Fishing Witch Lake

Witch Lake offers a unique two-story fishery on 210 acres, with distinctly different west and east basins. The western basin is shallower and warmer (25 feet max) with silty bottom, while the eastern basin plunges to 95 feet with rocky shorelines and steep drop-offs. Oxygen levels crash between 30-40 feet (from 7.8 to 2.0 ppm), making depths below 40 feet essentially anoxic and limiting fish habitat significantly. Bluegill dominate the fishery at 55.6% of the catch, with good reproduction but mostly small fish averaging 3 inches - only 9.4% reach the 6-inch acceptable size. Rock Bass provide a surprise opportunity, never recorded here until 2013 but now comprising 15.6% of the biomass with good size structure (66.5% over 6 inches). Northern Pike average 19.6 inches but grow slowly (growth index -0.8), especially younger fish, with the population declining from above-average status prior to 1983. Walleye present the biggest concern - naturally reproducing since stocking ceased in 2003, but with slow growth (growth index -2.1) and only 23.8% reaching the 15-inch legal size. The 2013 survey captured no Walleye under age 3, suggesting recruitment issues. Yellow Perch rebounded nicely after a massive 1983 White Sucker removal (3,415 pounds), with 83% now reaching acceptable size compared to just 17% in 1981. The lake's oligotrophic conditions and limited deep-water habitat may constrain both predator size and abundance. With 139 submerged logs per mile providing excellent structure, forage comprises 59% of total biomass, yet predator growth remains poor - suggesting either intense competition or nutrient limitations in this unique two-basin system.