Jim

Jim Lake is a 99-acre moderately fertile lake located in north-central Otter Tail County, approximately four miles east of the city of Vergas, MN. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of mixed hardwoods. Jim Lake has a maximum depth of 27 feet; however, 59% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. The secchi disk reading was 10.0 feet. Previous secchi disk readings have ranged from 7.0 - 9.3 feet. Little development exists around the lake. A partially developed township owned public access is located on the northwest shoreline. Sandy soils can at times make access difficult and parking is very limited. Shoal water substrates consist primarily of sand and muck. Hardstem bulrush, cattails, and wild rice exist at several locations around the lake. These emergent aquatic plants provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat, and are critical for maintaining good water quality. Emergent plants provide spawning areas for fish species such as Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass and Panfish. They also are important nursery areas for all species of fish. They protect shorelines from erosion and can actually absorb and break down pollutants. Because of their ecological importance emergent plants may not be removed without a DNR permit. Jim Lake is subject to partial winterkills; however, none has been reported since the winter of 1986-1987. Lack of winterkill has allowed the fish populations to expand. Jim Lake contains populations of Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Black Crappie, Bluegill and Bullhead. A high-density Northern Pike population exists that exceeds the normal range for lakes of this type. The population increase is likely in response to high water levels and lack of winter kill in recent years. Since 1994, Northern Pike abundance has been on a steady increase. Northern Pike ranged in length from 15.6 to 35.8 inches with a mean length and weight of 20.2 inches and 1.8 pounds. Only 4% of the pike exceeded 24.0 inches in length. Only one Walleye was sampled. This is the first time that the Walleye abundance hasn't exceeded the normal range. Walleye abundance is likely limited by predation from the high-density Black Crappie population and Northern Pike populations. Black Crappie were sampled for the first time in 2000. Black Crappie abundance has steadily increased and is now well above the normal range. Age data indicate that Black Crappie reproduction is consistently good. Twenty-three percent of the Black Crappies were 10.0 inches or greater in length. Black Crappies attain an average length of 9.9 inches at five years of age. Bluegill abundance increased from the previous survey but remains within the normal range. The 2007 year class is strong as it composed a majority of the sample. Bluegill size structure continues to remain good as 76% of Bluegill 7.0 inches or greater in length. Bluegills attain an average length of 7.1 inches at five years of age. Anglers can help maintain the quality of angling by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of medium to large size fish while allowing the harvest of the more abundant smaller fish for table fare. Releasing the medium to large fish will ensure that the lake will have enough spawning age fish on an annual basis and will provide anglers with more opportunities to catch large fish in the future.

Jim Lake is a 99 acre, moderately fertile lake located in north-central Otter Tail County, approximately four miles east of the city of Vergas, MN. It has a maximum depth of 27 feet, and 59% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. The secchi disc reading, a measure of water clarity, was 8.0 feet. Previous secchi disk readings have ranged from 7.0 - 9.3 feet. Shoal water substrates consist primarily of sand and muck. An undeveloped public access is located on the northwest shoreline, but sandy soils make access difficult. Parking is very limited. Little development currently exists around the lake. Hardstem bulrush, cattails and wild rice exist at several locations around the lake. These emergent plants provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat, and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines from erosion and can actually absorb and break down pollutants. Because of their ecological importance, bulrush and cattails may not be removed without a DNR permit. Jim Lake is subject to partial winterkills, however none has been reported since the winter of 1986 - 1987. Lack of winterkill has allowed the fish populations to expand. Anglers can expect to catch walleye, northern pike, largemouth bass, black crappie, bluegill and bullhead. The walleye population is maintained primarily through every other year fry stocking. The walleye gill net catch rate was 6.3 per net, which is above the expected range for similar lakes. Walleye from gill nets ranged in length from 12.4 - 28.8 inches, with an average length and weight of 17.1 inches and 2.0 pounds. The northern pike gill net catch rate was 15.0 per net, well above both that seen in previous surveys and the expected range for similar lakes. This population increase is likely in response to high water levels in recent years, which have provided excellent spawning conditions in the form of flooded vegetation. Northern pike from gill nets ranged in length from 14.8 - 27.6 inches, with an average length and weight of 18.3 inches and 1.3 pounds. A spring electrofishing survey was conducted in May 2006 to evaluate the largemouth bass population. Seventeen bass were sampled ranging in length from 8.0 - 20.1 inches, with a mean length and weight of 14.5 inches and 1.8 pounds. Black crappie were sampled in Jim Lake for the first time in 2000. A total of 11 black crappie were sampled in 2007, ranging in length from 4.5 - 11.1 inches, and representing four different year classes. The bluegill trap net catch rate was 17.2 per net, which is within the expected range for similar lakes. The average length of bluegill from trap nets was 7.4 inches, and five consecutive year classes were represented in the sample. Anglers can help maintain the quality of angling by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of medium to large size fish while allowing the harvest of the more abundant smaller fish for table fare. Releasing the medium to large fish will ensure that the lake will have enough spawning age fish on an annual basis and will provide anglers with more opportunities to catch large fish in the future.

Jim Lake is a 99-acre moderately fertile lake located in north-central Otter Tail County, approximately four miles east of the city of Vergas, MN. It has a maximum depth of 27 feet and 59% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. Shoreline substrates consist primarily of sand and muck. The secchi disk reading, a measure of water clarity, was 9.3 feet. Previous readings have ranged from 7.0 to 8.3 feet. A public access is located on the northwest shoreline, however, parking is very limited at this access. Little development exists around the lake. Emergent vegetation (bulrush, cattail and wild rice) exists in various locations throughout the lake. Emergent plants are important because they provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines from erosion and can even absorb and breakdown pollutants from the water. Emergent plants provide spawning areas for fish species such as northern pike, largemouth bass and panfish. They are also important nursery areas for all species of fish. Because of their ecological importance, emergent plants may not be removed without a DNR permit. Jim Lake is subject to partial winterkills. The lake currently contains good populations of bluegill, walleye, and northern pike. These fish species are doing well because of the lack of a winterkill in a number of years. Bluegill numbers are down from the previous survey, however, the number of bluegill greater than seven inches has increased. Forty-four percent of the bluegill sampled in 2000 were > 7.0 inches in length. There is currently good numbers of northern pike present in the lake with some fish approaching 30 inches in length. Pike ranged in length from 19.4 to 28.0 inches with a mean length and weight of 22.6 inches and 2.5 pounds. The walleye population is dominated by the 1998 year class. Fish in this year class range in size from 9.9 to 13.0 inches. This year class is likely the result of a walleye fry stocking that took place that year. Walleye natural reproduction is extremely limited in this lake. Future walleye management includes walleye fry stocking on an every other year basis in order to establish moderate to strong year classes of walleye in Jim Lake.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Hybrid Sunfish, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Green Sunfish, and Pumpkinseed in Jim. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

Minnesota DNR records list public access for Jim. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for the launch type and directions before you go.

Jim has a maximum depth of 27 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Jim is from 2013. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

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