Collection center now open!
Turn in your minnows and receive gift prize certificates.

 

Intensive Bullhead Removal Program Enters Third Season for 2023 — All Lake Metonga Friends and Property Owners are Encouraged to Participate

We are back at it because there are still too many bullheads. This will be our 3rd year collecting bullheads. Remember, you can collect the eggs, the minnows, and the full-grown bullheads.

Many of the past collectors will collect their catch, freeze them in a Ziploc bag, and bring them to the collection site on collection days, which also provides the added convenience of volunteers logging your catch data for you and disposing it.

Collection data is a critical part of this program. So if you prefer to dispose of your “catch” in lieu of the dropping off at the collection site, download the log sheet below which you can complete and mail or email address per the instructions below.

Mole Lake Fisheries plays a huge supporting role assisting the Lake Metonga Association’s effort. With their electroshocking equipment, they are capable of harvesting thousands of adult bullheads before the bullrushes get too tall. For 2023, the teams from Mole Lake Fisheries electroshock harvested 8,702 individual bullheads, averaging 11.4 inches and 0.91 lbs each — for a total of 9,040 lbs of bullheads removed and donated to area raptor centers for feed. In the three years since the lake association’s new program has been active, Mole Lake Fisheries has harvested 28,235 adult bullheads.

The Lake Metonga Fisheries Committee is in need of additional volunteers to come on board to collect the bullhead minnows this summer.

Like previous years, the DNR requires using the Volunteer Agreement Form (below).

Also below are the directions depending on your choice to email (preferred) OR mail the form. The pier collection program will start on Saturday July 8th and run every Saturday through early August. Again, we will be handing out Palubicki’s Eat and Treats and Yeti’s certificates to collectors on collection days.

Thanks for participating!

2023 Volunteer Agreement Form

2023 Bullhead Removal Log

 

DIRECTIONS for the Volunteer Agreement Form

If sending form by MAIL (United States Postal Service):

1. Complete all applicable spaces in top 4 lines of the Volunteer Agreement Form
2. Sign and date at bottom of form
3. Mail completed form to: Grant Reed 6670 Wintergreen Trail Sobieski WI 54171
4. When we receive your form, the Bullhead Removal Project Volunteer Letter (from the DNR) and a copy of your Volunteer Agreement Form will be mailed back to you. SAVE THESE FORMS!
5. If questioned by a conservation officer, game warden, etc. you must show the Volunteer Agreement Form AND the Bullhead Removal Volunteer Letter.

If sending form ELECTRONICALLY (email):

1. Complete all applicable spaces in top 4 lines of the Volunteer Agreement Form
2. Sign and date at bottom of form
3. Take a picture or scan completed form to gmreedi@gmail.com
4. KEEP original form!
5. When we receive your form, the Bullhead Removal Project Volunteer Letter (from the DNR) will be emailed to you. SAVE THESE FORMS!
6. If questioned by a conservation officer, game warden, etc. you must show the Volunteer Agreement Form AND the Bullhead Removal Volunteer Letter.

Bullheads in Lake Metonga: Why they are Public Enemy #1 for Now

Why the Need: The overabundance of black bullheads that thrive in Lake Metonga has a negative effect on the walleye and perch populations. When the stomach contents of bullheads have been examined, they are full of small perch, bass, walleye, and crayfish. Bullheads also invade the nests of game fish and consume the eggs. Juvenile bullheads feed on the common invertebrates, midges, worms, copepods, etc., which are also the food source for juvenile perch, bass and other game fish.

Since 2008, the Lake Metonga Association has worked with the Mole Lake Sokaogon Chippewa Community's Mike Preul (Mole Lake Fisheries Biologist) and Greg Matzke (DNR Fisheries Biologist – Forest and Florence Counties) in an effort to decrease the number of bullheads in the lake.

Partnering with the Mole Lake Sokaogon Chippewa Community, the Association sponsors an annual bullhead harvest conducted under the supervision of Mike Preul. This harvest of several tons of bullheads is typically donated to the Raptors Educational Group, Inc. in Antigo to feed the bald eagles and other birds being cared for at their facility.

Want to learn more about bullheads impact on walleye population in Lake Metonga? Watch the first fifteen minutes of this Greg Matzke presentation on Lake Metonga and the next ten minutes about the Patten Lake Project to get a clear understanding of why the LMA Bullhead Removal Project is so important: The Fight to Maintain Quality Walleye Fisheries

Continuing the Status Quo is No Longer Enough: The recent diminishment of Rusty Crayfish population is the latest canary in the coal mine indicator that the bullhead population is getting out of control. Additional measures are going to be required, additional measures that necessitate that lake shore owners and lake users step up and and help out.