Lower Spunk

Lower Spunk Lake is a 280-acre lake located partly within the city limits of Avon in north central Stearns County. There is a public access located on the south side of the lake with room for eight vehicle/trailers. The water quality of Lower Spunk Lake is generally very good with a 10-year average Secchi reading of 10 feet although adequate dissolved oxygen was only present to a depth of 14 feet during the second week of June. The lake has a large watershed (19,288 acres) that is primarily made up of forest and agriculture. The lake is managed for Largemouth Bass and Northern Pike. No Walleye stocking takes place due to the high pike numbers as well as the lack of Yellow Perch as forage. However, the Avon Lakes Association has stocked Walleye in the past (most recently in 2007). A standard lake survey was conducted in 2023 to monitor changes in the fishery from the last survey completed in 2016. As expected, there was a low catch of Walleye and only two were captured during the survey. These fish ranged in length from 17 to 25 inches. The catch of Northern Pike was higher than previous surveys and exceeded the range of what we would expect to see for the lake class. Northern Pike ranged in length from nine to 33 inches with an average length of 21 inches. Eighteen percent of the pike sampled were longer than 26 inches and 6% were longer than 30 inches. Anglers are encouraged to harvest the smaller Northern Pike (under 22 inches) and release the larger ones to help achieve a more balanced fish community and to help increase growth rates. Lower pike numbers may also increase Yellow Perch survival and allow their numbers, which continue to be low, to increase. Higher perch populations are desirable as they can be important prey species for Northern Pike. Unfortunately, only one Yellow Perch was sampled during the survey which was similar to the past three surveys. Largemouth Bass were sampled by daytime electrofishing in May. Forty-eight bass were collected in 1.4 hrs of on-time for a catch rate of 34/hour. This was below the average daytime catch rate (52/hour) for Sauk Rapids area lakes but above the rate observed in 2016 (20/hour). Largemouth Bass ranged from six to 20 inches and averaged 12 inches. The catch of Bluegill was similar to the long-term average and fish sampled ranged in length from three to nine inches with an average length of six inches. Hybrid sunfish were also sampled and although low in abundance, fish up to eight inches were captured. Anglers can expect good Bluegill fishing with some larger individuals mixed in. Like previous surveys, Black Crappies were hard to find in Lower Spunk Lake and anglers can expect to do some searching for them. Black Crappie ranged in length from five to 11 inches with a mean length of nine inches. Other species sampled during the 2023 survey included: Black Bullhead, Bowfin, Green Sunfish, Hybrid Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, White Sucker and Yellow Bullhead.

A targeted survey of the nearshore fish community was conducted on August 8, 2016 by Fisheries Lake IBI program staff. Sampling stations were evenly spaced around the lake and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at all 10 stations with four sites sampled from the boat. A 50-foot seine was used to sample five stations and conditions prevented the use of seines at five sampling sites. Nearshore sampling captured 18 native species of fish including several species that are intolerant of habitat disturbance (Banded Killifish, Blackchin Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Pugnose Shiner). Data from this survey is combined with data from a standard game fish survey completed in June 2016 to calculate a Fish-based Index of Biologic Integrity (FIBI) that describes the overall health of lake. The FIBI score for Lower Spunk Lake based on this survey is above the impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes and indicates a healthy fish community. Data from this survey will be included as part of a process to assess the condition of surface waters of the Mississippi River - Sartell watershed.

Lower Spunk Lake is a 280-acre general development lake located partly within the city limits of Avon in north central Stearns County. There is a public access located on the south side of the lake. The water quality of Lower Spunk Lake is generally very good with a 10 year average Secchi reading of 9.8 feet and adequate dissolved oxygen was present to a depth of 16 feet during the third week of June. The lake has a relatively large watershed (19,288 acres) that is primarily forested and agricultural. A standard lake survey was conducted in 2016 to monitor changes in the fishery from the last survey completed in 2008. In addition to the standard lake survey, an Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) survey was conducted in August. Results of this survey will be summarized in a separate report. Lower Spunk is primarily managed for Northern Pike and Bluegill. There is no Walleye stocking due to the high Northern Pike population and lack of forage such as Yellow Perch. However, the Avon Lakes Association has stocked Walleye in the past (most recently in 2007). As expected, there was a low catch of Walleye and only three were captured during the survey. These fish ranged in length from 16 to 18 inches with a mean length of 17 inches. The catch of Northern Pike was similar to previous surveys and within the range of what we would expect to see for the lake class. Northern Pike ranged in length from 13 to 30 inches with a mean length of 20 inches. Eighteen percent of the pike were longer than 24 inches. Anglers are encouraged to harvest the smaller Northern Pike under 22 inches and release the larger ones to help achieve a more balanced fish community and promote good growth rates. Lower pike numbers may also increase Yellow Perch survival and allow their numbers, which continue to be low, to increase. Higher perch populations are desirable as they can be important prey species for Northern Pike. No Yellow Perch were captured in gill nets or trap nets in the 2016 survey and was similar to previous surveys. Largemouth Bass were sampled by night electrofishing in June and 38 bass were collected at a rate of 19.6/hour. Largemouth Bass ranged from 6 to 18 inches, and averaged 13 inches. The catch of Bluegill was similar to the long-term average and fish ranged in length from 3 to 9 inches with an average length of 6 inches. Hybrid sunfish were also sampled and although low in abundance, fish up to 9 inches were captured. Anglers can expect good Bluegill fishing with some larger individuals mixed in. Similar to previous surveys, Black Crappies were hard to find in Lower spunk and anglers can expect to do some searching for them. Black Crappie ranged in length from 5 to 11 inches with a mean length of 8 inches. Other species sampled during the 2016 survey included: Black Bullhead, Bowfin, Green Sunfish, Hybrid Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, White Sucker and Yellow Bullhead.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Hybrid Sunfish, Green Sunfish, and Black Crappie in Lower Spunk. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Lower Spunk has a maximum depth of 27.5 feet and a mean depth of 5.1 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Lower Spunk is from 2023.

Yes — Lower Spunk has confirmed Eurasian watermilfoil. Clean, drain, and dry your equipment to avoid spreading invasives to other waters.