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There was definitely some cloudiness to the water the couple times I was on Mendota last year, can’t speak much about the other lakes last year as far as milfoil goes. Two summers ago we went through the lock from Mendota down to Waubesa and back, didn’t notice any milfoil problems on that trip.
Water clarity can be a bit unpredictable. I was surprised by the algae bloom in the middle of the lake the last two years, but it seemed to clear up rather quickly. Milfoil is what it is. 2023 was really good, but 2024 wasn’t as good, still better than other years. I often think what it would have been like 50 years ago. I’m curious how you made it past the lock, my 2010 was too tall for one of the bridges!
I am on Monona, but venture to Waubesa and Mendota when I can. During normal water levels, it's tight but you are able to get a 252 through the locks and under all bridges with the tower folded. Milfoil can be an issue but overall has improved quite a bit in the last few years. I have had little issues in 10 years of running a jet here. The main sand bar on the chain these days is Holy Bay on the north end of Monona. It's a nice large sandy area 3ft deep.
I am on Monona, but venture to Waubesa and Mendota when I can. During normal water levels, it's tight but you are able to get a 252 through the locks and under all bridges with the tower folded. Milfoil can be an issue but overall has improved quite a bit in the last few years. I have had little issues in 10 years of running a jet here. The main sand bar on the chain these days is Holy Bay on the north end of Monona. It's a nice large sandy area 3ft deep.
When we were down there Monona was my favorite for foiling and surfing, nice and deep. Waubesa was fine in the middle, but we tried to get to a restaurant and I got super clogged up. Only time since owning the boat I got the overheat alarm and had to swim under the boat to clear.
Good to know about the north Monona sandbar - we went to the Giligans island on a Friday afternoon and then the next day. Friday was fun, family friendly. Saturday was pretty much adults only - first time my 7 year old daughter saw a lady flash someone... would've been fun without kids.
Water clarity can be a bit unpredictable. I was surprised by the algae bloom in the middle of the lake the last two years, but it seemed to clear up rather quickly. Milfoil is what it is. 2023 was really good, but 2024 wasn’t as good, still better than other years. I often think what it would have been like 50 years ago. I’m curious how you made it past the lock, my 2010 was too tall for one of the bridges!
That makes sense. Our 2010 242 had a fixed tower, so no options there, but now I’m curious if the new boat will clear the railroad bridge between Mud and Waubesa? It was a tight fit before…
We were out on Sunday - saw plenty of boats with fully erect wake towers pass underneath the bridges between Waubesa & Mud. I think we had around 12” of clearance when we went through. Looks like the lakes are fairly full right now.
We were out on Sunday - saw plenty of boats with fully erect wake towers pass underneath the bridges between Waubesa & Mud. I think we had around 12” of clearance when we went through. Looks like the lakes are fairly full right now.
We were out last week to get the feel of the new boat and practice our recovery. It’s taking me a bit getting used to the Drive X system and the neutral steering feature. Mendota is still pretty dirty with a lot of floating debris. Based on the floating courtesy dock at Marshall Park, the lake looks to be about 6 - 12” low. We went out again on Sunday and immediately sucked a stick into the port engine. I couldn’t reach it, so we had to load up and head home. Just one of the risks of early season boating. Fingers crossed that it’s not indicative of the season.
Based on the floating courtesy dock at Marshall Park, the lake looks to be about 6 - 12” low. We went out again on Sunday and immediately sucked a stick into the port engine. I couldn’t reach it, so we had to load up and head home. Just one of the risks of early season boating. Fingers crossed that it’s not indicative of the season.
I thought the lakes looked somewhat low on Sunday as well, but looking at the reported levels, they're at the summer max right now ...
I can't remember when, but I thought Dane county lowered the max allowed lake levels fairly recently.
If it's any consolation ... The weeds last year were so insane, we weren't able to pull away from the lift under power. The loose weeds left by the weed cutters running on all of the lakes had accumulated on the southern side of Waubesa - they were so thick that we had to drop the boat and paddle out to deeper water in order to get any water to flow through the cooling passages.
