population that has invaded from the Missouri river will dwindle over time unless there are other opportunities to invade from the river…”

Duane’s statements reassure us that we are on the right track.

More information about the carp:

The life span of these fish is very great, probably over 20 years, and so the numbers will dwindle slowly. All of the fish that have been caught so far in the lakes, except for one 10 pounder, are probably only 1-2 years old (we took body structures from the fish so we can age them – those results should be available shortly). They quickly outgrow any predators and will likely have low mortality rates and live out a long and plump life in the lakes.

We did make it through at least part of the recreational season last year without any incidents, which is encouraging. There is even anecdotal and circumstantial evidence to suggest that silver carp may not exhibit as much of the jumping behavior in a lake when at low numbers. The jumping behavior is a defense mechanism and with room to get away in the lake as opposed to a confined river channel they may not jump as much.  It is possible that at low numbers the probability of incidence is simply reduced.

Typically, the only way into a watershed is from the bottom, where water exits. Think of a watershed as a roof top and the watershed boundary as the ridge or peak. A fish swimming up would run out of water before getting to the peak. A fish would need a channel or notch to swim through to get from one side to the other.

We’ve been working the Minnesota DNR extensively on the carp issue. As you can imagine, Minnesota is very interested in our situation and proposed solution. One topic of intense focus has been inter-watershed connections or diversion ditches. These ditches are that artificial channel that may allow fish to move from one river drainage to another. These ditches were dug long ago at the very top of some watersheds and maintained in some locations. They never accomplished what they were intended to do and have now been identified as problem.

Although we don’t believe we have any in northwest Iowa (we’re using mapping software to patrol the watershed boundaries as I write), Minnesota has identified a few – none of which are connected to the Iowa Great Lakes watershed. That means there is only one way into our lakes – the outlet. From a larger perspective, the Minnesota DNR is being very proactive and attempting to close or have already closed inter-watershed diversion ditches between the watersheds of the Rock River, Little Sioux River, and Des Moines River. This will, in effect, keep these fish from doing an end-around on us.

Electric Barrier Update:

Please be assured a significant amount of effort at the local and state level is being brought to task on the Asian carp issue in the IGL’s and there are a number of things happening behind the scenes to make sure we’re doing all we can. Our staff in Des Moines have been working hard to compress the permitting, engineering, construction, and approval schedule of the electric barrier as much as the law will allow. It is also important to move through these steps methodically. Electric fish barriers are complex devices and new for us in Iowa. We have been talking with other agencies that currently operate them and making sure we are preparing ourselves for design, construction and operation. This is a major construction project that we need to do right the first time.  My office will be tasked with its operation and maintenance so there is no one more sensitive to its ease of use, maintenance requirements, and operational safety.

Below is the DNR’s working schedule. Our staff continues to try to look for ways to shave days off this schedule so these dates are likely to change. Internally, we must allow time for contract writing and legal review. Externally, we must allow the prospective contractors time to work, respond, and have dialog with our staff, especially during the engineering phase. The current schedule should be ideal from a construction standpoint with our highest probability of low water in the fall. Water flowing over the dam presents an expensive challenge for construction.

The current schedule:

Design & Engineering
Request for information – Completed – Two firms responded
Request for Proposals – Design and Engineering – Posted – Completed
Request for Proposal Deadline – 5/23/2012
Natural Resources Commission Approval – 6/14/2012 – Scheduled monthly meeting
Contract for Design & Engineering awarded – 6/30/2012
Design & Engineering Completed – 8/15/2012

Request for Proposals – Construction – 8/29/2012
Construction Bid Letting – 9/20/2012
Natural Resources Commission Approval – 10/11/2012 – Scheduled monthly meeting
Construction contract complete – Construction begins – 10/25/2012

Thanks for your support and please don’t hesitate to ask questions or pass this information on to other interested folks.I’ll try to pass along updates as they become available.

Playwright and actress Kaiulani Lee performed her play "A Sense of Wonder" April 14 at the Pearson Lakes Art Center.

Supporters of Earth Day and the Dickinson County Nature Center were treated with a special Earth Day event this year as actress and playwright Kaiulani Lee performed her one woman play “A Sense of Wonder” Saturday evening, April 14 at the Pearson Lakes Art Center.

