Lake Munson

[jslorenz3]

Anyone ever fished here? I discovered a week ago and fished from the damn and around it. I am hoping to get the jon out this weekend and try and find some bedded up lunkers.

[captkeyser]

There used to be lots of big stinky fish there. Not sure if it ever dried up... guessing it probably did being that it is a pretty shallow body of water. Wouldn't recommend eating anything out of there.

[jslorenz3]

How long ago do you think that the lake dried up if it did?

[bman]

It never dried all the way up and there are lots of fish in there.

What the Capt is talking about is the lake is just south of the sewage plant.
The city did a major clean up a few years ago but it still gives most of us old timers the willies to think about eating a fish out of the sewer lake

[jslorenz3]

Thanks for the heads up. Eating is not the main priority in this case, merely finding some nice bass to catch. I can't wait to get out there the cypress trees make the lake look really pretty.

[captkeyser]

It never dried all the way up and there are lots of fish in there.

What the Capt is talking about is the lake is just south of the sewage plant.
The city did a major clean up a few years ago but it still gives most of us old timers the willies to think about eating a fish out of the sewer lake

Thanks Bman! That is exactly what I was referring to. Glad to hear it didn't go completely down. Guessing the area to the back left, which would be the SW end of the Lake I believe, would have held water. It seemed to be the deepest area on the lake from what I remember. Good luck! Spinner baits and buzz baits always produced well for me.

[jslorenz3]

I just saw on Google Maps that it appeared dry in 2012. It seemed to be full in 2011. There was one deep channel running through it during the time it was dry. Still worth a shot.

[tin can]

Lake Munson didn't dry up last year. It was drained. The water level is controlled by Leon County.

Some information about the lake:

Lake Munson is a managed stormwater facility. About half of the stormwater runoff within the city limits drains to Lake Munson. It's main tributary is the central ditch. You cross that ditch just north of Lake Munson on Capital Circle. The ditch meanders north, roughly along Lake Bradford Road, by Campbell Stadium, through FSU campus, to the Frenchtown Pond. There are several other ditches that tie to it along the way, including the West Ditch, that goes through the ole Dale Mabry Field, and the East Ditch, that runs along Franklyn Blvd. The City and County have constructed several ponds along the runoff route over the past 20 years, to reduce flooding, as well as treat the runoff. The large pond on Lake Bradford Road, as well as what is being done now at Cascade park are examples.

The lake was drained last year to remove the silt (mostly sand) that has settled in the lake. However, "AFTER" draining the lake, Leon County discovered they didnt have the money to do the multi-million dollar project. So, the gates were closed and the lake is back.

There ar low areas in the lake bed that did not completely drain.

Now, for you old timers:

When the U.S. Government built the sewage treatment facility for the Dale Mabery area, located at the southeast corner of Mabry Street, and Roberts Avenue, it was legal to discharge treated sewage back into the natural system. That treated affluent was discharged into the west ditch. When the City built the sewage treatment facility on Lake Bradford Road the treated affluent was discharged into the central ditch. When the City built the Sewage treatment plant at the corner of Springhill Road and Capital Circle (by the airport), there was a large ditch dug from the facility to the central ditch, just south of Capital Circle, just north of Lake Munson, and the treated affluent was discharged into the central ditch. To compound the issue, a large area of what is now the airport was a land fill. There was also a land fill north of Capital Circle, on Springhill Road. Both of these drained into the central ditch.

In the early 1970's it was discovered that this might not be too good for the environment. As a result both land fills were shut down. A large area of the land fill on the airport property was dug up and moved to the land fill on Apalachee Parkway (that drains into Lake Lafayette). The sewage treatment facility at Dale Mabry was shut down. The treated affluent from the Lake Bradford Road facility was, and still is pumped to the sewage treatment facility at Springhill Road and Capital Circle. A 48" force main was constructed from the Springhill Road facility to what is now the Southeast Farm, on Tram Road. It is used for irrigation of the crops grown at the Southeast Farm, with the stipulation that those crops are not for human consumption, but for animal feed.

So, there is no sewage running into Lake Munson. Just stormwater runoff. The same as runs into Lake Jackson, Lake Lafayette, Lake Talquin, and every other lake in the world. The only difference is Lake Munson is not a lake. It's a stormwater treatment facility.

[jslorenz3]

Thanks for the great info. Very interesting how the channel runs all the way through FSU campus and into Frenchtown. I always wondered where the ditch in between the baseball field and Wildwood Hall went!

[RustyG]

Who eats pond fish? Couldn't pay me to eat a fish out of a pond or small lake. But I've heard good fishing there.