Party Planning at Andover Lake Beach

Beach party information for reserving a date to use the pavilion has been posted under the Lake Rules section on the Andover Lake website ......A.L.P.O.A. members will also find the new 2012 Beach Party form to download and complete to reserve the pavilion for their party date.

Fishing Season Opens today

Fishing season opens today, April 21, 2012. Everyone over 16 years old needs a fishing license to fish in Connecticut waters. They are available on-line at the DEP Website http://www.ct.dep.gov/ or at the Town Clerk's office in the Town Office Building.

Although we consider Andover Lake a "private lake" the DEP's definition is a little different and therefore a valid CT Fishing License is required.

Rules and Regulations governing fishing can be found in the Anglers Guide that comes with your fishing license, is available at the Town Office Building or at the DEP Website.

ANDOVER LAKE WEBSITE

Many residents have noticed that they are unable to access forms through the Andover Lake website. I suspect this is because they access the website through their “favorites list” and since the website was modified in some manner at the end of last year…. if you access it from a list that you have saved previously you are going to the old web site which appears the same. Most favorites or other hyperlinks that have been saved since last year including the official town web site take you to site “http://users.ntplx.net/~alpoa/ . This is the wrong web site, the correct site is http://www.andoverlake.com/ CORRECTION: Go to your web browser and go to your “favorites” list. Delete the Andover Lake Homepage. Delete any hyperlinks you use from any other location. Go to your web browser and type in andoverlake.com and the correct site will appear. Now save it again as one of your “favorites”. OR From this blog. Go to “Andover Lake Links” in the right hand column, click on “Andover Lake Property Owners Association ALPOA”. This will take you to the correct website. Now you can save it in your favorites. :)

ALPOA initiation fee: the reason

From ALPOA president Naida Arcenas:

Many people have questioned why a new membership is so much more expensive than a regular membership. The reason is that 20 years ago when the Dam needed replacing, there was not enough money saved. All members were assessed a $200 additional one-time fee to pay for repairs on the dam. ALMA also sold off many of its properties to raise money, and it was determined that we needed in the future to continue to assess each new membership this same one-time fee and invest this money in case the Dam needs additional work or replacing. We additionally, try to set aside money yearly to this fund for future dam repairs or other lake needs in case we have water or weed issues. ALPOA decided 8 years ago to lower the amount to $150 as it was too expensive an amount for new families. We at ALMA and ALPOA continue to strive to maintain the lake while trying to keep costs down.

BYOB: Bleach your own boat!

Now that the boating season is starting, remember to bleach your boat. We pride ourselves in the pristine state of the lake, and in particular in the lack of invasive weeds. Two-thirds of the lakes in Connecticut have been taken over by such weeds, and we do not want to add Andover Lake to the list! Thus, whenever your boat touched other waters, bleach it before bringing it back to Andover Lake.

For the same reason, no pumping of lake water is allowed, except in emergency situations (fire). Pumps need priming, which sends foreign water into the lake, potentially bringing new weeds. As previously reported, this also applies to State trucks...

Fishing Regulations for Andover Lake

Just a friendly reminder to anyone planning to fish in Andover Lake. Although Andover Lake is a private lake open only to ALPOA members this does not exclude it from CT State laws and regulations for fishing and boating. A few regulations include; - Everyone over 16 years old must have a CT fishing license. Available at the Town Clerks office or on-line at the DEP Website for $20. - No motors of any type allowed [this includes electric motors and gas powered ice fishing augers].

- A life jacket (PFD) must be worn by EVERYONE in a canoe or kayak from October 1st until May 31st. [Children under 12 MUST wear one WHENEVER they are in a moving boat].

- Fishing is allowed year-round on Andover Lake [24/7 no closed season applies].

- Chain Pickerel under 15 inches long as well as Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass under 12 inches must be returned unharmed and no more than 6 Bass (Largemouth, Smallmouth or combination of) or 6 Chain Pickerel may be kept in one day.

- It is illegal to transfer any fish from one body of water to another.

- Feeder stream into and out of Andover Lake are closed to all fishing from March 1st until April 18th. The fine for fishing without a license is $77 and $154 fine (each count) for keeping under size fish or exceeding daily limit. The complete Angler’s Guide can be found on line at www.ct.gov/dep/fishing or call 424-FISH for answers to any fishing related question. DEP Conservation Officers do patrol Andover Lake from time to time. Life Jacket (PFD) violations are the most common violation.

CT Lake Living Website

Here’s a website you might find fun to peruse… CT Lake Living. It’s a listing of waterfront properties for sale and includes in come cases virtual tours of the property.

http://www.ctlakeliving.com/

Water drafting and invasive species

Andover Lake, contrarily to most other Connecticut lakes, does not have a problem with invasive species. To make sure it stays so, we have regularly asked users to bleach their boats after use elsewhere, apparently successfully. However, another way of catching some foreign seeds is by taking water in the lake. A water pump typically starts by expulsing some water, which may have been contaminated elsewhere.

We have had recently several instances where someone pumped water (a gardening company, a DOT truck), thereby threatening our lake. Andover Lake is a private lake, and taking water is considered trespassing. To make this clear, ALMA and the Wetlands Commission of the Town of Andover have drafted a joint letter that makes this clear. Print it and keep it handy in case you catch someone water drafting from out lake.

New rules for docks, walls and floats

A few months ago, ALMA and the Andover Wetlands Committee revised the rules guiding the docks, floats and retaining walls on Andover Lake. The principal changes were to allow new types of material, permit larger docks and include wetlands considerations. The complete set of rules is available on the ALPOA website. Note that as always, any dock or float requires ALPOA membership, whether in use or not.

Sunfish are nesting - Take a look!

The lake temperature was 78 degrees yesterday and the Sunfish, or Bluegills, have started to nest. There’s a great opportunity to see this in action from the Dam walk-bridge. From the far west side take a look into the lake and watch the little fish making those crater like depression on the lake bottom. They nest close together and it looks like the surface of the moon. The depression is made with their tales as they swim back and forth swishing the tale to clean the bottom. The eggs are laid in the pebble bottom. Watch for bigger fish like the Largemouth Bass annoying the Sunfish as they try to steal a snack of Sunfish eggs.

The snapping turtles are out of the lake and laying their eggs in the soft dirt around the shoreline. Keep your fingers outta their way and just let them do their thing!