Fishing Nestor Lake

Nestor Lake offers good panfish action with bluegill as the dominant species, though they're growing slower than average at -0.6 growth index with only 11% reaching keeper size of 6 inches. The Schneider index of 5 indicates good bluegill population structure despite the slower growth. Pumpkinseeds are growing above average (+0.3 growth index) with 74% reaching harvestable size, making them the better sunfish option. Bullheads dominate the biomass with yellow bullheads averaging 9.7 inches and 95% above the 7-inch harvest size. Largemouth bass make up nearly 40% of the fish biomass but growth is well below average (-1.2 growth index) with the population dominated by 9-11 inch fish and only 1% reaching the 14-inch legal size. The lake stratifies at 12 feet with dissolved oxygen becoming unsuitable for fish below 18 feet, concentrating all fish in the upper water column and littoral zone during summer. The soft organic and marl bottom with numerous logs, stumps, cattails, rushes, and lily pads creates excellent habitat but makes navigation difficult in the shallows. Two historical partial winterkills occurred in 1965 and 1978. This 15-acre mesotrophic lake with excellent alkalinity buffering (210 mg/l) supports a diverse warm-water fishery dominated by panfish and bullheads rather than quality bass fishing.