From my not so impartial view, I have to say that we are lucky to be living on Lake Washington. From all the various people I meet and hear from that live on the lake full time, use it seasonally, or those just visiting all have that welcoming attitude. The reviews from the VRBO / Airbnb places around the lake reflect these same welcome feeling. One neighbor taught my nephew and niece to water ski. Another neighbor gave me a pontoon ride on one very windy day to the east side sandbar area. This was looking a bit like “Big Island” with around 40 boats all parked in a calm part of the lake. Okay, so we will hopefully never be as crowded as Minnetonka, but it was nice to see that a windy day on one part of the lake brings the neighbors together on another part and you can still enjoy the water.

Two private events were posted on Lake Washington’s Facebook page inviting the entire lake to their place for live music. First being the fifth annual “Rock the Dock” and the other being the “Southside Sunset Rockin’”. This is besides the excellent firework display from numerous houses to celebrate the fourth. It is great to bring people together and announcing events on Facebook helps give the heads up for those who are wanting to avoid the crowds.

Please welcome Brett Rasmussen as the newest member of the board. Brett lives on the southwest corner of the lake. He has taken over from Cathy Klehr, thus a 1 ½ year term instead of the normal three. During the August potluck it was asked on exactly what does being part of the board entail? The board meets once per month between February and October alternating between first Tuesday and Thursday of the month for about an hour. Each board member chooses which committees to be part of and helps out with these areas. Contributing articles to the newsletter. Meeting new people and having fun. We were very lucky with prior two seasons having very few weeds, but this season brought us back more to the norm. I was contacted a few times for recommendations for weed removal around the docks and beach area. Unfortunately I do not have any experience with this endeavor, so if people have found a service they like please do pass the information along.

The fishing at the lake has certainly changed over the years. With only 73 tags being reported out of the 1800 walleye tagged tells me that you are lucky to catch one. Not sure if the cormorants and pelicans are doing any better, but then again they are not turning in the tags. Perhaps the metal tag is poisonous to them and it is helping control the population? On the other side, we have had a number bass tournaments being held at the lake. So I guess the bass population is doing well, but personally is not my favorite fish for eating.