Recreation

Recreational use of Lake Sinissippi includes boating and water-skiing, hunting, bird watching, snowmobiling and enjoyment of the scenic beauty. The lakeshores and water are home to a rich and diverse bird population, including bald eagles, wild turkey, sand hill cranes, heron, egret, mallard and white pelicans. River otter, muskrat and various amphibian and reptilian species find refuge in the wetlands and riparian habitat of the lake.

Game fishermen are seeing the results of LSA fish stocking efforts.  Commercial fishermen are seeing fewer and smaller carp.  Since 2004 LSA and LSID have stocked over 14,000 game fish.  LSA will receive DNR and Dodge County matching-funds grants in 2010 to stock perch and northern, species known to survive in the Lake Sinissippi warmer water conditions and known as predators of carp.  The following table shows the number and species of fish that were stocked in recent years.

·  2000  6-10" Black Crappie

·  2000 8-12" Channel Catfish

·  1200 8-9"  Walleye

·  1500 6-10" Black Crappie

·  750 Black Crappie      750

Each year commercial fishermen remove thousands of pounds of carp and small-mouth buffalo from the lake.  LSA provides assistance to commercial fishermen through its Carp Fund.  Make a donation to the Carp Fund to help remove carp and other rough fish from Lake Sinissippi.  Download a Carp Fund Donation form and mail to LSA. Receive a Carp Gift from LSA for your donation.

Water quality and levels

Given the gentle contours of the flooded land, Lake Sinissippi is a very shallow lake, averaging four feet for most of its area, with a maximum depth in a few places of eight feet. Upstream from Sinissippi, the Rock River watershed (i.e., the area that drains into the river) includes the Horicon Marsh as well as thousands of acres of agricultural land. The total watershed of the lake is over 500 square miles. Lake Sinissippi’s physical location at the bottom of this large watershed is a key factor associated with the problems in maintaining water quality. During snow melt and heavy rain, runoff from agricultural fields makes its way into Sinissippi with the Rock River water, and from several small streams in the lands surrounding the lake. Agricultural runoff brings silt and nutrients to the lake, contributing to the growth of algae, increasing water turbidity and resulting in a gradual filling of the lake bottom. Other pollutants reach the lake from upstream urban runoff, wastewater treatment plants, failed septic systems, boating spills and runoff from lakefront properties–landscaping fertilizers and weedkillers, soil and sand from building sites, organic waste, and other substances that we fail to contain within our own properties.

Environmental experts call the water quality condition of Lake Sinissippi “eutrophic”. This means that its water is enriched with nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen, is turbid and has reduced oxygen content. Eutrophic lakes favor the growth of water-borne algae rather than root-based plants. Game fish require clear water, because they feed by sight, and root-based aquatic weeds for cover. Carp and bullhead, by contrast, thrive in turbid, murky water and hasten the process of eutrophication by uprooting plants and stirring up sediment.