The ice was beautiful for skating but most of the action was on dirt bikes, four wheelers and snowmobiles especially near the causeway. Fishermen report the ice to be about 14-16 inches thick!
Dam Closed with One Inch of Flow
The dam here at Manchaug Pond has been closed down this weekend to 1 inch by the dam caretaker. Prior to this, the dam was opened a couple inches to take the water down so the docks are not in the water/ice. The dam now can’t be closed down more than an 1 inch as to maintain a flow for the creatures downstream 🙂 Today provided a beautiful day with CROWDS of people enjoying the ice!
Did you see that!?
Whoa! What was that about? Just as I was signing in to post a message, a huge plane just flew over, very low, over Manchaug Pond, over my house, and heading south. It was low, big and dark! Sorry for the lack of technical adjectives – my husband the Marine veteran of the Vietnam War was in the cellar and missed the whole thing! Those are the words of the wife with the degree in Plant and Soil Science, the 9 year old daughter and the 16 mos old grandson. It definitely looked military and it immediately brought to mind “The Bombing of Blueberry Island”, an article written by a Founding Father of the MPA which appeared in the last MPA newsletter. I didn’t have time to turn on the digital camera to get you a picture before it was gone. If you got a photo or have any info let me know!
Catching the Big Winner!
The state’s top anglers will receive special honors on Feb. 10 at the Eastern Fishing and Outdoor Exposition at the DCU Center in Worcester. I didn’t notice any winners from Manchaug Pond but I did notice that fish caught in our waters could have had achance. For instance the neighbor’s grandson caught a 6lb + bass when he was 10 years old. For the youth pin a minimum weight of 4 lbs is required for a bass and who knows who will enter. Every fish caught at our dock is a winner! Big or small it is a thrill. Fishare named and thrown back in to lure out another day or in 5 minutes ifthey are hungry :)) This fish was caught this summer. A beauty by anystandards! Click the title of this post to get the list of winners, the requirements for the program, and the weight stations tobring in your prize fish. And send me photos of your prize catch!
Super Bowl Sunday
Sunshine, but cold and breeezey.
Snow means Snowmobiles!
Finally snow! and on the lake, snow means SNOWMOBILES! and four, three and two wheelers!Saturday, quite a few came from the boat ramp as well as the a few cottages around the lake. How many snowmobiles does a trailer like that hold? Four?
Life on the Lake
Having raised 4 children on the lake, over the years I have to say I have never heard any of them say they were bored. The lake certainly is the center of activity no matter what the season! Here’s more photos from Sunday: How about 4 wheeling and a visit with neighbors! or ice skating! or snowmobiling! or snowboarding!? or ice fishing! or cross-country ice skating!? or your own fishing derby! Whatever the fun, we are always a little sad when we have to go home! Manchaug Pond, a great place to be!
Sunday a Great day on the Lake!
Great day on the lake today: Blue sky, sunshine, little wind, and good ice!Area 1 (the homes before Holbrook’) and the south cove of Areas 5 and 6 had plenty of socializing ice fishing and snowmobiling. The rest of the lake was quiet except for some ice skating & hockey at a couple homes in Area 7 & 8. I also saw the four wheeler of Area 8 riding along the shore.
Dam Still Open
The dam is open with the Interface dam caretaker watching our docksso the ice does freeze around them. The dam is open 6″ whichis more than the usual 2 inches at this of the year. We have noticed a number of duck swimming and eating in the flow between Manchaugand Steven’s. I figure they are enjoying the peace of the water thereunder the cover of the trees. Area 2 reports that the seagulls thisyear are quite aggressive with a member witnessing an attack of a visiting merganser duck.
Ice Fisherman Hit the Lake
Manchaug Pond, with this cold spell, has a thin coat of ice on it – enough for the ice fisherman to be out on the lake in the area in front of the dam. Clearly not thick enough for me 🙂
Ice on the Lake
This just in from a photographer in Area 2! With this cold spell this week (morning temperatures in the teens), ice has finally been forming on the lake. Later in the day, the wind opened up this “river”. Email your photos – we’d love to see them! Remember we have members in 30 communities other than Douglas and Sutton and from 7 states with some “overwintering” in Florida. They love “seeing” how the lake looks each day.
Dam Owner Keeps Water Level High
Manchaug Pond is at high water levels for this time of year, with the gate repaired and low water a distant memory. The dam owner called this week to give the MPA the inside info on how they’re handling this unusual winter with no snow cover. (Of course, its snowing as I write this!) First of all, Fuddy, the caretaker will have you know that in his 23 years at this job that this is very unusual to have no snow by mid-January. The plan is to keep the water as high as possible, without ice damage to docks, in case we have a dry spring. Without snow cover we won’t have a spring melt to bring us up. In the meantime, we have been getting plenty of rain and a frozen ground that means plenty of run-off. The first week in January we recieved 2 inches of rain which brought the lake up 20 inches. In response, Fuddy had the gate opened 18 inches. This week he had the gate back to two inches and was monitoring the weather channel for the possibility of rain – ready to open it up again. “No one watches the Weather Channel as …