FRANK HOLTEN LAKE STATUS REPORT SUMMARY
The largemouth bass CPUE (#/hr) has decreased from 90 in the 2004 survey to 41 in this years survey. Although numbers are down the size distribution of the bass appears improved. The PSD and RSD14 values both meet or exceed our goals. The condition of the bass was very good, with an average relative weight (Wr) of the bass collected in the 2005 survey of 104.
The bluegill population in this lake has been consistently poor. Numbers collected (CPUE) remains high in the 2005 survey and PSD remains low. However the PSD of 11 is an improvement over recent years. No fish over 7 inches were collected. The poor bluegill quality is the result of several factors. Poor water quality, low numbers of predator species, and high numbers of competing species (buffalo, carp, gizzard shad, yellow bass, and bullheads) are the predominant negative factors impacting the bluegill population.
Maintaining a decent sport fishery in this lake is challenging. The physical habitat of the lake is quite poor. The lake is shallow and turbid with no aquatic plants and little structure. The lake also floods through ditches connected to the Mississippi River. This connection introduces many undesirable species including common carp, buffalo, grass carp, bighead carp, gizzard shad, yellow bass, and bullheads. These species compete with the sport fish for the available space and resources of the lake. The water quality of the lake is impacted by urban and golf course run-off. Heavy fishing and harvest pressure is also present. All of these factors combine to make establishment of balanced and sustainable sport fishing populations quite difficult. This years survey shows a drop in largemouth bass numbers but an increase in larger fish. The white crappie population shows a dramatic improvement with much lower numbers and much improved size distribution. The bluegill numbers remains high and quality poor. The continued stocking of rainbow trout and channel catfish will continue to provide additional angling opportunities at this lake.
LAKE #3
The number of largemouth bass collected was down significantly with a CPUE of 28 this year, down from 72 in 2004. The size distribution of the bass collected was very good. Both PSD and RSD14 values from the 2005 survey meet or exceed the goals. The condition of the bass has always been good in this lake with an average relative weight (Wr) of 106 this year. The bass in this lake appear to get plenty of food and grow well. I suspect that reproduction and/or recruitment is limited due to poor physical habitat, poor water quality, and high numbers of “rough fish” (carp, buffalo, gizzard shad, grass carp, and bullheads).
White crappie numbers have dropped since 2003. The data from the 2005 survey suggests a diminishing population with a very high percentage of large fish. The data over the past seven years shows a classic cyclical crappie population. Hopefully there will be a strong year class of fish in the coming years to sustain this population. Currently the quality of the fish is very impressive but the dropping numbers are a concern. The condition of the fish has been very good through the years and this year the average Wr value was 108. The current quality crappie population should still provide an impressive angling opportunity at Frank Holten State Park.
Currently the drop in numbers of bass and crappie is a concern. However, some of this decline may be due to the status of structure we are shocking around. Many of the crappie and bass we have collected over the past few years have come from a beaver hut that is slowly disappearing. Perhaps the number of crappie and bass have not changed that much. These fish may be more evenly distributed throughout the lake or may be concentrated on structure outside of our sampling area. Natural reproduction and recruitment appears to be low for the crappie and bass in this lake. This limited reproduction and recruitment is the primary factor impacting these fish populations. However the crappie and bass populations currently provide good angling opportunities for quality sized fish. The bluegill quality remains poor and high numbers of shad and rough fish will likely prevent significant improvement. Largemouth bass stocking from our state hatchery should continue if the fish are available. The continued stocking of channel catfish will provide an additional angling opportunity at this heavily used, urban, public lake.
