Clam Lake

How big is Clam Lake?

How deep is Clam Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Clam Lake?

What are the closest cities to Clam Lake?

Are there boat launches on Clam Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Clam Lake?

Clam Lake is a 74 acre lake located near Trimont, Minnesota in Martin County. The lake has a shoreline length of 1.49 miles and a maximum depth of 8.0 feet. Curly leaf pondweed can be abundant from June to July. Curly Leaf Pondweed was first documented on Clam Lake during a 1991 survey. Clam Lake is managed primarily for Yellow Perch, and secondarily for Northern Pike and Black Crappie. Clam Lake has a history of low dissolved oxygen in winter months and can have minor winterkill events as a result. The last winterkill event was during the winter of 2020 -2021, however it was not detected until this survey. A fish survey was conducted the week of August 21, 2023 with 1 gill net and 8 trap nets to monitor the fish community in Clam Lake.

There were no Yellow Perch captured in the 2023 standard survey, suggesting that they were either eliminated or severely reduced in abundance from Clam Lake during the 2020-2021 winterkill. The previous survey done in 2017 had a Yellow Perch catch rate of 94.0 per gill net. Pre-spawn Yellow Perch will be stocked in the spring of 2024 to restart the Perch population in Clam Lake. Those fish will likely spawn in the lake and will take a few years of growth to see a substantial Yellow Perch fishery.

Like Yellow Perch, Black Crappie appear to have been eliminated or significantly reduced in abundance by a winterkill during the winter of 2020-2021. No Black Crappie were captured in the 2023 standard survey, while in 2017, Black Crappie were sampled at a rate of 10.1 per trap net. Pre-spawn Black Crappie will be stocked in the spring of 2024 to restart the Crappie population in Clam Lake.

The 2023 Northern Pike catch rate was 2.4 per trap net, higher than the long-term average of 0.7 per trap net. These Pike were likely from the fingerlings that were stocked in the fall of 2021. Northern Pike lengths ranged from 18.2 to 24.5 inches and averaged 20.5 inches. Northern Pike are able to tolerate low dissolved oxygen levels better than other species such as Crappie and Perch. Clam Lake is within the "southern zone" of the Northern Pike zone regulations, so two Pike longer than 24 inches can be harvested.

The best indicator that Clam Lake likely experienced a winterkill was the high abundance of small Black Bullhead. In 2023, Black Bullhead were captured at a rate of 390 per trap net, greatly exceeding the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (11.5 to 132.6 per trap net). Black Bullhead lengths were small, ranging from 4.9 to 6.0 inches and averaging 5.5 inches. The small range of sizes indicates one year class of Black Bullhead present in Clam Lake, likely produced the spring after the winterkill.

Other species sampled included Common Carp (3.0 per gill net), Bigmouth Buffalo (0.6 per trap net), and Yellow Bullhead (0.4 per trap net).

What is the average air temp for Clam Lake?

Are there any state parks near Clam Lake?