Lake Denoon

For all the people wanting to fish Denoon... with the rains of late the lake is at full pool . I believe you could even launch a fishing boat at the cattail launch NW corner of the lake.  The water is the highest I have seen in at least 8.. 9 years. And the walleyes planted 5/6 years ago should be keeper length.... Hopefully GOOD LUCK

This is a NO-fishing report prompted by jimbobski’s post of today (March 5).  I give him credit for contacting the Muskego Park and Rec Dept., but the City of Muskego administrators have a history of delaying lake landing improvement projects (Denoon and Big Muskego).  See my post of 9-8-2023 for Lake Denoon and the opinions of others that followed.

Yes, the lake level is low.   But there is an erosion problem that raises the level of the channel bottom by siltation.  In the winter of 2021-2022 Muskego had Badertscher clear the land north of the road to the channel landing to make way for a new Frisbee golf course.  Many trees were removed and underbrush was cleared.  This area drains into the intermittent stream that empties into the channel at the boat landing.  Eventually the lake level will rise when the drought ends but the silt will remain without dredging.

But there is a second problem that nature is unlikely to fix in the near future.  The reed growth has choked off the channel to a minimum width of 5 feet.  The reed growth is another consequence of the Badertscher job.  See the attached photo of Sept 1, 2023 that shows “Dad” poling his way thru the mud that is a few inches beneath the water surface.  You may wonder why the reeds are so vigorous at the channel compared to other undeveloped shoreline such as along the peninsula on the west end of the lake.

The three basic components of plant fertilizer are Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potash.  For any plant species, growth will be limited if any one of these three fertilizers is in short supply.  For technical details on lake water quality, see the SEWRPC planning report for Lake Denoon     capr-324-lake-management-plan-lake-denoon.pdf (sewrpc.org).  Per the report, the lake has excess Phosphorus which is the focus of lake chemistry.  If you have spent any time of this lake, you had to notice the algae gobs that mainly feed upon the Phosphorus.  Many homes have beautiful lawns thanks to high-nitrogen fertilizer, much of which runs off into the lake.  See the photo of a home with a spectacular lawn.

What about Potash?  Historically Potash was made by putting wood ashes into pots and then adding water.  The word Potash came from the old Middle Dutch word "potaschen", meaning a POT of wood ASH to which water was added and then evaporated to leave a white residue of Potassium Carbonate, now simply called Potash.  OK, enough of the chemistry lesson, but how does the Frisbee golf project relate to the Potash fertilizer that triggered the extremely vigorous reed growth that is closing off the channel?

The Badertscher work is documented in these two videos from which the last appended graphic (bonfire at intermittent stream) was taken … Badertscher Shrub Removal Timelapse 12/29/21 - YouTube  and Badertscher Shrub Removal Timelapse 1/10/22 + 1/11/22 (youtube.com)   There were several large bonfires to remove the wood of felled trees.  So with nature supplying the water and the project supplying the wood ash, they had the formula for producing potash solution.
The referenced post mentioned a “plan to completely redo the launch is 2025”.  An unfunded plan is nothing.  The funding of Muskego’s 2025 projects will happen later this year.  I would not bet money on the launch getting into next year’s budget based on their track record.

Park and Rec also mentioned “possibly relocate away from the channel.”  Unless I have missed something, the only public land is the narrow strip at the existing channel, a part of Denoon Park.  So the option would be to buy up a couple of typical properties for demolition to provide parking and the landing.  That would take a million dollars off the tax rolls.  And all of this to avoid a minor dredging project?   Gimme a break!

And the suggestion of fishermen “cutting the reeds back” would have to include the roots.  Anybody up for a ton of muck in their boat?

By the way, neither the nearby Waukesha DNR office nor the Madison DNR headquarters showed any interest in their involvement when I contacted them.

If fishermen want to enjoy Denoon Park anytime soon, I suggest they take up Frisbee golf.

Wally

I had a talk with Adam at the parks dept who was very nice and informative we discussed the launch and he said if I wanted to cut the reeds back I was ok to to that, he added that he would check with his staff to see if they could do anything, I did tell him I understand they cant control lake levels, At which time he informed me that there plan is to completely redo the launch in 2025 and possibly relocate away from the channel.

With the lack of precipitation is this lake launch a no go for the summer season?

Nothing biting on the West end by the launch.  6 tip ups and 3 his going between 3 guys, 6 hours on the lake, no interest at all with the fish. 

The real issue is the water level is down about a foot and a half. Some decent rain this summer would solve the problems. Not everything is a conspiracy. 

This "used" to be my favorite lake back 8-10 years ago.. When they were putting in the Frisbee play ground I called the maintenance foreman for Racine county and he told me as much.. "The lake owners don't want the ramp fixed" . It may be a long time IF ever fixing the ramp.
I am lucky.... sort of... I have an access for fishing BUT believe me the fishing has changed drastically from 4-5 years ago.. the weeds to have taken a hit and unless you want little bass up to 12-13"s action is very limited  
Jmmy

Remember those people own the lake. Why do you think that the launch is the way it is. They want no one else out there !! Just my opinion!! Tight lines!  

I wouldn't bother trying to launch a motored boat. The launch is only suitable for canoes and kayaks. I have a canoe so I love this lake for that reason. The only problem is every afternoon the people with piers on the lake come out with speed boats and jet skis. They like to obnoxiously fly past the fisherman at illegal distances over and over despite having tons of room elsewhere.

It's kind of nice going to Denoon knowing no one will be there and no boat traffic. Maybe those big bluegills will get a break for a few years from people plucking them off beds in spring.