Public Hearing on Herbicides

Public Hearing on Herbicides

Date: February 26th, 2019
Time: 5:30pm-8:30pm
Location: Eustis Community Center: 601 Northshore Dr. Eustis, FL 32726
Several of the JLIA board members will attend and provide a summary.

You should be aware that as of January 28th, 2019, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has temporary paused its aquatic herbicide treatment program throughout the state. During this pause, FWC staff will work to collect public comment regarding the FWC’s aquatic plant management program. FWC will hold a public meeting at the Eustis Community Center to gather input about the program. 

Everyone is invited to attend to provide valuable input about the program. This has not affected private property owners permits and their contractors. The issues and possible chemicals in question however could be the same. 

Stay tuned.

Your New Board Members!

Your New Board Members!

We elected new officers for the Johns Lake Improvement Association in
January. The new board is made up as follows:

President – John Schmidt (Johns Cove)
Vice President – Rick Stuebing (Johns Lake Homesites OC)
Secretary/Treasurer (combined) – Ann Megler (Magnolia Island LC)
Communications – Jason Nadrowski (Johns Cove)
Martin Davis (Deer Island)
Don Hickman (Johns Lake Homesites OC)
Frank Dreano (Johns Landing)

     We are working on several issues and have plans to do a better job communicating, setting up a proactive website, and add value to our stakeholders. We’d like to be a proactive one stop shop rather than having you to reach out to all the various agencies, counties, towns, and so on.

     There are several examples of Lake Associations in the County/State that do a great job of this for their lakes. We believe that as the lake continues to be more populated with residences that we can also educate and provide valuable information to new or prospective owners.

     One of the immediate actions is to make sure we have a good contact list for lake and near lake owners who utilize the lake, so we may need help from HOA’s. We’ll certainly make sure the HOA presidents and agencies are kept informed. Please feel free to forward or provide added contacts for us. Let us know if you have any questions/comments.

Johns Lake 2019 Angler Survey (Creel)

Johns Lake 2019 Angler Survey (Creel)

     Johns Lake is a Fish Orlando BIG WATER BODY that is managed by FWC to keep good fish habitat. The creel is just one way they evaluate their work, along with electrofishing, guide reports, Wednesday night tournament results, hook and line samples, TrophyCatch submissions and angler diaries. FWC creels are set up the same every time they run them, so they can be compared with one another. FWC used to conduct them every five years, but they recently shortened it to every 3 years, in order to evaluate the new bass regulation implemented in July 2016 (5 bass limit of fish < 16 inches of which one may be > 16 inches).

      In 2019 the creel will run from January 6, 2019 to April 19, 2019. The creel is broken into four periods (Jan 1 – Jan 28th; Jan 29th – Feb 25th; Feb 26th – Mar 25th; Mar 26th – April
22nd). The computer randomly picks 6-week days and 4 weekend days from each period. It also randomly picks whether they will be out there in the morning, mid-day or evening. 

     The Wednesday night tournament shuts down when we “fall back” from daylight savings time and then starts again when we “spring forward” into daylight savings. There are two randomly selected creel week days that will fall during the Wednesday night tournament time. However, as mentioned above, they track the information on the Wed night tournaments aside from the creel.

     During similarly constructed creels conducted on Johns Lake in 2011 and 2016, they had largemouth bass catch rates that were around 1 bass/man-hr. For example, if two average bass fishers on Johns lake fished from 6 am – 12 pm, that would be 12 man-hrs (6 hrs fished x 2 fishers). Accordingly based on the last two creels, they would catch an average of 12 bass during their trip. 

     There are very few waters in Florida that can brag of catch rates of one bass/man-hr or higher. In the last two decades, bass catch rates this high have only been recorded in this area on West Lake Tohopekaliga, the Stick Marsh/Farm 13 Reservoir in Palm Bay, Turkey Lake (A Fish Orlando FAB FIVE) in Orlando and the Winter Park Chain (A Fish Orlando BIG WATER BODY) in Winter Park.

     One of the main reasons Johns Lake’s bass fishery is good is because the water levels fluctuate. The low’s allow for growth of terrestrial and transitional wetland plants, that when flooded, provide energy for the system via epiphytic algae (the green algae slime that is on the stems of plants). The aquatic insects and small fishes eat the algae, which are in turn are eaten by bigger predators. The highs allow for flooding and control nuisance plants (cattails, etc.), and flood associated wetlands, which after the waters subside, bring the baitfish produced in these wetlands, back into the lake to provide food and energy. While you may not believe this after the last two years of high water on your docks, the highs don’t get as high for as long as they historically used to before canals and structures were built, which is part of the reason they must spend some time treating cattails, floating mats, etc. on Johns Lake. However, it is nothing compared to the mess that would result if water levels were strictly stabilized!

