Steve Forney waited and watched, waited and watched.
Finally, he spotted a few fish’bluegills’spawning on beds near the shore of his Waumegah Lake home.
‘We were pretty excited to see them,? Forney said, noting the late spring likely delayed the fish that did show up to spawn. ‘I was out looking everyday for weeks and weeks.?
After the winter’s devastating fish kill, Forney’s heading up efforts to renew the lake association, which, he said, ran out of steam and fizzled a few years back.
‘After we got the (augmentation) well in, and got the berms repaired everyone was just tired,? he said. ‘But we’re getting it up and going again. We elected a new slate of officers and put together a weed management committee. We’ll be getting together and making recommendations to the lake board.?
And perhaps, he said, the lake association can be helpful in other ways.
‘I’m hoping we can heal some of the old wounds and get out of the past,? he said.
On a pontoon ride across the lake last week, Forney and his daughter Kara pointed out particularly scenic spots, waved to neighbors, and talked about family memories.
Like the time Kara and her sister caught fish in a rubber tube, or when the white lily flower made her itch all day.
‘That’s why it’s so emotional for us,? said Kara, a 1999 Clarkston High School graduate. ‘This is what our family does. Sometimes I’ll take the boat into a quiet spot by myself and just read a book.?
But while the fish were a hopeful sign to Forney, he was also deeply concerned with the thick mass of rapidly spreading starry stonewort at the end of his dock’and all over the lake.
‘It’s disheartening,? he said, looking over the side of his boat at the so-called invasive species that seems to be crowding out not just native plants, but other invasive species, as well. ‘It’s always been a battle, but this is the third year we’ve seen it, and it’s pretty much taken over the lake.?
Why so much so fast? Depends who you ask.
Down the lake a bit, Larry Armstrong said bluegill spawned on some 15 or so beds in front of the home he shares with his uncle, Bob Scharr.
‘I got out and raked leaves and weeds out before the fish started spawning,? Armstrong said. ‘My neighbor didn’t do anything; he had one bed.?
In a typical year, hundreds of bluegill’thousands, in some places’can be seen around the lake’s shallow areas.
‘I used to be able to sit on the end of the dock, cast out and catch one fish after another,? he said. ‘I could have caught them off the beds here, but I’d like to see them reproduce.?
He hasn’t seen much evidence those efforts were successful.
‘Out near the island it used to be nothing but beds,? he said. ‘There’s nothing there.?
Armstrong said he’s been all over Waumegah and hasn’t seen or caught anything. But he knows there’s pike in the lake.
‘A buddy of mine went out and caught four or five,? he said. ‘Small ones, and real skinny, not like the ones were catching last year.?
Last year’s pike, he said, were five or six pounds and 30 inches long’or bigger.
No bass, either.
‘Right off, the bass would have been attacking the bluegill nests,? he said. ‘They’re just not out there.?
Armstrong said he wasn’t even sure live fish were a hopeful sign.
‘Pike are meat-eaters,? he said. ‘What little bluegill we’ve got will be devoured before winter.?
Armstrong also said he hasn’t seen any baby swans on the lake.
‘She was sitting on a nest,? he said. ‘But I think she probably just crushed the eggs. There’s no food in the lake.?
No baby geese, either.
‘As long as they keep dumping chemicals we’re going to have the same problem,? he said. ‘Those rotting plants consume all the oxygen.?