Lake survey data

[Jim Uran]

I roam around on the recreational compass and look at fishy lakes I'd like to try I ran across this one and am tempted to try it out this evening. Max depth of 27' pretty much a bowl lake with one hole in the middle. 130 acre lake, and it was noted that this survey had the largest number of crappies compared to previous surveys.... so, what do you think?

[OnAFly]

It's a 6/7 year old survey. Those 6-8 inch crappies could be huge if there is no pressure there. If there is it probably look similar to what it looked like when the data was taken.

I would give it a shot.

[Jim Uran]

That's the thing, there is no pressure on it, it's hard to get to and 3/4's of the lake is surrounded by private property. I don't know the guy but there is an access on State land

[reinhard1]

ok, i'll play devils advocate or whatever they call it. i see no bass in the survey and a low population of pike. one could say there may always be crappies on the small to average side on this lake due to no pressure to speak of and lack of predators. maby not the case but it could be possible. good luck.

[Jim Uran]

Well if I don't make it out there tonight I will in the very near future. Thea lake isn't too far from my house!

[reinhard1]

if i lived there i would go. might be a great place to take kids also. good luck.

[jentz]

The way I interpret it, is it has a stunted population and not enough predators to make a difference.I'd fish the bullheads.

[Scott M]

I think you'll find dinks, but the only way to know is to go. Good luck. It takes a lot of sorting to find good hidden lakes.

[OnAFly]

Looking at it again, that's a lot of bullheads. Lakes that are filled with those things might not be so great for crappies. But again, it's just a net survey from 6 years ago, so take it with a grain of salt. It's got the depth to keep fish, so it's worth a shot.

Let us knew how you do. I'm interested!

[Jim Uran]

Okay there are huge crappies in this lake, we spent the afternoon into the evening fishing this lake. We caught two snake northerns, 1 15" walter, and 6 crappies. The biggest was this beast. 14".... spent a while out there and fished hard. I drilled at least 40 holes. And fished them all about 5 times each.

[dairyman]

WOW-----nice one............its not the quantity but the quality that counts and a fish of that size is a quality fish

[bbfenatic]

Congrats Leech....way to huntem down! Nice fish and a happy fishin Buddy!

[Jim Uran]

Thanks guys. Here is his walleye. He really did catch the biggest and best fish of the day. Wouldn't have it any other way.

[reinhard1]

that's always great to see. nice walley and a lasting smile. good luck.

[CAMAN]

Nice Job!

GPS Coords please!

[Beast26]

ok, i'll play devils advocate or whatever they call it. i see no bass in the survey and a low population of pike. one could say there may always be crappies on the small to average side on this lake due to no pressure to speak of and lack of predators. maby not the case but it could be possible. good luck.

I will play devils advocate to your post The DNR has always had trouble surveying bass populations in lakes depending on the time of year the survey is done.

[reinhard1]

hey, i agree with you on that one, usualy done with electro shocking tests. but in this survey not even one bass was noted in the survey. that's pretty low. it would have been nice to see the summary of this lake to see if shocking was even taken. and i would have liked to see the young of the year shoreline netting results. but to see not one bass in the entire survey gave me some thought on this lake. but that big crappie and the report by Leechbait proves my theory being the devils advocate wrong. good luck.

[fishuhalik]

thats real fishing. do your own research, find a lake that looks good, & find em on your own. anyone can go to a community hole, put down some bait & catch fish. i get a real kick out of finding my own little lakes like you just did. nicely done? and if you dont mind me asking, what county were ya in?

[popriveter]

I love it! You used the resources wisely and gave it a shot and it paid off. This is my favorite way to play the game. What I am struck by on that survey is the lack of bluegills. Looks like it's all species that survive winterkills well. Lakes with occassional partial winterkills are often VERY crappie-friendly. The crappies, pike, (and green sunfish) survive best and get all the food. That means little competition for the minnows, large bugs and leeches that the crappies are munching on. Good find!

[Jim Uran]

Thanks guys, Mahnomen County is where the lake is. After out big storm and the blowing afterwards it will definitely be tough to get back out there with those monster drifts.... bummer!

[Borch]

How much snow did you guys get up there?

I use the recreational compass all the time. It's a great resource as many of the lakes are linked to their lake finder data base. There are many. many hidden gems out there to explore.

Nice job and congrats to the young man!

[Jim Uran]

6-8" total, not bad but the wind really blew it all over the place. Messed up a lot of "backroads"

[Borch]

Well maybe we'll be able to sled to some of our remote spots soon then.

Those are some dandies!