Otter Lake

How big is Otter Lake?

How deep is Otter Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Otter Lake?

Are there boat launches on Otter Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Otter Lake?

For many years Otter Lake was one of very few lakes in this area successfully managed for black crappie. A partial winterkill in the late 1970s, followed by a surge in yellow perch abundance, led to the gradual decline in the black crappie population. Efforts to control yellow perch abundance by direct removal, and then by introducing northern pike, failed to restore the crappie population. Stocking of black crappie also failed. The 2008 lake management plan called for a change in management species, and introductory walleye stocking was done annually, in 2008-2011. The goal was to establish a walleye population with a minimum gill net catch of 5.0 fish/set. This was the first of three surveys or assessments scheduled in the 2008 lake management plan to determine whether walleye stocking had been successful, and to monitor the lake for walleye natural reproduction that might make further stocking unnecessary.

The goal for the walleye population was nearly met in 2014. Walleye were fairly abundant, and some nice-sized fish were present. It appeared that there had been at least some survival of each of the 2008-2011 stockings, with each of those year classes contributing to the 2014 catch. In addition, two older walleye that could not be accounted for by stocking were taken, and one younger fish that may have been produced naturally was sampled. The 2007 assessment of this lake collected one small walleye, indicating that a few walleye had been introduced by some means prior to introductory stocking in 2008, and making the presence of some older, pre-stocking, fish at least plausible. Growth of young walleye collected in 2014 had been relatively fast; they reached a mean length of 16.0 inches by the end of their fourth year, compared to an area average of 14.3 inches. Several hundred young-of-year (YOY) walleye were collected in 0.25-in-mesh trap nets. It was likely that those fish were the result of fry stocking in 2014, although some contribution from natural reproduction was possible since some mature walleye were present from earlier stockings. Although YOY walleye were abundant in July, they were in poor condition, and survival over the rest of the summer, and through the winter, may have been unusually low.

Northern pike were fairly abundant, but small. The northern pike gill net catch was within the normal range for a lake of this class, but the mean weight for fish taken in gill nets was below normal. No gill net sampling has been done in this lake since northern pike were introduced, so changes in their abundance or size cannot be identified. Four year classes, all naturally produced, contributed to the northern pike catch, with no fish older than four years of age taken. Growth of young northern pike had been faster than average; fish reached a mean length of 15.4 inches by the end of their second year, compared to an area mean of 12.5 inches.

Yellow perch abundance appears to have dropped significantly since northern pike, and then walleye, were introduced. The 2014 gill net catch was well below the normal range for this type of lake, and was far lower than catches observed in this lake in the 1970s. Despite good growth observed for walleye and northern pike, their yellow perch forage base appeared to have been very limited. No minnows or other forage species were sampled in 0.25-in-mesh trap nets.

No black crappie were taken in any of the sampling gears used in this survey. If any were still present, their numbers must have been very low. White sucker, which have been found in this lake in some past assessments, were also not found in 2014.

Water quality and habitat in Otter Lake in 2014 appeared to have been typical of a pristine lake in a forested watershed. No exotic or invasic aquatic species were found during this survey. Aquatic vegetation was diverse, but not abundant. Crayfish were common, but only native species were collected. Spawning habitat appeared to have been adequate for walleye, northern pike, yellow perch, and black crappie.

Are there any state parks near Otter Lake?