Hi Crew,
been away for a month overseas and come back t find a few things have happened and a bit of hype on here for next summer. So thought a bit of local info might help out.
there's 3 big hitters that will affect the windsurfing crew.
but first t lake George management committee don't even have us on there radar it's all fishing first the duck hunter then bird watchers we don't get a mention.
--- Rain we have had a bloody heap about 8 to 10 inches last mont or so. So yeh the drains into lake George are flowing fully at the moment. That good
---- the channel to the sea has been opened ( sort of ) I wa amazed when i was sent a picture off this when away as knew fully we'll the drainage board and government would no give a cent for it to be done.
turns out a local volunteered 2 days and his excavator, fuel was donated, and a grand each from beachport lions and development association. ( I'll be buying Geoff a pint every time I see him in the pub )
Sounds good but it was only a small token effort compared to the past. Just a small gap down the middle with nothing carted away, we had a 4 metre sea with a 8 metre swell that went in but its now looks to be sanded up enough to stay closed - see pic.
Was only dugout to allow all the fish schooling in the bay into the lake ( not for us )










---- the other big hitter is really gunna **** us off..
after **** loads of lobbying by the fishermen they are again issuing net licenses for LG . So we will have 100 metre nets to dodge again like back i the early nineties .
They are talking about a cap at 4000 licenses !!!
seeing as they have paid $100 for there license they have right of way over us who contributed nothing to the gov or management committee . Meaning if we are sailing along the spit a bozo can come and put a net out and tell us kindly to move elsewhere.









enough bad stuff, the lake is maybe halfway full and rising from the fresh water flow, October is when it should be at it's fullest so I will report then. Fresh is good as has a lot of fertiliser in it to help the weed growth as there is none now.
hope this helps out Sailquick.
Jimbob.

Great stuff Jamie, lots of info there!!!

I can see we'll have to develop "net ride over weedies" you guys may also need deltas. Shouldn't hurt the nets too much as long as you don't have razors on the leading edge.

Great to get the news and full situation report first hand Jimbob! Many thanks!

I keep hoping for more rain! A LOT more!!

Sounds really promising. Really hoping to have the opportunity to sail there in 2017 with everyone.

Is it worth a few of us writing to the lake george management committee explaining the usage of the lake and the value of the windsurfing $$$ in beachport.. im sure when you factor in accomodation $$$, food and drinks and other $$$ put in as the visiting sailors it may give us a lit bit of a voice..after all money talks???

Where do the fish come from if the Lake dried? surely fark all would have come through that channel dug.

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choco said..
Where do the fish come from if the Lake dried? surely fark all would have come through that channel dug.

"The fish eggs lay dormant in dry river beds between wet spells."

www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-16/outback-phenomenon-as-countless-fish-spring-to-life/7417374

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choco said..
Where do the fish come from if the Lake dried? surely fark all would have come through that channel dug.

gamble responsibly

Wouldn't the lake be too salty for fish to survive? Also netting would stuff up the weed growth wouldn't it?

Cheers Jimbob; legendary community announcement as usual. You give us a glimmer that we may sail LG this coming season.

Some questions on the fishing thing...

1. The last article says there's currently over 500 licenses granted (which allow two nets). So presumably those registered could be legally dropping those nets right now. When was the last time you saw nets in the lake Jimbob? I guess the effort of lobbying shows some people, currently without, want a licence, and therefore have real intent to drop in a net...

2. 100m nets for recreation fishing times 4000 licences? My initial (and completely uninformed) reaction is that would compromise stock levels...those numbers could lead to very intense 'recreational' fishing. Also, it looks like our respective seasons are going to completely overlap; Wikipedia states :The yellow-eye mullet schools in large numbers in summer...

3. The article also say the southern lagoon is off limits, so they're still zoning it. That's not the basin south of the spit is it? More specifically, that's not anywhere useful to windsurfers is it?

I'd suggest using WSA as first point of contact with any council communications.
They are there to represent the windsurf community. You know the Hunting, fishing, ornithology etc.. people will be represented.
You don't want it ending up like the Creery Lagoon situation we had in WA where a disgruntled member of the public with contacts somewhere made it very uncomfortable to windsurf in the lagoon and general area for some time.
After getting the "hoons" publicly shamed, it was only due to some good diplomacy that the mudslinging stopped however it was agreed not to sail in the area.

[edit]
"however it was agreed not to sail in the area"
I'd just like to clarify that this was an agreement by the windsurfing community not an agreement between the parties involved.
This issue has still not been resolved.

All the details here.
www.pir.sa.gov.au/fishing/fishing_gear/lake_george_mesh_net_registration

I've read the above information and am quite surprised by the allowable size of the net (up to 75m lg x 2.5m deep) and bag limits (60 per person over a 24hr period) for recreational fishing. The regulators specifically state that the fish cannot be commercially sold. What does a recreational fisher do with 60 fish if he can't sell them?

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John340 said..
I've read the above information and am quite surprised by the allowable size of the net (up to 75m lg x 2.5m deep) and bag limits (60 per person over a 24hr period) for recreational fishing. The regulators specifically state that the fish cannot be commercially sold. What does a recreational fisher do with 60 fish if he can't sell them?

I don't understand how "fishing" with a net is considered a recreation. A rod, sure! But a net? C'mon.

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sboardcrazy said..
Wouldn't the lake be too salty for fish to survive? Also netting would stuff up the weed growth wouldn't it?

wouldn't the lake be too muddy for the fish to survive? also with nets dragging the bottom as well as windsurfers , how many smart fish would venture from clean ocean waters to a mud cesspool, as for fishing with a rod what bait do you use my multi bet is there wont be any clear water/weed/fish or any thing in the lake except for mud
'EDIT' there wont be any weed growth until the lake clears up as it needs sunlight for growth

The rain continues to fall in the catchment area. The following details the latest 3 month totals for SA. Rainfall in the catchment is now over 400mm for this period, which is an increase of over 100mm in the last month.

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John340 said...
The rain continues to fall in the catchment area. The following details the latest 3 month totals for SA. Rainfall in the catchment is now over 400mm for this period, which is an increase of over 100mm in the last month.

That looks high , hope it stays there

Hmmm think I'll start laying the ground work for a 2017 trip. Need to bank some brownie points

3 weeks staying on the spit in January sounds like a plan :-)

Jimbob, Is the first photo the Spit facing West, second facing east, third one 5 Mile Drift ??

Yetti, So the WA trip is cancelled

I might have to drop in on the way to WA ??

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John340 said...
The rain continues to fall in the catchment area. The following details the latest 3 month totals for SA. Rainfall in the catchment is now over 400mm for this period, which is an increase of over 100mm in the last month.

had a **** load more rain so much that all weirs on draim M at Margery Mount Bruce and callendale have been opened to allow them to let bool lagoon go. Our full 40 gig allocation is Gunna happen first time in over 10 years. Should see a big rise in level again the next few weeks.
The catchment area is actually from the Grampians downhill to bool lagoon plus locally.

I think the water level gauge in the big lake is broken again. It hasn't moved since mid July

they have started to again dig out the channel. To let water flow out not in. Had huge rains here last couple weeks with more again coming. Lots of flooding inland with all drains at capacity.

Should be a great flush then for the lake system

Does the rain runoff significantly effect the salinity in the lake

Hows the lake doing this week , did they reopen to the ocean .

The forecast is looking epic on the limestone coast for Friday. Is anyone planning to sail Lake George?