Tom Lingenfelter, of St. Paul, sails White Bear Lake, which has been replenished this month by more than 3 inches of rain. (Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)

The fisherman was about to head out for walleye Wednesday on White Bear Lake, his boat idling along the city pier as the engine warmed.

Mark Schwietz has fished the lake for nearly 50 years and had been out more than a dozen times this summer. And he was just about fed up with the low water level.

The fish haven't been biting. The weeds have grown thick and impenetrable. Just reaching open water required patient navigation through mud flats.

'It's awful,' Schwietz said. 'It's continually dropping.'

Then he caught himself.

"But the Lord only gives us what we need," he said.

By that measure, the lake must have needed rain.

After a record dry September and some of the worst drought conditions in recent memory left the Twin Cities at least 8 inches below normal precipitation, the area has had more than 3 inches of rain this month - lifting White Bear Lake's water level more than 2 inches.

It's a small increase for a lake that's taken a big fall over the past few years but a sign things might be improving for the east metro's largest body of water.

"It's raining. That's positive," hydrologist Craig Wills of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday. "Hopefully, we'll keep picking up rain."

The lake has dropped a foot since the beginning of the year, putting it more than 4 1/2 feet below its ordinary water level.

On Sept. 29, it was within an inch of a record low. But the 3.14-inch downpour that started October put a stop to that.

During the rain, puddles overflowed and carved rivulets into the exposed lake bottom near Ramsey County beach. The water eventually streamed into the lake.

Lake bottom that had dried out near Memorial Beach and sprouted sedges, bulrush and grasses during the summer was flooded in spots. Only green tendrils poked above the surface.

Alan Rupnow, a county environmental specialist, has compiled the weekly water level readings for White Bear this year and said it was going to take a couple years of similar rainfall to refill the lake.

"When it hit its low in 1991, it filled back up pretty fast" because of extra rain, he said.

While most metro lakes are lower than normal - Bald Eagle dropped 8 inches this summer, and Spring Lake in Mounds View has hit a new low, falling more than 2 feet - White Bear's problems are compounded by its relatively small watershed and dependence on the water table.

With a small watershed, less runoff makes its way into the lake to recharge it. And with the continuing drought, the local water table is falling, taking White Bear Lake down with it.

But there's an upside to being low and dry, Wills said. Less runoff means less sediment gets into the lake, leaving the water cleaner and clearer, he said.

The exposed lake bottom also hosts new vegetation, which could provide habitat for aquatic life when the basin refills.

"That lake's going to bounce up and down like that," he said. It's "extreme" this year, but still normal.

For fisherman Schwietz, the latest precipitation didn't mean the bad times were over.

The only certain thing about the timing and pace of White Bear's recovery, he said, is that "it's really unpredictable."

Kylee the golden retriever waits as owner John Rentschler, of St. Paul, and Jesse Evans, of Stillwater, prepare to fish the lake. (Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)

Deb Casper Comments:

I, personally, am very happy to see the lake levels start to rise. I've seen this happen several times now over my (too many to mention) years in White Bear Lake. If you'd like to learn more about the lake and White Bear Lake Real Estate in general, please give Deb Casper with RE/MAX Specialists a call: 651-407-7864

Deb Casper, CRS, e-PRO

RE/MAX Specialists

Mailto: deb@debcasper.com

Web: www.DebCasper.com