Moody

Moody Lake is a 35-acre lake located in Chisago County just south of the town of Chisago City. The lake is managed primarily for northern pike with bluegill, black crappie, and largemouth bass as the secondary species. Moody is assigned to lake class 30. Lakes in this class are typically very small and bowl shaped with hard, turbid water. In light of the new shore angling opportunity provided at Moody Farmstead Township Park, local concern regarding winterkill status, and to support the work being done bythe Comfort Lake Watershed District on all lakes in the Comfort Lake Watershed, an assessment of the current fish population was conducted in June of 2012. The gamefish population consisted of bluegill, black crappie, northern pike, and largemouth bass. All were present in abundance typical of the lake class. All four species exceeded the lake class size norms, an indication of low angling pressure. Moody Lake should provide a high quality angling experience. The bulk of the crappie and bluegill captured exceeded 8.5 and 7.5 inches respectively. Northern pike averaged 6 pounds. Forty four percent of adult largemouth bass were greater than 12 inches with individuals over 20 inches present. Growth rates were good for bluegill, black crappie, and especially northern pike which reached 30 inches in six years. Other species present in the assessment included both yellow and black bullhead, bowfin (dogfish), and common carp. All four species were present at or below the lake class norm. Numbers of black bullhead, the species most indicative of winterkill conditions, were below the 25th percentile for the lake type and were down dramatically compared to the previous assessment. Based on the current composition of species and their relative abundance, it has likely been several years since a winterkill of any significance has occurred. Winter dissolved oxygen testing, coupled with winter aeration capabilities when needed, would help prevent the lake from returning to a black bullhead /carp dominated population that historically dominated Moody Lake for several years after each winterkill.

IN JUNE 1989 A LAKE SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED ON MOODY LAKE. TWO GILLNETS AND FOUR TRAPNETS WERE SET TO OBTAIN DATA OF THE PRESENT FISH POPULATION. SHORE- LINE SEINING EFFORTS WERE CONDUCTED IN MID AUGUST TO EVALUTATE NATURAL REPRODUCTION OF THE PRESENT FISH POPULATION. BASED ON RESPECTIVE LOCAL MEDIANS FROM TEST NET INDICES, THE PRESENT FISH POPULATION IS AS FOLLOWS THE NORTHERN PIKE NET CATCH WAS UP FROM THE PRE- VIOUS LAKE SURVEY CATCH IN 1959. THIS NET CATCH HAD A VALUE HIGHER THAN THE LOCAL MEDIAN CATCH OF 3.50/SET. THE LENGTH FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION RANGED FROM 17.0 TO 28.9 INCHES WITH A MEDIAN LENGTH GROUP OF 20.0-20.9 INCHES. THE MEAN WEIGHT WAS 2.1 POUNDS. THE TRAPNET CATCHES YIELDED SEVEN NORTHERN PIKE WITH ONE FISH MEASURING 33.9 INCHES. THE TWENTY-EIGHT NORTHERN PIKE SAMPLED, FROM ALL TEST NETS, WERE OF AGE GROUPS IV-VIII AND EXHIBI- TED GROWTH RATES SIMILAR TO NORMAL STATEWIDE AVERAGES. THE BLUEGILL SUNFISH NET CATCH WAS UP FROM THE PREVIOUS SURVEY AND ABOVE THE LOCAL MEDIAN CATCH. THE LENGTH FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION RANGED FROM 3.5 TO 7.9 INCHES WITH A MEDIAN LENGTH GROUP OF 6.5- 6.9 INCHES. AGE GROUPS II-VII WERE REPRESENTED BY THE NET CATCHES. THE BLACK CRAPPIE NET CATCH WAS DOWN FROM THE PREVIOUS SURVEY, HOWEVER, REMAINS ABOVE THE LOCAL MEDIAN CATCH. THE LENGTH FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION RANGED FROM 3.5 TO 13.9 INCHES WITH A MEDIAN LENGTH GROUP OF 9.0 - 9.4 INCHES. AGE GROUPS I-VII WERE REPRESENTED BY THE NET CATCHES. THE PUMPKINSEED SUNFISH NET CATCH WAS UP FROM THE PREVIOUS SURVEY AND WELL ABOVE THE LOCAL MEDIAN CATCH. THE LENGTH FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION RANGED FROM 3.5 TO 7.4 INCHES WITH A MEDIAN LENGTH GROUP OF 5.0 - 5.4 INCHES. AGE GROUPS REPRESENTED WERE FROM II - VI. SHORELINE SEINING EFFORTS RECORDED 500 ADULT PUMPKINSEED SUNFISH IN THE 0.24 ACRE AREA SEINED. THE YELLOW PERCH WAS NOT SAMPLED BY THE GILLNET CATCHES, ALTHOUGH FOURTEEN FISH WERE CAUGHT BY TRAPNETTING. THE LENGTH FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION RANGED FROM 5.5 TO 9.9 INCHES WITH A MEDIAN LENGTH GROUP OF 6.0 - 6.4 INCHES. THE LARGEMOUTH BASS WAS NOT SAMPLED IN ANY OF THE TEST NETTING GEAR, HOWEVER, OCCASIONAL BASS HAVE BEEN CAUGHT BY ANGLERS. FOUR OTHER SPECIES WERE TAKEN BY TEST NETS AND WERE ALL ABOVE THEIR RESPECTIVE LOCAL MEDIAN NET CATCHES, EXCEPT THE HYBRID SUNFISH. THE BLACK BULLHEAD NET CATCH WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ABOVE THE PREVIOUS SURVEY AND LOCAL MEDIAN CATCHES, 1.22/SET AND 2.33/SET, RESPECTIVELY. THIS HIGH CATCH ALONG WITH A HIGH CATCH OF PUMPKINSEED SUNFISH COULD INDICATE THAT MOODY LAKE SUFFERED SOME DEGREE OF WINTERKILL AT ONE TIME. SHORELINE SEINING EFFORTS REVEALED YOUNG-OF-YEAR FISH SPECIES FROM THE BLACK BULLHEAD, PUMPKINSEED SUNFISH, AND THE BLUEGILL SUNFISH.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, and Black Crappie in Moody. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

We don't have a confirmed public access point on record for Moody. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

Moody has a maximum depth of 48 feet and a mean depth of 10 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Moody is from 2012. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

No invasive species are on record for Moody in Minnesota DNR data. Always clean, drain, and dry your equipment to help keep it that way.