Less ambient light in Lake Michigan this year

[dwitt2n]

....appreciate the links...  ...& agree with your assessment Todd....

[Tamara Thomsen]

Braille diving- yeah, been there!  I gave up wreck diving on Lake Michigan in ‘92 and took up cave diving after having the bejeezus scared out of me on a dive on the Prins Willem.  Bill Prince actually had to wholeheartedly convince to give it a try again.  I hope those days never come back!

On a brighter note, some of the Fisheries guys are saying that they are actually starting to see predation on the zebra mussels.  Apparently they are finding shells in the guts of whitefish. The mussels are not providing a terrific food source for the fish, since the fish are overall smaller in size.  This however means that there is a chance that the zebras will never be as prolific as they are in the eastern lakes. 

I remember diving in Lake Ontario some years ago- the first time that I had seen zebra mussels- and the wrecks were these blob looking things in the shape of ships but with no defining edges.  You could stick your hand into the zebras and be half way up your arm before hitting wood.  I hoped that our wrecks here in Wisconsin would never get to that point!

[Dewit2it]

In Winnebago, the mussels seem to be regulating themselves by "pooping where they eat".  Most of the rocks in the shallower spots now have a covering of mussel poop which prevents larvae from attaching to the tops of the rocks.  Only the sides and bottoms of objects seem to get covered with them.

[MNDiveLady]

We now know the true meaning of "Oh  $#!+" 

Or "That's a slippery slope they're trying to attach to!"

[moneysavr]

Fred,
The Solution to pollution is dilution! man all you had to do is stand by the Sauk creek by the power plant and see the effects of 5+ inches of rain! early spring ,unplanted fields,subdivisions,no DNR land management or buffer zones along waterways,and throw Milwaukee sewerage district dumping!   

The old girls got a upset stomach (Lake Michigan) not even the zebras can keep up. next season should be better.

and I did not stay at a Holiday Inn express -
just had a few cocktails! 8)