A nasty day at the lake on Tuesday. The gusty wind continued the entire day. In the mid-afternoon it had a 6-minute average of 24.1 mph. The only sunshine of the day was for about 10 minutes right at sundown that resulted in a beautiful, red sunset. Wednesday morning is once again overcast, but at least the wind has finally subsided after blowing continuously for 3 days. Lots of rain icons in the forecast for the next 7 days, but not really much rain. Mostly a 50/50 chance for scattered showers each day. According to the longer-range forecasts we are in for a cold May with temperatures remaining below normal for the entire month. Just when I thought the exposed plumbing was safe, Friday morning is predicted to be several degrees below freezing again.
The lake level continues to fall quickly. So quickly it is concerning. It is now lower than it was a year ago and continues to go down around one inch every 24 hours.
I had Saunders Tree Service come in Monday to remove some dead white birch trees. I used them numerous times at the marina, mostly around the parking lot. They are expensive, but you get what you pay for. Professional, safe service. They will do water access projects. Highly recommended.
There was another hopefully positive development on the Dixon Creek access issue on May 1st. First, we learned that it is not a creek or river. The waterway does not fall enough meters per kilometer to be considered a creek or river. It is officially a "waterway." 2nd is that taking identifiable photos of anyone on a waterway without their permission is illegal. Not going to say much more than that for now, but there are both short term, and long-term solutions being worked on quietly to insure continued motorboat access to Dixon Lake for years to come. Should have further information by mid-May.
I tied up a piece of runaway dock to the shoreline at 222 North Shore. If you are missing a nice, modern (built on floats) piece of dock that is roughly 6 feet by 10 feet, that is where it is.
Transport Canada is digging into our pocketbooks this year. Most of us now have to renew the registration of our boats every 5 years. Pretty much applies to every boat that has an engine of 10hp or more regardless of age. More information here:
https://tc.canada.ca/en/marine-transportation/vessel-licensing-registration/licensing-pleasure-craft/apply-manage-pleasure-craft-licence-pcl/apply-manage-pleasure-craft-licence-pcl
There is a $250 fine if you get pulled over for a safety inspection this season and your registration is not up to date.
The Rogers / FOCA special pricing plan for internet service remains $60 per month. (unless you have a Rogers phone in which case it remains $50 per month) Even at the $60 price it is the best internet service for many of us on the lake. It appears they throttle the 5G connection to 40MBps down, and 10MBps up. (tested to that speed again recently) That is plenty of bandwidth for any single-family use. I am now into my 3rd season of using the service and grade it an A-. If the service keeps working through power outages in the future I will up their grade to A+.
Summer burning rules came into effect on April 1. Fires are permitted 7PM to 7AM only through October 31st. Check the municipal website for information regarding total fire bans during the summer should that become necessary. There is also information there on how to apply for a permit for a legal daytime fire through the summer months. (conditions allowing)
The dump is now on summer hours through August 31. It is open Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday and holiday Mondays from 11AM to 6:00PM.
The announcement on the municipal website is somewhat confusing as the headline does not agree with the text of the article, but I believe that half-load restrictions on township dirt roads were lifted on May 5. I will confirm with the Clerk later today.
The 2026 fishing regulations are on-line.
https://lwra.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2026-fishing-regulations-summary-en-2025-12-08.pdf
The fishing seasons and regulations for this area (zone 15) remain the same as 2025. They are on pages 104-114 of the regulations book. Bass starts June 27 and ends November 30. Trout started January 1 and ends September 30 with the slot size of 16 to 21 inches to be returned to the lake. It is a one-line lake for ice fishing.
