Fishing Au Train Lake

Au Train Lake offers a diverse coolwater fishery on 830 acres with a maximum depth of 30 feet, but walleye management challenges are affecting the overall balance. Northern pike provide the strongest action with 29% of the catch by weight, though only 29% reach the 24-inch legal size due to heavy harvest pressure on fish 24-28 inches. Pike growth at -0.6 index is actually good for the Lake Superior watershed where heavy snow and short seasons typically slow growth. Walleye fishing has declined despite massive stocking efforts totaling 276,000+ fish since 1991 - ironically, most captured walleyes came from non-stocked year classes, indicating the fingerlings are competing with naturally reproducing fish for limited forage. Yellow perch populations are severely depressed with only 18% reaching acceptable 7-inch size and mortality spiking to 42.9%, likely due to heavy predation pressure from the artificially boosted predator population. The lake's fish community is actually well-balanced at 37.9% predator biomass, but the extensive walleye stocking appears to be creating a predator surplus that's hammering the perch. Smallmouth bass provide decent fishing with 40% at legal size and natural reproduction sustaining the population, while mortality has dropped from 35.7% to a healthier 24%. White suckers dominate at 38% of total catch weight despite decades of removal efforts totaling up to 25,000 pounds in single operations. The substrate is primarily sand with organic peat in deeper areas, extensive bulrush beds along undeveloped Forest Service shoreline, but privately developed areas lack structure. Water clarity is good at 8-foot secchi depth with moderate fertility and stable alkalinity around 107-120 ppm. Dense zooplankton populations indicate abundant early forage, so perch recruitment problems stem from predation rather than food availability. DNR is reducing walleye stocking to 25,000 every two years and promoting riparian education about restoring woody shoreline habitat that's been removed by development.