South Silver Lake

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What kind of fish can you catch in South Silver Lake?

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South Silver Lake is a 245-acre lake located in Martin County and is one of the deeper lakes in the Windom management area with a maximum depth of 22 feet. South Silver Lake is managed primarily for Walleye and secondarily for Northern Pike and Yellow Perch. A survey was conducted the week of August 15, 2016 to monitor fish populations using three gill nets and nine trap nets.

The 2016 Walleye catch rate was 1.7 per gill net, which is within the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (1.2 to 6.3 per gill net), but is below the long term average of 2.6 per gill net. Lengths of Walleye ranged from 11.1 to 25.5 inches and averaged 15.7 inches. Growth was slow, as mean length at age-3 was 11.7 inches. Walleye fry have been stocked 2 out of 3 years at 1000 per littoral acre since 2007, with limited results. The opportunity exists to catch Walleye in South Silver Lake, however, the low numbers could make it a challenge.

Two Northern Pike, both 29.5 inches, were sampled and were likely from a fingerling stocking in 2008, 2010, or 2011. Northern Pike have historically occurred at low abundances in South Silver Lake, less than 0.6 per gill net since surveys began. Northern Pike fingerling production has been inconsistent; therefore, scheduled stockings have not occurred since 2011, likely accounting for the low catch rate.

The 2016 Yellow Perch catch rate was 59.0 per gill net, which is the highest observed catch rate since 1990 and is much greater than expected catch rates in similar lakes (27.9 per gill net). Lengths of Yellow Perch ranged from 5.4 to 9.2 inches and averaged 7.4 inches. A fishable population of yellow perch is present, and should reach harvestable lengths in a year or two.

The Black Crappie catch rate was 7.7 per trap net, the second highest catch rate observed in South Silver Lake. Lengths of Black Crappies ranged from 6.6 to 12.6 inches and averaged 8.3 inches. White Bass have historically occurred in low numbers (less than 0.7 per trap net) in South Silver Lake but in 2016 the catch rate increased to 6.6 per trap net, which is much greater than what would be expected in similar lakes. Lengths of White bass ranged from 8.4 to 17.4 inches and averaged 10.3 inches. White Bass are aggressive fish and provide good table fare. Black Bullhead catch rates in trap nets (4.9 per trap net) and gill nets (3.7 per gill net) were lower than expected catch rates in similar lakes. The Freshwater Drum catch rate increased from 4.8 per gill net in 2010 to 14.0 per gill net in 2016. Common Carp abundance has steadily declined since 2006 but was still above the long term average (3.0 per gill net) at 4.3 per gill net in 2016.

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