An Assessment of the Warmwater Fish Community in Leland Lake, September 1999

Leland Lake was surveyed by a threeâ€"person crew on September 13 and 14, 1999. Multiple gear types (electrofishing, gill netting, and fyke netting) were utilized to reduce the sampling bias associated with each sampling method. Largemouth bass and bluegill were the most abundant species sampled both numerically (47 and 36.5%, respectively) and by weight (70.9 and 10.7%, respectively). Other species sampled during the survey, in order from highest to lowest abundance, include: yellow perch, black crappie, brown bullhead, sculpin, coho, and cutthroat trout. Although few in number, Leland Lake provides the opportunity for anglers to catch largemouth bass that are near trophy size > 630 mm). Bluegill do not appear to be fairing as well as largemouth bass. Bluegill size structure is dominated by fish stock size and smaller. Currently, yellow perch provides angling opportunity for fish up to 250 mm. All warmwater species exhibited good condition and growth above or near the state average. Our management recommendations for Leland Lake include placing the proposed bass slot limit regulation on the lake, promoting the bass and yellow perch fisheries. Additionally, a creel survey is recommended to assess the current level of angler preference, pressure, and harvest on warmwater fish.