Big Beaver Lake
Once upon a time, there were two lakes... one named Big Lake, which had a surface area of 31 acres, and the other named Beaver Lake, with a surface area of 6 acres. After decades of living apart (and a lot of dirt moving in 2010 and 2011) these two lakes finally came together and now comprise one massive lake, appropriately named Big Beaver Lake. This enormous body of water has a surface area of 46 acres! There a lot of fish under there....
Big Lake's Goal was always Trophy Fishing and Beaver was maintained in a way that it could eventually be combined with Big to create the ultimate sport fishing lake!
2013 Evaluation
2010 Evaluation
1. Stock Tiger Muskie, 1 per acre every other year through 2014
2. (50 tiger muskies stocked 11/2010; number increased due to anticipated increase in lake
size)
3. Stock golden shiners per acre in 2010 and possibly 2012 as needed (600 lb stocked
10/2010)
4. Diversify population by restocking from North Lake, including Nate’s genetics fish in
Fall of 2011 and approx. 100 Broodstock fish
5. Remove LMB 13” for 2010 and 2011 when convenient to do so; preferably 500 fish in 2011
6. Remove all crappie caught less than 12 inches long.
7. Build a reef (first portion installed 2/2011, big shed will go on ice in later 2011)
8. Remove Bluegill in 2011 Do Not Remove any Bluegill in 2011!
9. Expand into Beaver Lake and recalculate acreage
10. Explore Options for connecting Gate Lake
Big Lake is getting BIGGER! In September of 2010, a new plan was implemented for Big Lake. A 40" dam was built at Duck Hole Bay to raise the Big Lake water level and bridge the land channel to Beaver Lake, which will create one continuous lake. The east bank of Big Lake will overflow at the 36” mark into a pipe beneath the Old Haulage Road, which will push any water above 36” into Gate Lake before it tops the 40” mark and spills over the Big Lake dam. This way Gate Lake will eventually rise to the level of Big Lake if enough water is captured. Big Lake has a much larger drainage basin so it captures much more water. Why waste the precious water into woods when we can make Gate like bigger too?
Big Lake and Beaver Lake Bathymetric Maps
s
Big Lake, BIGGER ! May 2011 Water flowing into Gate Lake. May 2011
Big Lake on the rise! April 2011
Big Lake's Goal was always Trophy Fishing and Beaver was maintained in a way that it could eventually be combined with Big to create the ultimate sport fishing lake!
2013 Evaluation
- The bass and bluegill both have the best staggering of sizes indicating the lake is well balanced. Spotted a northern.
- Biggest concern at this time is the water milfoil. If it gets much worse it will limit the feeding efficiency of predators on both the crappie and bluegill. Due to this concern lets try 2 grass carp/acre for now so 100.
- The water behind the levee looks good. All this new water will result in good reproduction and your goal of a diverse fishery is well under way.
- The average size of the bass sampled was 14.3”, 1.4 lbs, and the average relative weight of the bass was 86%. This relative weight indicates that the bass are doing pretty well considering the goal of a diversity of predator species.
2010 Evaluation
1. Stock Tiger Muskie, 1 per acre every other year through 2014
2. (50 tiger muskies stocked 11/2010; number increased due to anticipated increase in lake
size)
3. Stock golden shiners per acre in 2010 and possibly 2012 as needed (600 lb stocked
10/2010)
4. Diversify population by restocking from North Lake, including Nate’s genetics fish in
Fall of 2011 and approx. 100 Broodstock fish
5. Remove LMB 13” for 2010 and 2011 when convenient to do so; preferably 500 fish in 2011
6. Remove all crappie caught less than 12 inches long.
7. Build a reef (first portion installed 2/2011, big shed will go on ice in later 2011)
8. Remove Bluegill in 2011 Do Not Remove any Bluegill in 2011!
9. Expand into Beaver Lake and recalculate acreage
10. Explore Options for connecting Gate Lake
Big Lake is getting BIGGER! In September of 2010, a new plan was implemented for Big Lake. A 40" dam was built at Duck Hole Bay to raise the Big Lake water level and bridge the land channel to Beaver Lake, which will create one continuous lake. The east bank of Big Lake will overflow at the 36” mark into a pipe beneath the Old Haulage Road, which will push any water above 36” into Gate Lake before it tops the 40” mark and spills over the Big Lake dam. This way Gate Lake will eventually rise to the level of Big Lake if enough water is captured. Big Lake has a much larger drainage basin so it captures much more water. Why waste the precious water into woods when we can make Gate like bigger too?
Big Lake and Beaver Lake Bathymetric Maps
s
Big Lake, BIGGER ! May 2011 Water flowing into Gate Lake. May 2011
Big Lake on the rise! April 2011
February 2011 - A new fish structure on Big Lake Big Lake dam - Fall 2010
