Fishing Shafer Lake

Shafer Lake provides one of southwest Michigan's best two-story trout fisheries, with rainbow trout showing excellent growth rates well above state averages. The 2010 survey captured 36 rainbow trout from 11-19 inches, with 55% being age-2 fish and annual mortality at 59%. Rainbow trout habitat exists at 19-24 feet depth where temperatures stay below 68°F and dissolved oxygen remains above 3 ppm. The lake's steep drop-offs and maximum depth of 72 feet create ideal cold-water refuge, while numerous springs from the surrounding kettle lake geology maintain water quality. Bluegills dominate the warmwater fishery with 165 fish captured averaging 7.2 inches and including some 9-inchers, with 98% at harvestable size. Yellow perch also impressed with an average of 10.2 inches and fish up to 13 inches - well above typical growth. Black crappies averaged 9.7 inches with 98% harvestable. Largemouth bass are abundant but size structure favors sub-legal fish, with 84% in the 9-10 inch range and only 5% over the 14-inch limit. The lake's mesotrophic status supports good forage with yellow bullheads and lake chubsuckers present. Sandy substrates along northern and eastern shores give way to organic substrates offshore and along the western shoreline. Limited aquatic vegetation due to steep drop-offs means fish relate to structure and depth changes rather than weedbeds.