Sunfish Lake

How big is Sunfish Lake?

How deep is Sunfish Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Sunfish Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Sunfish Lake?

This was the first of two surveys scheduled in the 2013 Sunfish Lake management plan to determine whether a self-sustained walleye population would persist after walleye stocking was discontinued. Walleye were reintroduced in Sunfish Lake in 2000. Based on disappointing results in previous surveys, the 2013 plan concluded stocking in this lake since 2000 had failed, and stocking was discontinued after 2013.

The 2015 survey yielded much better results, in terms of walleye catch and size. Walleye were relatively abundant, and their average size was good for a lake of this type. There was some evidence for natural reproduction in some years, but stocked year classes (2008, 2009, 2012, and 2013) accounted for 81 percent of the walleye sampled in 2015. Walleye growth had been about average; six-year-old fish reached an average length of 18.7 inches.

When walleye stocking was discontinued, management of Sunfish Lake shifted to northern pike. Northern pike first appeared in Sunfish Lake in 2007, and gill net catches since have not been high. The 2015 gill net catch was the lowest seen in this lake to date, and fell short of the catch goal set in the 2013 plan. Only three northern pike were collected, and although their size was good, they may not have been representative of most of the fish in the lake.

The 2015 smallmouth bass gill net catch was similar to catches seen in this lake in the two previous surveys. It appeared the lake might support a fairly high quality population, with no fish smaller than 12 inches sampled. Smallmouth bass were also first seen in Sunfish Lake in 2007.

No yellow perch were collected in gill nets or minnow traps in 2015. This marked the first time the species has been absent from a survey catch in this lake since 1957. Yellow perch gill net catches reached 162 fish/set in 1998, but dropped steadily after walleye were stocked (and after northern pike and smallmouth bass became established). Reduced perch abundance will limit forage availability for walleye and northern pike, although walleye may continue to do well on an invertebrate forage base, as they do in many lakes in this area.

No new (to this lake) fish species were collected in 2015. White sucker and green sunfish were present, but apparently low in numbers. Minnow traps set along the shore during this survey caught no fish of any kind.

Are there any state parks near Sunfish Lake?