The show was sponsored by the Maser Family Foundation, Wildwood Nature Preserve – Al and Delores Maser, Pearson Lakes Art Center, Lakes Community Theatre, Northwest Wealth Management – Lance B. Evans, the Conservation Foundation of Dickinson County and the Dickinson County Conservation Board.

Kaiulani Lee created the play based on the journals and letters of Rachel Carson, who has been called “the patron Saint of the environmental movement.” Carson is best known for her book “Silent Spring” which alerted the world to the dangers of chemical pesticides and launched our modern environmental movement.

“I wrote the play but 97% of it is her words,” said Lee in a brief question and answer period following the show. Lee said she started writing the play when her husband changed careers and started coming home with haunting stories about environmental issues. “All of the sudden, I thought taking care of my own family wasn’t enough… Knowing what I knew and feeling what I felt… I felt it would be a loss not to do more.”

Lee has been touring the U.S. for over 20 years performing the play at over 100 universities, high schools, the Smithsonian Institute, the Albert Schweitzer Conference, the Sierra club Centennial and the Department of the Interior’s 150th Anniversary Celebreation.

At the Pearson Lakes Art Center on Saturday, Lee beautifully embodied her character of Rachel Carson, illustrating the passion both she and Carson share for the natural world. A light rain pattering on the roof of the theater created perfect harmony for the recording of insect voices that made up the overture for the show.

Dickinson County Naturalist Barbara Tagami (right) presents flowers to playwright and actress Katiulani Lee.

Lee walked the audience through two scenes – one in her seaside cabin in Maine and a second in Carson’s year-round home in Pennsylvania, taking the audience through the time in Carson’s life right after she had completed the book “Silent Spring.” We watched as Carson dealt with the fame, criticism and controversy that followed as well as her own concealed battle with cancer. Lee beautifully delivered Carson’s message to the captivated audience at the art center, leaving many with Carson’s quotable message resounding long after the evening had ended.

Following are a handful of notable nature quotes from Rachel Carson:

“If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life.”

“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.”

“To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of year, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.”

“I believe natural beauty has a necessary place in the spiritual development of any individual or any society. I believe that whenever we destroy beauty, or whenever we substitute something man-made and artificial for a natural feature of the earth, we have retarded some part of man’s spiritual growth.”

Earth Day officially falls on April 22 this year. To learn more about how you can celebrate Earth Day, visit http://www.earthday.org/2012

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources issued a news release on Wednesday stating that a commercial fishing company caught 55 silver carp and 82 big head carp in late March, fishing in the same general area of East Okoboji Lake where two big head carp were netted by the Iowa DNR last August during a population survey. A few additional carp were caught this week.

“This just shows how right we were in moving forward with the fish barrier fund raising,” says Phil Petersen, Executive Director for the Iowa Great Lakes Association. “We are raising the money. Fortunately the DNR is already moving through the bid process to have the Electric Fish Barrier constructed. Now we need to encourage the DNR to move faster to construct the Electric Fish Barrier.”

Studies show high water events have allowed this invasive species to find its way into the Iowa Great Lakes.

Mike Hawkins, fisheries biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said the invasive fish had a small window last summer in which to enter the Iowa Great Lakes. Flood events in June and July allowed the fish to navigate the Little Sioux River past the Linn Grove Dam, landing at the doorstep of the Iowa Great Lakes.

Once below the Iowa Great Lakes, heavy rain events in July caused flooding conditions on the lakes that allowed these fish to enter Lower Gar Lake, which is the final lake in the chain of six glacial lakes in Dickinson County.

“While it confirms the presence of both species, this commercial seine haul does not tell us how many Asian carp are in the lakes. Nor does it get us any closer to knowing at what level these fish will be a problem,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins added that ecologically, these fish are not likely to reproduce here because studies show they prefer large rivers for spawning. However installation of the electric fish barrier is needed to keep additional carp from reaching the lake via Mill Creek.

“Mill Creek is low due to the dry weather, so we don’t have additional Asian Carp getting in right now,” adds Petersen. “How long Mill Creek remains too low for Asian Carp to migrate here remains to be seen.”

Stacy Rosemore, director of Okoboji Tourism, spoke with KUOO radio and urged residents not to overreact to the announcement.

“At this point, there is no need for alarm,” said Rosemore. “There’s no need to sell your boats or to quit boating on our lakes or to quit vacationing on our lakes because we are in the early stages and we’re still learning about this as well. No need to panic and we’re looking forward to another great summer.”

