Fishing Tomahawk Creek Flooding

Tomahawk Creek Flooding offers a diverse warmwater fishery in a shallow, vegetated 574-acre impoundment created in 1964. The lake doesn't thermally stratify, staying 73-74°F throughout the 11-foot water column with good dissolved oxygen to the bottom. Bluegill dominate the catch at 51% but grow slowly (0.9 inches below state average), with only 2% reaching 8+ inches compared to 8% in the 1980s. Black Crappie established since the 1980s and now comprise 6% of the catch, likely competing with other panfish. Largemouth Bass fishing attracts two registered tournaments annually despite slow growth 1.3 inches below average - 27% are legal size (14+ inches) with fish up to 20 inches caught. Northern Pike provide the bulk of predator biomass at 45% by weight but show extremely poor growth, averaging 3 inches smaller than statewide norms across all ages. Only 13% of pike reach the old 24-inch minimum, leading to liberal harvest regulations allowing any size to thin the stunted population. The flooding's sand and muck bottom supports prominent aquatic vegetation and extensive flooded timber, particularly on the south end - habitat uncommon in natural glacial lakes nearby. Winter and spring fish kills are common due to the shallow nature. Bullheads declined dramatically from 37% of the 1983 catch to just 1% in 2004, reducing competition for game fish. Rock Bass dropped from 20% to 2% of the catch between surveys. Most panfish compensate for slow growth by living long - up to age 10 for several species. The lake provides excellent shore fishing access around the entire DNR-owned shoreline plus a quality boat launch near the popular campground.