Moulton Lake Fishing guide

The gill net catch rate for Walleye was 1.3 per gill net, which did not meet the management goal of 2 to 4 fish per gill net. Six year classes of Walleye, from 1 to 18 years old, were observed and all were from years that were stocked. Walleye in gill nets averaged 16.6 inches and ranged from 8.2 to 27.6 inches. Growth rates were slow compared to county and state averages, with 4-year-old Walleye averaging 13.5 inches, which is typical for Moulton Lake. Fingerling stocking supports the Walleye population in Moulton Lake and they have been stocked annually since 2022. Although trace amounts of natural reproduction have been noted in the past, it does not appear to contribute significantly to the fishery. Also, no fish were observed from the 2019 or 2021 year classes, which had been fry stocked.

Northern Pike relative abundance was unchanged from 2021 (1.67 per gill net). Size structure was favorable with a mean length of 27.5 inches and individuals up to 34.9 inches were observed. Fifty percent of Pike captured were greater than 26 inches. Northern Pike ranged from 4 to 7 years old, and displayed fast growth compared to state and county averages, reaching 23 inches in 4 years.

Catch rates of Black Crappie in gill nets decreased from an all-time high in 2021 (28.7 per net), to a rate of 14.0 per net. While a decrease in relative abundance was observed, the gill net catch rate of Crappie still exceeded the normal range for this type of lake, as well as the historical median prior to 2021 (5.4 per net). Black Crappie were captured at a rate of 16.7 per trap net during the spring survey, which was hgher than what is usually observed in standard surveys in mid-summer (1-7 per trap net). Size structure of Crappie captured in trap nets was slightly wider than from gill net-captured fish and ranged from 4.9 to 11.6 inches and averaged 8.4 inches. For comparison, gill net-captured Crappie averaged 8.0 inches and ranged from 4.3 to 9.7 inches. Crappie ranged from 1 to 7 years old, with only the 2019 year class (age 5) missing from the sample. Growth rates continued to be below state and county averages, with 4-year-old Crappie averaging only 7.0 inches. Two hundred Crappie from the trap net sample were transferred to Long Lake.

Trap net catch rates for Bluegill were 37.0 per net, which is substantially higher than what has been observed during previous standard surveys in August (5-13 per trap net). Seven percent of Bluegill captured were over 8 inches in length, which was similar to the 2021 standard survey (6%). While typically not used to index Bluegill abundance, the gill net catch rate of 9.8 per net was the highest observed in any previous surveys. One hundred and thirty Bluegill and a combination of 20 Hybrid Sunfish and Pumpkinseeds from the trap net sample were transferred to Long Lake.

Largemouth Bass are not particularly abundant at Moulton Lake. Only two Largemouth Bass were sampled during the 2024 gill net survey, but did include one fish over 19.2 inches. Eight more Bass were observed in the spring survey and they averaged 12.0 inches long, with one fish reaching 19.3 inches.

The Yellow Perch catch rate in the gill nets (10.7 per net) continued an upward trend that first appeared in 2021 (6.2 per net). In the nine gill net surveys from 1968 to 2016, Perch abundance had been quite stable and averaged 2.3 per net with the narrow range of 1.2 to 3.3 per net. Perch sizes ranged from 5.4 to 9.6 inches long, with a mean length of 7.4 inches. No perch were observed in the spring trap net sampling.