James

James Lake, better known as Jammer Lake, is a designated stream trout lake located 11 miles north of the city of Virginia. The access is via a concrete ramp off of old Hwy 53, now Co Rd 106. This 17-acre lake has a maximum depth of 33.0 feet and green water at the time of this survey due to a heavy pollen load. On May 28, 2024, Jammer Lake was thermally stratified with a surface temperature of 61 F and a bottom temperature of 46 F. Oxygen levels were adequate for trout to a depth of 21.0 feet where the water temperature was 48 F. The lake contains no inlets or outlets and its shoal-water substrates are mostly muck and sand. Aquatic vegetation is generally quite sparse. Presently, rainbow trout fingerlings are stocked annually in the fall at a rate of around 90/surface acre or 1,500 fish. Fifteen rainbow trout were caught in one gillnet for a catch rate of 15.0 fish/net with a yield of 12.8 pounds/net. Both values were above average for the lake. This yield ranked second when compared to other recent surveys of rainbow trout lakes in the Tower area. Lengths ranged from 9 to almost 17 inches with an average of 12.5 inches. Sizes indicate at least two year-classes were represented. Electrofishing was used for the second time to assess the largemouth bass population on Jammer Lake. On the night of May 30, the entire shoreline was sampled. One-hundred ten largemouth bass were captured for a catch rate of 126.9 fish/hour of on-time. This ranks as the third-highest catch rate of the most recent electrofishing surveys in Tower area lakes. Lengths ranged from 3 to 20 inches with an average of just over 10 inches, and an average weight of 0.6 pounds. Growth was slow with the average fish taking four years to reach six inches long.

James Lake, better known as Jammer Lake, is a designated stream trout lake located 11 miles north of the city of Virginia. The access is via a concrete ramp off of old Hwy 53, now Co Rd 106. This 17 acre lake has a maximum depth of 33.0 feet and green water at the time of this survey due to a heavy pollen load. On June 1, 2021 Jammer Lake was thermally stratified with a surface temperature of 67 F and a bottom temperature of 44 F. Oxygen levels were adequate for trout to a depth of 19.0 feet where the water temperature was 49 F. The lake contains no inlets or outlets and its shoal-water substrates are mostly muck and sand. Aquatic vegetation is generally quite sparse. Presently, rainbow trout fingerlings are stocked annually in the fall at a rate of around 90/surface acre or 1,500 fish. Fifty-three rainbow trout were caught in one gill net for a catch rate of 53.0 fish/net with a yield of 28.9 pounds/net. Both were record values for the lake. This yield ranked second when compared to other recent surveys of trout lakes in the Tower area. Lengths ranged from 10 to 15 inches with an average of 11.5 inches. Sizes indicate at a minimum, two year classes were represented. Electrofishing was used for the first time to assess the largemouth bass population on Jammer Lake. On the night of May 26, the entire shoreline was sampled. One-hundred seventy-six largemouth bass were captured for a catch rate of 199.3 fish/hour of on-time. This set the new record for Tower area lakes where largemouth bass electrofishing can be accomplished. Lengths ranged from 3 to 19 inches with an average of just over 10 inches, and an average weight of 0.6 pounds. Ages ranged from 1 to 12 years with the strongest representation from the 2015 year class. Growth was slow with the average fish taking four years to reach nine inches long.

James Lake, better known as Jammer Lake, is a designated stream trout lake located 11 miles north of the city of Virginia. Its access is via a concrete ramp off of old Hwy 53, now Co Rd 106. This 17 acre lake has a maximum depth of 33 feet and very clear water. Jammer Lake has been stocked with stream trout since 1954. Currently, approximately 1500 rainbow trout are stocked every fall. Due to unwanted species introductions, the lake has been poisoned four times in the past. The 2018 rainbow trout gillnet catch rate was 2 fish/net with a yield of 4.5 pounds/net. The yield was comparable to other assessments of Jammer Lake. Sizes were good with the average rainbow measuring 17 inches long, and a few fish over 18 inches sampled. The average weight was over 2 pounds per fish. Forty seven largemouth bass were captured in trap nets for a catch rate of 11.8 fish/net which was high compared to other similar lakes and higher than most past surveys on Jammer Lake. Sizes were small with lengths ranging from 6 to 12 inches. Growth was slow with fish up to 11 years old present.

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

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

James has a maximum depth of 33 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in James is from 2024.

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