Firefly Lake- Vilas County

[Jon]

I just got back from another week of camping/diving up in Vilas county.:inlove

This time we stayed on Firefly lake which is connected to the others by one of the nicest bike paths I've ever seen. Ther are no motors allowed and the boat ramp is a path in the sand so ony canoes and kayaks could be launched. This means diivng without the need of a flag and float. If it were only legal to spearfish it would be the prefect spot.

Water was 73F down to 21' and in the high 50's below that. Vis was over 20' above the thermocline and less than 8' below it. I went below it a few times, but there was little to see down there so I ended up above it most of the time. As a result i ended up just diving in my jakcet or a vest by the end of the week.

Lots of bass and small perch to b seen but no crappi of bluegill. In Trout Lake I saw a ton of rusty crayfish- which is why they have commercial crayfish traps all over that lake. I also had lots of loons and ducks to keep me company.

Weather up there was much nicer than down here in Madison- much cooler and no bugs! That made for nicer sleeping and insect free campfires.

Simce I had the lake to myself for diving I found lots of nice lures, paddles, anchors, and beer cans. I would throw stuff up on the beach as I swam around and come back for it later- which meant that the anchors and lures were long gone but the beer cans were there waiting for me.:head

Here's a few shots I took with the new camera.

Jon

 

[Jon]

A few more shots from the trip.

Jon

 

[waldo]

Wow those sunset pics are really nice, thanks for Sharing!

 

[Jon]

There were a bunch of snowmobile trails that connect off the back end of the campground that didn't look like they had been touched all summer. I brought my cyclo-cross bike up and biked down to a couple of other lakes that can't be accessed by car or boat. I was looking for a spot to enter them, but the trails only came close to mucky areas and the bugs were in full force there.

I'd like to get back to those spots on a cool/windy day to try and dive them since I'm pretty sure they don't get much use. The weather we had was pretty nice with warm days and cool nights. It felt like a sauna when we got back to Madison because of all the humidity we have down here.

There were these cool rolls of algae on the bottom where the fish were hanging out. Thy formed all kinds of cloud like shapes. I'm sure that Ted knows the name of it, but I hve no idea.

Here's a few more shots.

Jon

 

[Whopperhead]

Those are some AWESOME PICS!!! Great Camera! I love seeing and hearing about your trips with your family!

 

[fleshy]

There is a lake around here, "lake elaine" which in the eastern end has the weirdest formations that are not unlike your algae rolls. No idea what causes mine either, but they are pretty much verticle pilars. The smallmouth love them, and can be seen everywhere. Weirdest part is that you can put your hand through the pillars, draw it out, and nothing happens. A little puff of sediment maybe. Weirdest thing ever. A couple people told me its because it used to be a marl lake... but that doesn't explain it in my mind. If ted can spread any knowledge on the matter it would be cool.