Moss Lake

How big is Moss Lake?

How deep is Moss Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Moss Lake?

Are there topographical lake maps available Moss Lake?

We have an topograpical map for online viewing near the top of this page. Lake-Link Pro users can download an print a topograpical map of Moss Lake (.pdf format) along with 2,700 more lake maps. For more information on all the benefits of Lake-Link Pro click here.

Moss Lake

Are there places to eat and drink near Moss Lake?

Moss is a medium-sized, deep, cold-water Lake Trout lake that has been managed primarily for Lake Trout since at least 1933. It was stocked regularly with Lake Trout (fry or fingerlings) from 1933 through 1958, and was rehabilitated for further trout management in the fall of 1969. From 1970 through 2011 it was regularly stocked with Lake Trout (fingerlings or yearlings), and sometimes stocked with Rainbow Trout. All Lake Trout stocked in 1995-2011 were fin-clipped so stocked fish could more easily be identified. Lake Trout stocking was discontinued after 2011 due to what appeared to have been high levels of natural reproduction (high numbers of young, un-clipped fish). This was the first of two surveys scheduled in the current (2011) lake management plan to determine whether goals for Lake Trout could be met in the absence of any stocking. The goal for Lake Trout in this lake is to maintain relatively high numbers of fish (a minimum gill net catch of 4.0 fish/net), with no size goal established.

Lake Trout in Moss Lake were abundant, but small, in 2016. The gill net catch was high for a lake of this type, and for this lake historically. It was in fact one of the highest Lake Trout catches ever seen in any lake in this area. It easily met the long range goal for the species, even if none of the fin-clipped (stocked) fish were counted in the catch. The mean weight for Lake Trout taken in 2016, while low for a lake of this type, was similar to weights seen in many past surveys of this lake.

Stocking and natural reproduction both contributed to the 2016 catch, but of the 119 Lake Trout collected, only 14 bore fin clips identifying them as stocked fish. All stocking done since 1999 was represented in the catch, at some level, but several strong natural year classes had been produced as well, including some produced in stocked years. Lake Trout growth had been very slow; fish reached an average length of just 11.3 inches by the end of their sixth year, compared to an area mean of 16.2 inches. Moss Lake is typical of many Lake Trout lakes in the area where coldwater forage is lacking. Fish rely on a largely invertebrate diet, limiting growth and maximum attainable size. Only one of 118 Lake Trout examined during this survey had any fish remains in its stomach; the rest had been feeding on small invertebrates. Slow growth should not be surprising at the high population densities suggested by the results of this survey, and would have been exacerbated by competition for invertebrate forage from White Sucker and Smallmouth Bass.

There does not appear to be any need to resume stocking in Moss Lake. The 2003 and 2009 assessments also showed high levels of natural reproduction. The catch of unclipped fish alone in 2009 (3.67 unclipped fish/gill net set) would nearly have met the long range goal for the lake then, and far more were seen in 2016. Creel surveys done in the winter and summer of 2014 estimated Lake Trout harvests to have been 308 and 112 fish, respectively, for an estimated annual harvest of 420 fish, and an estimated annual yield of 2.5 pounds/acre. We do not know if such a high harvest can be sustained in this lake, or even if it was typical for the lake, because we lack historic creel survey data.

Smallmouth Bass were still present in Moss Lake in 2016. Although gill net catches do not always do a good job of describing bass populations, Smallmouth Bass numbers and average size appeared to have dropped significantly since they first appeared in this lake in 1987. Smallmouth Bass collected in 2016 were small; their mean weight was below normal for a lake of this type, and most of the fish taken were under 10 inches in length. Growth of young Smallmouth Bass had been slow; the average length for fish at the end of their fourth year was just 7.0 inches, compared to an area mean of 9.1 inches. Similarly slow growth was observed among fish taken in the 2009 survey.

Although anglers interviewed during the 2014 creel surveys reporting catch a few Smallmouth Bass, none were reported to have been harvested. All of the Smallmouth Bass reported to have been caught in 2014 were said to have been 17-20-inch fish. Moss Lake can still produce some bass of that size, as evidenced by the two larger fish taken in this survey.

White Sucker, eliminated in the 1969 rehabilitation, first reappeared in Moss Lake survey catches in 1987. Since then their numbers have remained fairly low. Fish taken in 2016 would have been too large to have been consumed by any but the largest Lake Trout present in this lake.

Are there any state parks near Moss Lake?