Rosemore, Hawkins and Petersen all urge continued support of the electronic fish barrier to prevent further invasion of these carp species in the Iowa Great Lakes.

The lakes area legislators – Senator David Johnson along with Representative Jeff Smith and John Wittneben – fully support an appropriation, but they need the support from 26 senators and 51 representatives. That is where our lake friends and neighbors in Des Moines, Sioux City, Ames, Iowa City and across the state can be of help. Legislators would prefer to hear from their constituents (voters). If you don’t live in Iowa maybe you have friends or lake neighbors that can contact their legislator.

Click here to read the brochure on this urgent threat

The article below is on the front page of the Sioux City Journal this week (March 23, 2012)…

OKOBOJI, Iowa — Iowa Department of Natural Resources Fishing Management Biologist Mike Hawkins is hoping construction of an electric fish fence at or near the Lower Gar outlet will come in time to prevent an infiltration of the dreaded Asian silver carp into the Okoboji chain of lakes.

The flying or jumping silver carp and bighead carp are thought to have come upstream from the Missouri and Little Sioux rivers, and over the dam at Linn Grove during periods of high water.

The two species were introduced in the U.S. by Arkansas fish farmers who wanted to clear ponds of excessive vegetation. But when floods hit the area, the carp were able to enter local rivers and streams.

While the fast growing bighead carp consumes more food than the more desirable muskies and walleyes, destroying the natural ecology of the lakes, it is the silver carp that is more feared for the same reason and because the flying fish can jump 10 feet out of the lake water and injure swimmers and boaters.

Both the bighead and silver carp have been found in nearby Elk and Lost Island Lakes, in Clay and Emmet Counties. And a bighead has been netted in East Lake Okoboji.

Hawkins said he and DNR officials are “actually assuming the silver carp is here (in East and West Lakes) as well. We’re hoping though not at a density to cause a problem. The point of barrier is to prevent that from happening and stay ahead of it.”

While much of the biology involving the Asian species is unknown to North America and the Upper Midwest, Hawkins says the fish may not be able to reproduce well in still lake waters.

“But nobody knows that for sure,” said former Okoboji Protective Association president Phil Petersen. “There are a number of streams, like The Harbor and canals that are almost like a river, places they could breed here.”

The Asian species are hard to catch because they don’t bite on a hook and bait. The only way to get them is by net. And they tend to jump over a net.

Even short of breeding, the Asian carp’s 15-20 year lifespan is enough to cause a problem with the ecology, Petersen added. “And after that time, even if they couldn’t breed here, there could be a new supply of them.”

“The chance of us having an event like we did that allowed the carp to come in was small,” Hawkins explained this week. “A lot of things had to come together. And they did.”

The biggest barrier to building the electric fish fence, viewed as the only preventative measure, is the estimated $700,000 cost. The DNR projects that figure after considering the Heron Lake, Minn., fence built 20 years ago and taking inflation into consideration.

Petersen and banker Neal Conover created and became co-chairs of the “Fish Barrier Fund,” and have already raised more than $550,000 from area individuals, groups, and the Department of Natural Resources. The Dickinson County Board of Supervisors pledged $50,000 Tuesday.

Petersen and Conover are also seeking an appropriation from the state legislature, but admit they hold little hope of seeing that happen, even after the Iowa Senate passed a bill with an amendment to that end earlier in the week.

Another barrier is the time frame. Construction would be best done now while water levels are low. It will be difficult to begin construction until after summer has passed.

Hawkins termed the situation “a giant game of catch-up.”

“The situation is forcing our hand into these extraordinary measures to make sure we don’t end up with something we’ll regret later on,” Hawkins said. “I wish we didn’t have to put up a fish barrier that costs maybe $700,000. But can we afford not to? That’s the question and realization a lot of community members have some to. We can’t really afford the risk.”

Proponents of the project say it would hopefully prevent Asian Carp, or the so-called “jumping fish”, from getting into the Iowa Great Lakes. Asked about how firm the $700,000 estimate is, Mike Hawkins, a Fisheries Biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said there no guarantees. He says it was based on a similar barrier installed years ago near Heron Lake, Minnesota, and they had factored in the rate of inflation.

