Walleye Watch Program - Loon Lake - 2011

Loon Lake Road [Paynes Creek]

N 45.00.779
W 78.22.121
River Washed stone bottom

Date Apr 8 Apr 9 Apr 10 Apr 11 Apr 13 Apr 15 Apr 18

Temp NA 5.5 C NA NA 5C 6C NR
Vel NA >2 fps NA NA >2 fps >2 fps >2 fps
Time NA 7:30 p NA NA 3:30 p 7:30 p 5p
# Fish NA 0 NA NA 0 0 0
Note MUD FOG MUD Pol

Heavy fog and rain everywhere on April 10

Road in can be quite inaccessible at times because of ice or mud
Both sides upstream and downstream of culvert checked

Hwy 118 [Long Lake Creek]

N 45.01.597
W 78.20.186
River washed stone bottom

Date Apr 8 Apr 9 Apr 11 Apr 13 Apr 15 Apr 18

Temp 8C NR 8C 6C 8C NR
Vel 0 0 0 0 0 0
Time 8p 8p 8p 4p 8p 5:15 p
# Fish 0 0 0 0 0 0
Note Pol
Gregory Lane Culvert [Burnt River]
N 45.01.463
W 78.23.204
River washed stone bottom on est side of culvert [MNR spawning shoal]

Date Apr 8 Apr 9 Apr 11 Apr 13 Apr 15 Apr 18

Temp 6C NR 6C 5C 6C NR
Vel 2 fps >2 fps >2 fps >2 fps >2 fps >2 fps
Time 8p 8p 8p 5p 8:15 p 5:30p
# Fish 0 0 0 0 0 0
Note Turbid Turbid Pol

Note: Water at culvert quite deep [ ~ 6 ft ] making it difficult to see bottom

Both sides of culvert checked

Sunrise Condominium [Mouth of Burnt River]

N 45.01.414
W 78.23.183
Natural fine and coarse sand

Date Apr 11 Apr 13 Apr 15 Apr 18

Temp 5C 5C 5C NR
Vel <2 fps <2 fps <2 fps <2 fps
Time 8:30 p 4:45 p 8:30 p 5:45 p
# Fish 0 0 0 0
Note Pol
Gull Islands [Center of Loon Lake]
N 45.01.138
W 78.22.596
River washed stone @ west end of west island [MNR spawning shoal]

Date Apr 27
Temp 7.5 C
Vel 0
Time 10:15a
# Fish 3*

For Gull Islands:

• Sonar used - Humminbird 565X c/w dual cone transducer
• 2 medium sized fish on spawning shoal at 4.9 ft depth
• 1 large sized fish on spawning shoal perimeter at 9.5 ft depth
• average depth of shoal at this date is 2.9 ft
• no wind
• shoal requires cleaning
• total time spent scanning in a grid pattern was 30 minutes - very low speed
• this is the first time that I'm aware this shoal has ever been checked
immediately after ice-out.

Notes:

• Pol = yellow Polaroid glasses used for daytime observations. Nighttime

observations used a 1 million candlepower spotlight run by a 12vdc snowmobile
battery.
• NR = Not Recorded
• NA = Not done
• All velocities visually estimated from experience.
• Waters from Long Lake and Loon Lake mix before culvert in Burnt River [ ie: 8 C
{Long} + 5 C {Loon} = 6 C @ culvert ]

• Ice off Loon Lake on April 26/11

Summary:

• No fish seen in any of the creeks surveyed

• * - Three fish seen on sonar at Gull Islands spawning shoal
• Creek from Wenona Lake not surveyed since it has a lot of mud and stepped
beaver dams going from lake to waterfall at Hwy 118
Given the absence of fish observed in the creeks surrounding Loon Lake, and given
the past history of low or nil observations in these same creeks, it is reasonable to
suspect that the walleye of Loon Lake probably do not spawn in the creeks, but
elsewhere in the lake.

Loon Lake has an active walleye fishery and each year walleye in the 2 to 3 pound
range are regularly caught. As are smaller fish in the under 1 pound weight [12"
+/-]. Obviously the walleye are spawning somewhere in the lake.

Mike Grinnell
1045 Moccasin Trail
Haliburton, ON.,
Tel: 705-457-1859
Email: loonlake1@gmail.com