     An extreme low occurred in 2001, when most of Johns Lake dried up. It stayed down until 2003, and in the process, large stemmed woody plants, etc. grew on the lake bottom. When the lake re-flooded, FWC stocked it with 250,000 fingerling bass. Stocking of bass only works on new waters and those that have dried up and re-flooded. Only a small percentage of the bass stocked survive after the first year, but these become the brood stock (spawners) that repopulate the lake. 

     With all the energy produced from the flooding of the terrestrial vegetation came amazing action for big bass in 2006 – 2012. This was documented in our 2011 creel. Approximately 400 – 600 trophy bass were caught Jan – Apr in the 2011 creel! In the first year of TrophyCatch (2012), Johns Lake was second in the state for submissions.

     All good things do come to an end, and by 2013, most of the woody stemmed vegetation produced from the 2001 drought was gone. While the catch rates for bass were still good in the 2016 creel, accordingly, with this energy source reduced, we saw a drastic reduction in memorable (> 20 inch) and trophy (> 24″) bass. 

     One trophy bass FWC shocked and tagged ($100 prize) on Johns Lake last spring was caught by an angler within one week of tagging. All the fishery biologists in the state insert $100 trophy tags in bass that they electrofish in order for the research division to get a “handle” on how many are kept and how many are released. In the past few years on Johns Lake they have tagged approximately 11 trophy bass and 9 of the 11 tags have been returned. Fortunately, the anglers released all their tagged Johns Lake trophy bass.

     FWC’s Fish Orlando annual report can be found each year on their website. You can also check out FWC’s web page. They also have a Fish Orlando app available for apple phones, but it only covers the FAB FIVE, URBAN PONDS and fish ID. It is currently being updated to IOS12. Good luck fishing!
 

Johns Lake Water Level Story

Johns Lake Water Level Story

     In the previous article (August 2018 Cattales), it was reported that the lake level was 99.36
NAVD88. This is incorrect due to an error in a survey benchmark used to take the reading. The correct level was 97.33 NAVD88 on September 7, 2018. Since that time, we have discovered that Orange County Survey Department takes lake elevation surveys monthly and records the official levels for all the lakes in the county. During periods of high-water, they take the readings daily. For any of you that have “stream gauges” or lake level markers you can “calibrate” your high water mark this year so far with this corrected level. JLIA is on the distribution list for these readings from now on. Sorry for any confusion.

18th Annual Johns Lake Holiday Boat Parade

18th Annual Johns Lake Holiday Boat Parade

This year is the 18th Annual Johns Lake Boat Parade! The event will be held on Sunday, December 18th at 6:15pm. Come out and decorate your boat with lights and join in the fun! Last year we had 32 boats in the parade, and many spectators at the public boat dock on Lake Blvd.in Winter Garden, as well on the shoreline in many backyards.

     All boats participating should gather by 6:10 PM in the NW corner of Johns Lake. THIS IS A NEW MEETING LOCATION FROM LAST YEAR. The lead boat will start the parade at 6:15 PM by blasting an air-horn several times. All boats should follow in-line and slowly head east. The parade route will follow the northern, eastern, and southern shores of Johns Lake (from Johns Lake Landing in Lake County to Twinwaters in Orange County, where the parade ends). The parade will take about 2 hours to complete. Please see the Parade Route Map.

If this is your first time decorating your boat for a parade, here are a few tips:

  • Christmas lights run on 120v AC and are designed to operate from your home electrical current. To operate lights on your boat, you will need to purchase a DC to AC power inverter. Power inverters are available at most auto parts stores, Wal-Mart, and Harbor Freight. Power inverters convert your boat’s 12v DC power to 120v AC. Inverters do have a limit as to how much power they can generate from your boat’s DC battery. Inverters are rated by watts; the more watts the inverter can handle, the more lights you can put on your boat. Most power inverters above 150 watts will need to be connected directly to your boat’s battery terminals to provide full power as 12v outlet plugs (cigarette lighters) are power limited by a fuse.
  • The use of LED lights provides the ability to power many more lights than incandescent lights. A 300-watt power inverter connected directly to your battery could power over 600 LED lights as opposed to 60 incandescent lights!  Be careful though, as some units will overheat if too much load is placed on them.  Test your lights for a period of time before the parade starts.  Make sure you use UL-approved outdoor lights as the lights on your boat may get wet and you do not want to cause a fire or shock someone on your boat!

