If you don’t enjoy the snow, well you otter!
Winter is commonly associated with serene solitude. However, the lake is still alive and full of energy! It continues to provide food for animals such as these otters caught on camera on Rice Lake. To find food, otters hang out around flowing water and consistently use the same holes in the ice to prevent the holes from icing over. Otters have also been known to break into beaver dams to find access to open water or dig up the occasional hibernating frog for a snack. An otter’s coat is adapted for warmth with a wavy layer of fur underneath to trap in warm air and an outer layer of fur with an oil that protects them from the elements.
Because of these adaptations, otters live on Rice Lake year-round.🦦❄️
Marty the Muskie 2024
This muskie has returned for the fourth year to the same spot on Rice Lake
Muskie spawning on Rice Lake
What a find! A Rice Lake resident caught a pair of muskies spawning on video.
"Within the north and south limits of the Wisconsin muskellunge range, spawning occurs from mid-April to mid-May, with the peak occurring early in the season. Optimum spawning temperature is about 55º F, but may range from 49 to 60º F. Eggs are usually deposited indiscriminately over several hundred yards of shoreline. There is no parental care. Adult spawners return to the same spawning ground in consecutive years." WDNR
FISH ON!
It's a busy Saturday on the first day of the Wisconsin Free Fishing Weekend, January 15-16!!!! At least 50+ ice shacks and tents were on the South Basin for this sunny, 18 degree, wind-free day. Perfect!
Please remember to respect the lake at all times of year and remove all trash, bottles, etc when you leave.
On Nov 23 a gaggle of geese and a bevy of swans gathered in front of Veterans' Park on Lakeshore Drive. What a noisy bunch! Did you know, a group of swans can also be called a bevy, a herd, a game or a flight? If in flight they can be called a wedge of swans. When geese are flying in formation they can be referred to as a skein.
WHAT'S BETTER THAN A HARVESTER WORKIN' HARD TO CLEAR NAVIGATION LANES? TWO HARVESTERS! The two harvesters in the video were seen in the north basin of Rice Lake today. The Rice Lake Lake Protection District has three harvesters - two operate in the north basin and one in the south basin. Due to the height of the harvesters, and the low bridge height at the Narrows, they cannot pass from the north to the south basin. As mentioned a couple days ago, Rice Lake and some other area lakes are experiencing high rates of Curly-Leaf Pondweed this year. It's a non-native, invasive weed, that if not managed can create a mat of weeds so dense, it will choke out desirable plant growth, as well as limit fishing, swimming and boating. The Lake District harvester operators are working many hours and especially hard this year to keep up with the problem weeds. Thanks guys!
Hard water sailing on Rice Lake
A couple weeks ago, before the snow covered the lake, someone was hardwater sailing, or ice sailing on the lower basin of Rice Lake. He went faster than shown on this short clip. Looked like fun! #ricelakefun
Goose Serenade Dec 2, 2020
A chorus of 100's!!!
Rice Lake Dam at work
A GOOD DAM STORY (Part one of two)
Have you ever stood on the Main Street Bridge and marveled at the powerful flow of water going over the dam gates? Awesome! From that point of view, you can see six dam bays. The bay on the far left is non-functioning. The remaining 5 do all the work. The bay in the middle is called a Spill Gate. This is the hardest working part of the whole dam. Water flows over the top of the gate which can be lowered or raised to regulate the amount of water flowing over the dam 24/7/365. The remaining 4 gates are called Tainter Gates. Unlike the Spill Gate, the Tainter Gates are raised from the bottom, allowing water to flow beneath them. Depending on the amount of water that needs to pass from the lake to downstream, only one, two and infrequently all four can be opened to quickly lower the lake level, if we experience a significant downpouring of rain in a short time.
The Rice Lake Dam is an important link in the Red Cedar Watershed chain of rivers. lakes and dams. The first dam in Birchwood holds back Little Birch, Birch, and Big Chetac Lakes. The second dam in Mikana holds back Balsam, Hemlock, and Red Cedar Lakes. The Rice Lake dam holds back Rice, Stump, and Tuscobia Lakes. The fourth and fifth dams hold back Tainter and Menomin lakes near Menomonie, after which the Red Cedar River joins the Chippewa River. The entire Red Cedar River Basin, of which Rice Lake is a part, covers nearly 1900 square miles with 85 miles of the Red Cedar River from Birchwood to Menomonie, draining it all.
Part Two of this story will continue next week with more of the dam history.
The Lake District received our new machine for maintaining vegetation levels last week. Faster and more efficient than previous models. Thank you Aquarius Systems for delivery and training.
The mission of the Rice Lake Lake District is to represent and protect the interests of the residents and property owners of Rice Lake. in the lake.
