Fox Lake Fishing guide

Muskie were first introduced into Fox Lake in 1999 and subsequently stocked in 2001 and have been stocked every other year from 2004 to 2018. The last two stockings were in October 2022 (N=476) and November 2024 (N=496). No Muskie were captured in gill nets or trap nets in the 2025 survey. Gill nets and trap nets are usually ineffective at sampling Muskie during our annual survey in September. Therefore, large frame trap nets are set every 5 years to sample the Muskie population. A survey utilizing the large frame trap nets was done in May 2022. No Muskies were sampled. Five years prior during the 2017 assessment Muskie were captured at a rate of 3.9 per net per day. During 2017, Muskie ranged in length from 10.8 to 50.1 inches and averaged 42.2 inches. The population estimate in 2016 (the last reliable estimate using 2017 as a recapture event) was 250 adults (193 to 307; 95 Percent Confidence Interval). Given the water quality issues, a special targeted LTN assessment was also conducted during the spring of 2021. Five Muskie were caught in 3 days of netting with 2 nets each day (6 net nights). Muskies sampled ranged in length from 39.1 to 48.9 inches with an average length of 42.2 inches. Three males and 2 females were sampled. Therefore, it is strange that 0 Muskie were sampled in LTNs during 2022. We suspect that the adult Muskie population has shifted to a much less abundant population, but Muskies are likely still present. It is very likely that the originally stocked fish in 1999 and the next year class in 2001 are gone from the lake due to natural mortality (old age). Since 2011 when PIT tagging started on Fox Lake, 325 unique adult Muskie have been sampled and PIT-tagged, and 3,446 fingerling Muskie have been PIT-tagged and stocked. In the fall of 2024, 496 PIT tagged fingerling Muskie were stocked in Fox Lake. Electrofishing for Muskie may occur in the next year or two to determine presence and size of individuals in the population.

Black Crappie were captured at a rate of 22.1 per trap net in 2025, which is greater than the expected range (1.8 to 21.2 per trap net) and greater than the long-term average of 17.0 per trap net since 1981. Lengths of Black Crappie ranged from 2.9 to 8.5 inches in gill nets and trap nets and averaged 7.0 inches. Black Crappie appears to be in good health with an average Wr of 103. The White Crappie catch rate in 2025 was 61.9 per trap net, which exceeded the expected range of catch rates for class 24 lakes (0.5 to 6.6) and is the second highest catch rate since 1981. Lengths of White Crappie ranged from 5.0 to 11.8 inches and averaged 6.9 inches. Mean relative weight of White Crappie was also high, averaging 107 across all lengths.

The Yellow Perch catch rate in 2025 was 0.2 per gill net indicating a low abundance of Yellow Perch. Catch rates of Yellow Perch have been characterized by extreme fluctuations from 2011 to 2016 followed by a drastic drop and continued level of low abundance (less than 1 per gill net). This variability in gill net catches is most likely due to environmental conditions and/or niche overlap and competition with increasing Black and White crappie populations. Habitat loss due to lack of submerged vegetation is also a potential cause. Yellow Perch were stocked during the spring of 2022 and again in 2024, but a resulting natural year class has not been observed yet. While Yellow Perch abundance was low, stocking will be continued if the gill net catch rate remains below 2.0 per net in 2026.

The Freshwater Drum catch rate was 40.0 per gill net, less than the long-term average (49.6 per gill net) and above the expected range of 4.0 to 32.3 per gill net for similar lakes. There is some desire among the Fox Lake Association members and Fox Lake Conservation League to remove Freshwater Drum to reduce their relative abundance, however, past studies have shown that this may induce a reproduction response and can increase abundance of Freshwater Drum. Currently, the Freshwater Drum in the gill net and trap net sample range in length from 4.3 to 14.3 inches with an average length of 9.9 inches. Apart from a few of the largest Freshwater Drum in the sample, all these fish are potentially subject to predation by the existing Muskie population. While the current Muskie population is very low abundance and may not suppress the Freshwater Drum enough, a potential consideration is to stock yearling or adult Muskie instead of fingerlings, which will serve 2 purposes. First, larger Muskie will act as a predator right away and larger Muskie have a greater chance of survival to larger sizes.

The Bluegill catch rate in 2025 was 2.2 per trap net, which is below the expected range of catch rates (7.5 to 62.5 per trap net) for class 24 lakes. Lengths of Bluegill ranged from 5.4 to 6.2 inches and averaged 5.8 inches. The turbid water in Fox Lake is likely limiting the potential for a robust Bluegill population given that that typically thrive in lakes with clear water and abundant vegetation.

Additional species sampled included Bigmouth Buffalo, Black Bullhead, Channel Catfish, Common Carp, Golden Shiner, Largemouth Bass, Quillback Carpsucker, and Yellow Bullhead. Bigmouth Buffalo, while native, can overpopulate and act as a source of competition for limited plankton resources due to their filter feeding which can shift the plankton community to one dominated by phytoplankton. They also could suspend sediments while looking for invertebrate food sources that can lead to internal nutrient loading and create poor water quality. The large 2013-2015 year classes of Bigmouth Buffalo appear to be a possible driver of poor water quality on Fox over the last few years. While those year classes of fish continue to grow and move through the fish community, their growth appears to be slower than other populations in the Windom area. Continued monitoring will be done to track changes in numbers and species caught in Fox Lake.