School Grove Lake

How big is School Grove Lake?

How deep is School Grove Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in School Grove Lake?

What are the closest cities to School Grove Lake?

Are there boat launches on School Grove Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near School Grove Lake?

School Grove is a small (318 acres), shallow (11 feet maximum), aerated, and productive lake located in Lyon County. School Grove is a popular local lake for shore fishing and boat fishing of various species (walleye, black crappie, channel catfish, and black bullhead). A resurvey of School Grove was conducted during late June of 2012. The watershed and shoreline is predominately agricultural row crops with a narrow fringe of hardwoods or cattails. There are only 6 homes/farm sites in addition to several recreational vehicles located near the lake. A public access and rest area is located on the northwest side. Water quality and clarity conditions are often poor in School Grove due to agricultural runoff. There are 9 inlets (tile and marsh connections) and an outlet that eventually connects to the Redwood River. Intense blue-green algal blooms are common during the mid-summer. An intense blue-green algae bloom was occurring during the vegetation survey on July 10, 2012. Water clarity was poor to fair (2.6 feet) on June 22, 2012. Aquatic vegetation consists of abundant densities of blue-green algae with moderate densities of filamentous algae, water moss, sago pondweed and narrow leaf pondweed species. Emergent vegetation consists mostly of cattail species and bulrush along the north and northeast shore areas. Shoalwater substrates consist mostly of sand, boulder, silt and rubble.

A winterkill of black crappie, walleye, carp, black bullhead and channel catfish occurred during February of 2010. The winterkill was not complete, but numbers of all fish species were significantly reduced. Low numbers of black bullhead, carp, yellow perch and white sucker were captured in the 2010 ice out trapnets. Walleye fry were stocked in the spring of 2010 and 2012. In addition, walleye adults (99 fish), yearlings (263 fish) and fingerlings (134 fish) were also stocked in 2010.

Walleye fry are generally stocked into School Grove every other year. If a fry stocking is a failure, then the lake may be stocked again with fry the following spring. School Grove has a history of commercial fish removal for black bullhead, carp and bigmouth buffalo. School Grove has been managed primarily for walleye, channel catfish, and black crappie in the past.

Black crappie and channel catfish were absent in the 2012 resurvey nets due to the 2010 winterkill. Channel catfish fingerlings/yearlings have been stocked periodically since 1986. The most recent channel catfish stocking occurred in 2006 (3,213 fingerlings, 17 pounds).

Black bullhead were abundant in 2012 (137.00 fish/gillnet) compared to the normal range of similar lakes. The black bullhead historical average catch rate is 169.98 fish/gillnet for School Grove. The 2012 black bullhead average size was moderate (0.38 pounds and 8.46 inches). The black bullhead historical average length is 7.62 inches from gillnets.

Carp abundance in the 2012 trapnets (3.33 fish/trapnet) was above the historical average (1.21 fish/trapnet). The 2012 carp average size was moderate to small (3.61 pounds and 16.83 inches) from trapnets.

Bigmouth buffalo abundance (12.00 fish/gillnet) was high in 2012 compared to the historical average (2.67 fish/gillnet), but the average size was small (0.49 pounds and 9.16 inches). White sucker abundance (9.00 fish/gillnet) was also high in 2012 compared to the historical average (1.21 fish/gillnet). The 2012 white sucker average size was moderate (1.90 pounds and 15.63 inches).

Sunfish species such as green sunfish (5.11 fish/trapnet, 5.73 inches average length) and hybrid sunfish (1.22 fish/trapnet, 5.77 inches average length) were abundant in the 2012 trapnets. No bluegill or pumpkinseed sunfish species were captured in 2012.

Yellow perch were abundant in 2012 (19.00 fish/gillnet) compared to the normal range of similar lakes and the historical average (3.00 fish/gillnet). The 2012 average size was moderate (0.30 pounds and 7.81 inches). The historical average weight and length are 0.25 pounds and 7.58 inches from gillnets. The 2012 catch rate of quality size (8.00 inches) and larger yellow perch was moderate (6.00 fish/gillnet). Yellow perch growth rates were above Spicer Area normal ranges for ages 1-4. The 2010 yellow perch year class comprised 67% of the 2012 yellow perch survey catch.

Walleye were moderately abundant in the 2012 gillnets (10.00 fish/gillnet) compared to the normal range of similar lakes. Walleye were abundant in the 2012 trapnets (8.89 fish/trapnet). The 2012 walleye average size was small from the gillnet (0.49 pounds and 11.56 inches) and trapnets (0.56 pounds and 11.91 inches). The historical average lengths are 14.10 and 16.30 inches from gillnets and trapnets respectively. There were no walleye greater than 15.0 inches captured in the 2012 survey nets. Walleye growth rates were below the Spicer Area normal range for age 1, within the normal range for age 2 and above the normal ranges for ages 3-4. The 2010 walleye year class (fry stocking) comprised 98% of the 2012 total walleye catch. The 2008 walleye year class (adult stocking) comprised 2% of the 2012 total walleye gillnet and trapnet catch.

Abundant numbers of young of year "YOY" walleye from spring fry stockings were present in the 2010 (192.00 YOY/hour, 5.71 inches average length) and 2012 (353.33 YOY/hour, 5.72 inches average length) fall electrofishing surveys. The fall electrofishing historical average catch rate and length are 79.72 YOY/hour and 6.01 inches respectively for School Grove. The Spicer Area YOY walleye historical average catch rate is 81.31 YOY/hour. Walleye fry (approximately 200,000 to 300,000) have been stocked into School Grove during 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012. The highest fall electrofishing catch rate of YOY walleye for School Grove occurred in the 2012 fry stocked year.

Current fish management activities on School Grove include monitoring the fish population on a periodic basis, monitoring winter dissolved oxygen levels, assisting the sportsman's club with the operation of the aeration system, protecting aquatic vegetation through the permit process, assisting aquatic plant management and enforcement personnel in educating boaters and monitoring access sites for potential invasive species introductions, participating in local watershed initiatives, and stocking various fish species as warranted. The School Grove fishery will be sampled in the fall of 2014 for YOY walleye.

Are there any state parks near School Grove Lake?