Virginia Lake

How big is Virginia Lake?

How deep is Virginia Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Virginia Lake?

What are the closest cities to Virginia Lake?

Are there boat launches on Virginia Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Virginia Lake?

Virginia (Baileys) Lake is a 32 acre lake located in the northwest part of the city of Virginia. There is no designated access however there is a fishing pier on the north side of the lake and shore fishing is possible around most of the lake. This lake has a maximum depth of 44 feet and clear water.

Virginia was thermally stratified on July 7, 2020 with a surface temperature of 79 F and a bottom temperature of 40 F. Oxygen levels were adequate for gamefish to a depth of 22 feet where the temperature was 51 F. An outlet connects Virginia to Silver Lake which allows for fish passage but is not passable by boat. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline are mostly gravel, sand, and boulder. There are extremely dense beds of aquatic vegetation along parts of the shoreline and additional vegetation growth to a maximum depth of 12 feet.

The overall gillnet catch rate for all fish combined was 17.0 fish/net which was below average for the lake. The yield was 22.1 lbs/net, which was also below average. Fish species sampled were northern pike, bluegill, pumpkinseed, largemouth bass, black crappie, walleye, and white sucker. Trap nets caught fish at an overall rate of 65.1 fish/net which was below average for the lake and yield was 6.8 lbs/net which was the lowest on record. This survey was conducted later in the summer than past surveys which made netting more difficult due to the amount of aquatic vegetation that had already grown up. This may have been a factor in the lower catches. Brown bullhead, golden shiner, hybrid sunfish, rock bass, and yellow perch were additional species sampled in trap nets that weren't also sampled in gill nets.

One walleye was sampled in the two gillnet sets (0.5 fish/net) and four were caught in the trap nets (0.4 fish/net). Both catch rates were similar to past catch rates from Virginia Lake. Sizes were good with the lengths of all five fish ranging from 20 to 23 inches and one 22 inch fish was aged to be 8 years old. The low numbers of walleye and lack of a wider range of sizes indicate natural reproduction and stocking have not contributed much to the walleye fishery, especially in recent years. The lake is stocked with fingerling walleye in odd years (2015, 2017, 2019, etc).

The northern pike gillnet catch was 6.5 fish/net which was average compared to past surveys but good when compared to other similar lakes. Sizes were relatively small with a range from 16 to 27 inches with an average of just over 21 inches.

Three largemouth bass were captured in gill nets for a catch rate of 1.5 fish/net which was very good compared to other similar lakes and the highest on record for Virginia Lake. Lengths ranged from 13 to 18.5 inches. Sizes were generally larger than past surveys. Ages ranged from six to ten years old.

Thirteen black crappie were sampled in trap nets for a catch rate of 1.4 fish/net which was below average compared to other similar lakes and below Virginia's historic average. Lengths ranged from 5 to 10 inches with an average 6.5 inches. Sizes were similar to past surveys. Ages ranged from two to six.

The bluegill trapnet catch was 56.9 fish/net which was very good compared to other similar lakes and near the historic average for Virginia Lake. Sizes were small with a range of 3.5 to nearly 8 inches and an average of just over 4 inches. This average length was the smallest on record when compared to past surveys on Virginia Lake.

Rusty crayfish, which are an invasive species, were sampled for the first time in Virginia Lake when two were caught in trap nets. They were first sampled in 2010 in connected Silver Lake. Two were also sampled in the 2020 Silver Lake survey.

What is the average air temp for Virginia Lake?

Are there any state parks near Virginia Lake?