There used to be a lot more driftwood on the Chippewa Flowage. In the 1970’s the back bays were still filled with standing tree trunks and root masses. Some root masses were like a burst of root rays coming up from the flowage. Some that had become inverted became “Tippy” mini islands that adjust their positions with the seasons helped by the water level fluctuations.

In 2014 between Dun Rovin and the Hay Creek Boat landing there was a few standing trees.

In the 1970s back in Lessard’s bay/Drakes Creek, you could literally see where the original creek channel was because there were no trees or stumps. By the late 1980’s many of the trees and stumps had fallen or rotted.

Into the 1990’s the western shore just outside of Lessard’s/Drakes/Sibley’s Bay was stacked with driftwood. It was almost like a raft. There was also some nice half spiderweb root masses on the shore.

There used to be an enormous stump between Weiner Island and the island to the south/west. In 1988 it was there lurking under the water. The stump’s head was about the size of an over-sized whisky barrel . In the spring you could pass right over the monster and not even notice but by mid-summer….. look out it would be back lurking inches below the water waiting for the next victim.  By 2005 the stump had been hit so many times and with the help on the ice that monster is all but gone.

There was a stump just outside and to the West of Lessard’s/Drakes/Sibley’s Bay. We called it The Crappie Stump. It seemed like every time we would fish there in the middle of the day we would catch crappies and a few perch. In was still there in the late 80’s but some time during the early 90’s it disappeared. This area became a Spring walleye hotspot during the 90’s. Not so much spring of 2023.