Fishing Joslin Lake

Joslin Lake offers Michigan's most successful redear sunfish fishery, with these trophy panfish now dominating the catch at an impressive 9.9-inch average. The redear introduction from 1995-1997 created a naturally reproducing population where 63% of fish exceed the 10-inch master angler requirement and over 99% are keeper-sized above 6 inches. Growth is above state average by 0.7 inches. Bluegill remain abundant at 6.6 inches average with 89% keeper-sized, though growth runs 0.8 inches below average and catch rates declined since redear establishment. Pumpkinseed average 7.0 inches with excellent growth 0.6 inches above average, though numbers dropped due to snail competition with redear. This shallow 187-acre lake averages 5-8 feet deep with one 20-foot hole. The bottom varies from sand along north and east shores to dense vegetation over peat and marl in central and southern areas. Dissolved oxygen remains good to 16 feet, dropping to 4.7 ppm at bottom. Largemouth bass average 10.1 inches but only 7% reach the 14-inch legal limit, with growth 0.8 inches below average typical for southern Michigan. Black crappie show excellent growth at 1.1 inches above average, averaging 9.8 inches with all fish keeper-sized. Mixed bullhead populations provide good fishing with brown bullhead averaging over 10 inches. The lake notably lacks carp, which may contribute to redear success. Hybrid sunfish comprise 2% of the catch from redear crossbreeding but aren't fertile enough to sustain populations. One-third of the shoreline remains undeveloped marshland with emergent vegetation including lily pads, cattails, and bulrushes providing excellent habitat.