John Hageman

According to the International Joint Commission, Lake Erie water is at its lowest level since 2014.
Without the first respectable period of ice cover in three years, which at times covered 90% of the lake, it could have been worse as evaporation may have taken a bigger toll in the form of lake effect snow. It was clear when the boating season started in March that Lake Erie’s water level was down when the Ohio ramps to the lake looked longer. River and harbor entrances in some locations that allowed boating outside the dredged channels now contain sediment deposits too shallow to get through.

Each spring and summer, those living or visiting the Lake Erie shoreline may need to deal with large numbers of annoying “bugs,” depending upon the time of year.
When aquatic insects exit the lake, it is often erroneously called a “hatch,” when in fact, it is properly defined as an “emergence.” The hatch occurs when a larva or naiad first exits its egg. On the lake itself, the insects in question are rarely mosquitoes, which require calmer water than Lake Erie normally provides.