Johns Lake Tussock Issues

Johns Lake Tussock Issues

A.K.A. – The Floating Islands

     In April 2017, FWC toured Johns Lake with Habitat and Species personnel to see if associated marshes near the turnpike could be enhanced to increase their fishery value. On May 2, sites in the northeast side of the lake were picked for a vegetation shredding project with funding available in the FWC budget. At the end of May 2018, an FWC habitat biologist out of Eustis (Steve Crawford) contracted a company to open areas that had previously been too dense for fish habitat. The contractor used “barge-like” boats driven by paddle wheels. Attached to the boats were large metal circular “cookie cutter” blades that chopped the vegetation into fine particles that could be quickly broken down by bacteria. That project is now complete.

This project activity coupled with the high-water levels and storm winds, created a situation where some of these areas of vegetation (tussocks or floating islands) had broken free and had been floating around the lake. During the week of 10/8, FWC came back out into the lake with the “cookie cutter machine,” air boats and personnel to round up and get rid of many of these nuisance tussocks. 

     Next year, they hope to open areas on the south shore of the lake that have been “choked out” with the exotic torpedo grass. However, the FWC state budget next year is challenged by several projects in the southern part of the state that will take a large portion of their funding to complete. We will update the plans as more detail is available.

Johns Lake Water Level

Johns Lake Water Level

It’s High!

Stormwater Drainage Area, Outflow and Lake Levels

Johns Lake is located in west Orange County and east Lake County. The lake level is dependent on rainfall in an area (basin) comprised of 26 square miles. No streams or springs are known to enter the lake. This basin is located south of Lake Apopka as shown on the following maps outlined in red. The watershed includes fourteen contributing lake systems located primarily to the east of Johns Lake. Surface flow moves generally from east to west through the interconnected lake systems and associated wetlands sloughs. Discharge from Johns Lake is conveyed north to Lake Apopka through a series of cross culverts and open ditch segments. Some of the lakes that flow directly into Johns Lake are, Black Lake, Lake Tilden, and Lake Yarbo. Water levels in these lakes is generally consistent with Johns Lake.

The lake level is not controlled by any agency or group. During periods ofhigh water, the water will flow northward into Lake Apopka. (See the blue line in the current & next map) During the dry season water flow stops for the most part. The water level of Lake Apopka is on average approximately 20 feet lower than Johns Lake. Lake Apopka lake level is controlled via a series of locks and dams by St Johns River Water Management District. While they are interested in the amount of flow from the Johns Lake Drainage Area, they do not monitor it, nor the lake level.

The lake level as of 8/4/2018 was approximately 99.36 NAVD88. ( North American Vertical Datum of 1988 is the vertical control datum, or base measurement point established for surveying elevations .) The FEMA base 100 year flood elevation for the entire basin is determined to be 99.7 NAVD88. See the map below – you can use the URL listed to look at the flood elevation at your location.

Water is currently flowing about as fast as it can through the various culverts as depicted in the pictures on the following pages. One concern is that very little of the outfall canal/pathway is deeded to preserve integrity of hydraulic flow capacity and maintenance. The City of Oakland has maintained the pathway from Hwy 50 to Lake Apopka, but the pathway from Johns Lake to Hwy 50 crosses two privately owned parcels.

Culvert structure on the south side of Hwy 50, looking west
Culvert structure on the north side of Hwy 50, looking south west. Water is flowing well under Hwy 50, but the culverts are at maximum capacity.
Gate structure just north of Hwy 50. Gates are locked in full open position, and water is not blocked.

Due to recent high water, many docks are either underwater or very close. High water has created danger of submerged docks and posts. Boat wakes cause damage to structures at or nearly under water and cause boards to break free. This is costly for the dock owners and it creates a significant safety concern. Boat wakes are also causing lakeshore erosion in areas where owners have removed all vegetation, and have not planted desirable vegetation. Please be considerate, slow down and use caution as floating boards have already been spotted.

The high water is also causing vegetation to break away and create floating islands that could cause harm to boaters at night. The canal between Johns Lake and Black lake is navigable to the Greenspace Park, recently created off Avalon Road. During Hurricane Irma this canal became blocked to boat traffic with vegetation, so we worked with Orange County to get it cleared. Recently this canal became obstructed again but has been reopened. FWC (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) was out on the lake this weekend to survey the islands and determine the best way to remove them. If we get an update, we will be certain to update you all. 

The high-water situation is unlikely to change anytime soon, and with more rainy months ahead, it will likely worsen. Looking ahead: we are in hurricane season and tropical storms could amplify the problems.

Johns Lake Water Level Fluctuations Illustrated

In a previous edition of Cattales, the variability of the water level on Johns Lake was discussed. In that article, we talked about the fact that every approximately 20 to 30 years, extreme drought conditions cause the lake level to drop precipitously and expose large areas of the lake bottom to the drying elements of sun and wind. While this has a temporary but profound dampening effect on the recreational use of the lake, it affords the lake bottom the opportunity to naturally rid itself of accumulated muck and organic materials that may have gradually accumulated over the preceding years. After a period of time the drought conditions lessen, the rains return and the lake levels are restored …but with significantly less muck and organic material on the lake bottom and a much healthier lake. The following two aerial photos were taken in 2001 and illustrate this dramatic phenomenon.

