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Fortunately, there seem to be few reported cases of swimmer's itch in Gull Lake these days, but I remember well when our sons were little how they would occasionally get it when swimming at the pagoda at the Biological Station. Swimmers itch is a problem in many Michigan lakes in the summer and it is definitely painful (but not dangerous). As the picture to the right shows, swimmer's itch appears as a series of red welts that itch like mosquito bites. Often the welts appear in a line near the waistband or straps…continue reading →

Over the past weekend (June 11th and 12th), you may have noticed an extraordinarily large number of dead smelt in Gull Lake.  Based upon conversations with local anglers and with the DNR, we understand that the most likely cause of the smelt die-off was thermal stress as Saturday was one of the hottest days of the year.  The appearance of the dead fish supports this conclusion due to the absence of hemorrhages or other signs of disease.  Most of the smelt were similar in size and presumably were schooling together in the same type of…continue reading →

Many of us enjoyed the mild winter. When the ice goes off Gull Lake early, like it did this year, we might wonder how the ice cover duration compared to previous years. Did you know that Gull Lake residents have been keeping track of freezing and thawing dates for almost 100 years! (more…)

The Gull Lake Quality Organization wants to alert you that a high invasive aquatic species, Starry Stonewort, was discovered in Gull Lake in late summer 2014. . . read morecontinue reading →

There has been a mass die-off of zebra mussels in Gull Lake. Jeffrey D. White, Michigan State University Fisheries and Wildlife presented the results of his study at the annual meeting of GLQO. Click to review his Zebra Mussel Presentation.continue reading →