Stat of Our Lake Study - Ask Extension
my name is Boe and live on Lake Angelus, in Oakland County. I have been on the lake my whole life and been an avid fisherman. I am now 65. With that ...
Knowledgebase
Stat of Our Lake Study #817357
Asked December 08, 2022, 12:31 PM EST
my name is Boe and live on Lake Angelus, in Oakland County. I have been on the lake my whole life and been an avid fisherman. I am now 65. With that said, it is rumored that MSU, 30 year ago or more did a "state of the lake" survey, netting fish, etc............ Does your department still do this type of thing? And, might you still have that report? We are are own city and our environmental board has been discussing decreased fish, fish habitat, etc........... but, while we have theories why the fish population seems to be down", we have no idea if they are true. We are looking at potentially repopulating, but if they cannot grow and thrive, why do it? We have Large and Small mouth bass, perch, crappie, bluegill, rockbass, pike, gar pike, sturgeon have been spotted and filmed, cisco, dogfish,and a huge growing population of carp. It was rumored a long time ago they tried to stock the lake with Trout and Walley, but they did not take, due to lack of places to spawn, again rumored. It seems over the last 30 years, the population of perch, crappie and bluegill have greatly decreased. Blue gill seem to even be stunted. Also, have not caught sunfish since I was a kid. Here are our thoughts on why the population seems to be decreasing:
Wake Boats
Carp
Cormorants
increased population in general
zebra muscles
weed management
plenty of minnows to feed on, thus maybe decreasing them going after bait fishing?
etc..........
Lake Angelus is a private lake with NO public access. There are approximately 125 homes and the lake is 440+ Acres and is as deep as 110'. All spring fed, nothing feed into it, and we have a dam to control lake level. We are very interested in doing a "state of the lake" study. If this is something your department could assist with, please let me know who I should talk to. Thanks in advance........................... Boe
( personal contact info moved to internal note for security)
Oakland County Michigan
Expert Response
Thank you for reaching out to MSU Extension, Boe.
I am not aware of who at MSU conducted the original lake survey on Lake Angelus, and would need more information to possibly track it down - the University is a big place! As a rule, we do not typically do lake studies on request - it has to be linked to a larger ongoing research project.
That said, I am the Director of MiCorps, which includes the Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program (CLMP) - perhaps you are aware of it? It is a volunteer lake monitoring program. We provide training and supplies, and local volunteers collect data on their lakes. Lake Angelus had a volunteer in the program 2011-2018, but is not currently enrolled. We do have the data from 2011-2018, including:
- water clarity (Secchi disk depth)
- Total phosphorus for spring and summer (a key nutrient controlling algae and plant growth)
- Chlorophyll (an indicator of algae in the water column)
- Dissolved oxygen/temperature profiles (important for fish health and lake ecology)
- Shoreline habitat assessment
There was no record of monitoring invasive species or aquatic plants, which are also options in the CLMP. It would be great to have volunteer monitoring resume on Lake Angelus since you already have a good historic record. It would help you to get a good handle on the current "state of the lake".
You can access the most recent CLMP report on Lake Angelus here:
https://micorps.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/CLMP-Angelus-Oakland-631227.pdf
You can also look up all the raw data in our Data Exchange: https://data.micorps.net/view/lake/
I'd be happy to discuss the data with you - I can be reached directly at <personal data hidden>.
You may also want to talk to your local DNR Fisheries Biologist. The DNR Waterford Fishery Station will be able to direct you to the person most knowledgeable about your lake. They can be reached at<personal data hidden>.
Finally, I'll note that there are consultants that you can hire to conduct studies like you describe. I'm not able to make recommendations on which consultant to choose, but typically advise folks to talk to people involved with neighboring lake associations about who they've had good experiences with.
-Jo
I am not aware of who at MSU conducted the original lake survey on Lake Angelus, and would need more information to possibly track it down - the University is a big place! As a rule, we do not typically do lake studies on request - it has to be linked to a larger ongoing research project.
That said, I am the Director of MiCorps, which includes the Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program (CLMP) - perhaps you are aware of it? It is a volunteer lake monitoring program. We provide training and supplies, and local volunteers collect data on their lakes. Lake Angelus had a volunteer in the program 2011-2018, but is not currently enrolled. We do have the data from 2011-2018, including:
- water clarity (Secchi disk depth)
- Total phosphorus for spring and summer (a key nutrient controlling algae and plant growth)
- Chlorophyll (an indicator of algae in the water column)
- Dissolved oxygen/temperature profiles (important for fish health and lake ecology)
- Shoreline habitat assessment
There was no record of monitoring invasive species or aquatic plants, which are also options in the CLMP. It would be great to have volunteer monitoring resume on Lake Angelus since you already have a good historic record. It would help you to get a good handle on the current "state of the lake".
You can access the most recent CLMP report on Lake Angelus here:
https://micorps.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/CLMP-Angelus-Oakland-631227.pdf
You can also look up all the raw data in our Data Exchange: https://data.micorps.net/view/lake/
I'd be happy to discuss the data with you - I can be reached directly at <personal data hidden>.
You may also want to talk to your local DNR Fisheries Biologist. The DNR Waterford Fishery Station will be able to direct you to the person most knowledgeable about your lake. They can be reached at<personal data hidden>.
Finally, I'll note that there are consultants that you can hire to conduct studies like you describe. I'm not able to make recommendations on which consultant to choose, but typically advise folks to talk to people involved with neighboring lake associations about who they've had good experiences with.
-Jo