Johns Lake Improvement Association Financial Statement

Johns Lake Improvement Association Financial Statement

For year ended 12/31/17

Balance at 01/01/17
$6,884.46
Income
Member dues
1,430.00
Interest received
0.69
Balance with income
8315.15
Expenses
Cattails mailings
263.10
Corporate filing fee
61.25
P.O. box annual fee
68.00
Commercial service charge
8.00
Donation ONP
150.00
Donation FOLA
100.00
Total expenses
650.35
Balance at 12/31/17
$7,664.80

State and Local Agencies

Lake County Aquatic Plant Management
(352) 343-9419
Lake County Department of Environmental Utilities
(352) 343-3776
Orange County Environmental Protection Agency
(407) 836-7400
Florida Department of Environmental Protection (EDPA)
(407) 893-3303
St. Johns River Water Management District
(386) 329-1429 or (407) 897-4346
Orange Storm Water Management
(407) 836-7990
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
(407) 858-6170
Town of Oakland
Dennis Foltz – town manager (407) 656-1117, ext 2103

JLIA Board of Directors

Martin Davis
President
407 877-3455

Ann Megler
Treasurer
407 654-1269

Don Hickman
Secretary
407 656-2392

Mary Louise Grable
407 656-2919

Johns Lake Boat Parade: Save the Date!

Johns Lake Boat Parade: Save the Date!

The 18th Annual Johns Lake Holiday Boat Parade will be held on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018. We will be sending out information, and looking for volunteers to help.

Next Meeting

An announcement will be sent before the next meeting. Anyone wanting to attend is welcome. If you want to get more involved, this is your opportunity.

Share the News

Share this newsletter with your neighbors, and ask them to let us know if they want to receive information regarding our lake.

Do You Have Aquatic Midges?

Do You Have Aquatic Midges?

(aka blind mosquitoes)

     Aquatic midges, or blind mosquitoes, don’t bite, suck blood, or carry diseases, but they can be a real problem for homeowners on the lake. They can be beneficial as a food source for fish, and lakes where the midge breeds are the best fishing lakes. However, the nuisance created by these little bugs far outweighs the benefit. 

One of our JLIA members shared this photo:

     The aquatic midge has four stages in their life cycle: egg, larvae, pupae and adult. The eggs are laid on the surface of the water in a gelatinous mass that can contain upward of 3,000 eggs that will hatch in 2-7 days. The larvae then feed on that gelatinous mass for about 2 days, they then burrow into the mud and feed off organic matter in the mud and water. After a period of 2-7 weeks, they transform into pupae and swim to the surface of the water. Within hours, the adult midge emerges- then look out!! The adult midges usually emerge in large numbers between April and November. During the day, they hang out in cool shady place and swarm at night to mate, preferring the lighted areas around homes (pools, porches, accent lighting). They do not feed, so they only live 3-5 days, then the life cycle begins again.

     Midges eventually attract spiders, their natural predator. The accumulation of midges in the webs results in frequent washing of home exteriors. As these midges die and decay, they can produce an offensive smell similar to rotting fish.

     Their occurrence and survival often indicates the type and amount of nutrients found in the water. Attempts at control involving insecticides or fogging units only address the adults (who have shown to develop a resistance to pesticides) and can even be counter-productive if it kills the natural predators.  These attempts at control are only temporary as the next generation emerges rapidly. Midges breed in water that is excessively rich in nutrients, frequently caused by runoff from the land that contains organic materials, fertilizers (phosphates), among other materials. These nutrients stimulate the growth of aquatic plant life (such as algae), resulting in the depletion of oxygen. As nutrients increase, so does the population of midges.

Recommendation for lakefront residents:

  • Reduce the use of unnecessary outdoor lighting, and indoor lighting that will attract midges to the
    windows and building
  • Use a “light trap” in a corner of your yard to attract midges. Use of bug zappers is not recommended because they kill beneficial insects as well as the midges.
  • Prevent nutrients from entering the lake by eliminating debris at the lakeshore (leaves, grass clippings, etc.)
  • Prevent fertilizer (phosphate) from washing into the lake by maintaining barriers to prevent runoff
    and by not fertilizing between the barrier and the lake.
  • Consider planting aquatic plants that improve the waterfront by removing excess nutrients that the larvae feed on. Though this is a slow process, it help to improve the overall lake health and wildlife habitat.

All of this information and more can be found on the following University of Florida site.