Lower Spunk Lake

How big is Lower Spunk Lake?

How deep is Lower Spunk Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Lower Spunk Lake?

What are the closest cities to Lower Spunk Lake?

Are there boat launches on Lower Spunk Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Lower Spunk Lake?

What aquatic invasive species are found in Lower Spunk Lake?

Lower Spunk Lake is a 280-acre lake located partly within the city limits of Avon in north central Stearns County. There is a public access located on the south side of the lake with room for eight vehicle/trailers. The water quality of Lower Spunk Lake is generally very good with a 10-year average Secchi reading of 10 feet although adequate dissolved oxygen was only present to a depth of 14 feet during the second week of June. The lake has a large watershed (19,288 acres) that is primarily made up of forest and agriculture. The lake is managed for Largemouth Bass and Northern Pike. No Walleye stocking takes place due to the high pike numbers as well as the lack of Yellow Perch as forage. However, the Avon Lakes Association has stocked Walleye in the past (most recently in 2007). A standard lake survey was conducted in 2023 to monitor changes in the fishery from the last survey completed in 2016.

As expected, there was a low catch of Walleye and only two were captured during the survey. These fish ranged in length from 17 to 25 inches.

The catch of Northern Pike was higher than previous surveys and exceeded the range of what we would expect to see for the lake class. Northern Pike ranged in length from nine to 33 inches with an average length of 21 inches. Eighteen percent of the pike sampled were longer than 26 inches and 6% were longer than 30 inches.

Anglers are encouraged to harvest the smaller Northern Pike (under 22 inches) and release the larger ones to help achieve a more balanced fish community and to help increase growth rates. Lower pike numbers may also increase Yellow Perch survival and allow their numbers, which continue to be low, to increase. Higher perch populations are desirable as they can be important prey species for Northern Pike. Unfortunately, only one Yellow Perch was sampled during the survey which was similar to the past three surveys.

Largemouth Bass were sampled by daytime electrofishing in May. Forty-eight bass were collected in 1.4 hrs of on-time for a catch rate of 34/hour. This was below the average daytime catch rate (52/hour) for Sauk Rapids area lakes but above the rate observed in 2016 (20/hour). Largemouth Bass ranged from six to 20 inches and averaged 12 inches.

The catch of Bluegill was similar to the long-term average and fish sampled ranged in length from three to nine inches with an average length of six inches. Hybrid sunfish were also sampled and although low in abundance, fish up to eight inches were captured. Anglers can expect good Bluegill fishing with some larger individuals mixed in.

Like previous surveys, Black Crappies were hard to find in Lower Spunk Lake and anglers can expect to do some searching for them. Black Crappie ranged in length from five to 11 inches with a mean length of nine inches.

Other species sampled during the 2023 survey included: Black Bullhead, Bowfin, Green Sunfish, Hybrid Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, White Sucker and Yellow Bullhead.

What is the average air temp for Lower Spunk Lake?

Are there any state parks near Lower Spunk Lake?