Mike May, a lakes area resort owner and former state lawmaker, said doing nothing isn’t an option if we are leave a legacy to upcoming generations.

An additional video on the Asian carp threat can be seen at this link: http://www.freep.com/article/20110721/NEWS06/110721057/Asian-carp-video-documentary-Managing-menace

Additional wine and cheese socials will also be held in Sioux Falls and Sioux City at the end of March. The chairs for these events are Doug and Cathy Palmer & Tom and Kathy Walsh. For more information about these events please call our membership chairman Brigid Wilkening at (402) 681- 0783 or email her at brigidwilkening@aol.com.

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PHOTO SUBMITTED An electric fish barrier similar to the proposed electric barrier for Dickinson County has been in place near Windom, Minn. for 20 years. It has proven to be quite effective in preventing new species of fish into the nearby Heron. The Asian Silver Carp is threatening to enter the Iowa Great Lakes.

by Brandon Hurley – Staff Writer
Dickinson County News - Wednesday, Jan. 18

Officials throughout Dickinson County have focused on efforts to stop zebra mussels from entering the Iowa Great Lakes.

Now, a new threat has spawned and water protection groups are trying to prevent the invasion of another aquatic invasive species — Asian silver carp, or “jumping fish.”

The Dickinson County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 10 approved a motion to contribute over $3,000 to the study for installing an electric fish barrier to prevent the arrival of Asian carp in the Iowa Great Lakes. The carp were recently found in Lost Island Lake, just 15 miles from the Great Lakes.

Asian carp can grow up to 60 pounds and three feet long and are known for jumping high out of the water. Once the fish have invaded a well-trafficked lake, they can become great distractions to boaters, skiers and Jet Ski operators. Vibrations from the motors cause the fish to jump out of the water, potentially right in front of boats and skiers.

Extreme floods along the Missouri River in 2011 allowed carp to swim around the Linn Grove Dam and work their way toward the Dickinson County chain of lakes. The Asian Carp’s cousin, bighead Asian carp, were actually found in East Lake Okoboji in August 2011.

As is the case with many invasive species, there is no proven way to remove the aquatic intruder once the lake has been infected.

The electric barrier is proposed on land already owned by the local DNR near the Lower Gar outlet. The Iowa Great Lakes Water Safety Council (WSC) considers this to be the best location. An electric barrier further downstream would potentially trap other fish and cause a pungent die-off between the weir and the barrier.

One of the most common inquiries of an electric barrier is the potential danger to animals and humans — the charge isn’t even strong enough to kill off the fish.

“At first, the fish feel a tingle they don’t like, so they swim away,” said Phil Petersen, secretary of the Iowa Great Lakes Water Safety Council. “If they continue, the voltage becomes more unpleasant. Eventually it will numb them. We don’t believe it ever gets to point that it kills them.”

Petersen also said that humans or other animals such as deer or dogs are not in danger of being killed.

“We don’t believe the voltage used is enough to kill animals or people,” he said. “But to be safe, it is standard operating procedure to place signs (warning) of electrical danger and (to) fence (off) the area.

Studies have shown that an electric fish barrier is an effective way to prevent a species from entering a lake. During a two-year study done by a research team from South Dakota State University in the early 1990s, 1,600 common carp and south buffalo fish were radio tagged and released downstream from an electric barrier. When they later caught over 3,000 fish, not a single one of the tagged fish were found.

In addition to preventing the intrusion of the invasive species, the electric barrier has another benefit — it prevents other fish from leaving the lakes.

“A secondary benefit is that there are musky and walleye that are bred by the fish hatchery and they often tend to swim into the Little Sioux River,” said Petersen said. “The barrier will keep them in the lakes.”

Local officials estimate the cost of the project at $700,000. State Reps. John Wittneben of Estherville and Jeff Smith of Spirit Lake are working with state Sen. David Johnson of Ocheyedan to secure state funding for the project. The local Water Safety Council thinks at least $200,000 will need to be raised locally to support of the electric barrier project. The funds will come from the various lake protective associations, fishing businesses, local governments and property owners.

The DNR will need funds identified by March in order to move ahead with the project before the start of the 2012 vacation season.

“We would like to have it in place sometime in the spring,” Petersen said. “It takes three to four months for the barrier to be installed. We are pretty confident it will work, we don’t have much doubt.”

For more information on Asian Carp please go to this link.