Ram Lake

How big is Ram Lake?

How deep is Ram Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Ram Lake?

Are there boat launches on Ram Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Ram Lake?

Ram is a designated stream trout lake that has been managed for Lake Trout and Rainbow Trout since it was reclaimed with a fish toxicant in 1966. Lake Trout stocking was discontinued after 2011 due to strong evidence for sufficient natural reproduction. This survey was the first of two scheduled in the 2011 lake management plan to determine whether the long range goal for Lake Trout (a minimum gill net catch of 2.0 fish/gill net set, with fish up to 20 inches) could be met without stocking.

Lake Trout appeared to have been abundant in 2016; the gill net catch (6.75 fish/net, deep and shallow sets combined) was well above the normal range (1.0-4.5 fish/net) for a lake of this type. The 2016 catch easily exceeded the long range goal for Lake Trout in this lake, in terms of numbers of fish taken, and the size goal was also met by the capture of three fish larger than 20 inches. Of the 27 Lake Trout taken in 2016, only seven bore fin clips identifying them as stocked fish (five from the 2011 stocking, and two from the 2009 stocking). Long range goals for Lake Trout in this lake (catch and size) would have been met in 2016 even if no stocked fish had been taken. Reasonably strong natural year classes were apparently produced in 2013, 2011, and 2010. Growth for naturally produced Lake Trout had been relatively slow; six-year-old fish reached an average length of 13.3 inches at the end of their sixth year, compared to an area mean of 16.7 inches. Growth of stocked fish had been faster.

Although Rainbow Trout (Kamloops strain) fingerlings had been stocked in 2010, 2012, and 2014, none were taken in this survey. There has been no change in Rainbow Trout stocking that would account for a drop in gill net catches (the 2009 catch was 1.75 fish/gill net set). Rainbow Trout gill net catches in this lake have typically been low, and the species is typically hard to sample in gill nets in any lake. The failure to capture Rainbow Trout in any one survey is not necessarily an indication of a problem with the fishery; however, anglers also reported difficulty catching Rainbow Trout in Ram Lake in 2016, so it may well be that their numbers were unusually low.

White Sucker have been present in Ram Lake since at least 1978, and the 2016 catch was similar to most catches seen in this lake since that time. White Sucker compete with trout for invertebrate forage. Many small lakes in this area support high numbers of Lake Trout and White Sucker, but Lake Trout growth in those lakes tends to be slow. No other undesirable fish species were found in 2016. Ram Lake discharges to Dislocation Lake, and movement of fish between those lakes has been suspected in the past. Dislocation Lake supports a dense Yellow Perch population, and a natural Brook Trout population, but so far we have seen no evidence of either species making it into Ram Lake.

Are there any state parks near Ram Lake?