I was looking at the stocking #'s for lake Diana its 282 surface acres lake with 8 ft avg depth and a max of 52 ft. I looks like it has lots of shore line and cove's. With the stocking of 3220 muskies in the last 4 years . Like 11.378 per acre. If they all lived. Forage of Gizzard Shad 9 in avg size, Golden shiners 6 in avg size, Channel catfish 12.9 in avg size, Yellow bullhead 6.5 in avg size and Walleye common Carp too. How do you guys think the muskie are doing in this lake? It looks like it has a better forage base then the other Iowa muskie stocked lakes. Do you think these Iowa might be upper 30 inch size fish this summer? I was thinking about hitting this lake alot this summer with these kind of numbers. Any of you guys tryed it yet? What did you think of it?
thanks LeMay OUT
I moved this into the members area becasue Diane doesn't have a spearing ban!
I'm pretty sure I would stay in your back yard instead of driving two hours to catch 30"ers… 🙄
Let me provide some clarification on the lake and the population. The first year of fish in Diane were Indiana fish. Yes, I'm certain… MMA made it possible for them to come here that November.
As far as the number of fish in there… well… I know they didn't all live and my quick calculation says there are somewhere around 460 muskies 30" or greater in there right now (that's asuming the 2005 Iowa fish are @30"). This means there are roughly 1.6 30" fish per acre right now in Diane.
I did not know it did not have a spearing band. Is this something MMA might get to get in place?
I thought from the stocking report they where all Iowa fish. And with the forage base that it would help the fish grow better. But with fish 1.6 per acre over 30 inch I wanted to work on my casting numbers. If the fish are not fished much I thought it would help me out in my casting numbers and learning structure fishing better with the way the lake is. I've ben looking for a on-line lake map to check out the contures but
I have not ben able to find one yet.
Ya it may be two hour drive but its half the size as ovid but just about the same number of fish per acer. So in two or 3 years it will be like ovid and I would like to learn the lake.
I have fished this lake for bass and there are some really large bass in there (5+ lbs) and it is a good lake. I did not have any accidental contact with muskies but I was not targeting them properly. I will also take a shot at this lake and advise on anything that works or anything that doesn't work.
"LeMay" said:
I did not know it did not have a spearing band. Is this something MMA might get to get in place?
Maybe but not likely.
"LeMay" said:
I thought from the stocking report they where all Iowa fish.
Yes it does say that on the DNR site, which is exactly why I wanted to set the record straight from the start. There are a TON of errors on the stocking reports concerning the strain stocked for many waters. The first year Diane fish are from Indiana.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't fish it! I just thought it was odd that you would go all the way there when you have one of the best lakes for numbers and size right there at home. If you want casting numbers then you just need to get in the boat with some people that cast out there, Ovid is a great casting lake.
How do the Iowa fish differ form the Indiana fish?
With the Gizzard Shad and Golden shiners in their I was just wanting to know how much better forage it is. Murrey lake has shad in it to? I just did not think meny lakes down here had shad and Muskies in them. And the netting study from May 2001 5.1 % of the fish where Gizzard shad Aveage size 9.2 inches up to 11 inch up to 1.7 lbs on the shad. Channel catfish make up 12 % of the fish and golden shinner.2% up to 7 inch in there. Would be great for the muskies with the warmer water in the lake with a deep hole 50ft for the fish in the summer would make a better growing place for the Iowa fish.
No Murray has cisco and not shad.
The Iowa fish are a genetic mutt which makes them good growers in a variety of water. The Indiana fish are similar to our Michigan fish which are basically a Wisconsin strain. They are decent fish but do best in certain waters, like Thorn and Sanford. If you look at Indiana, their growth is good early but the fish burn out quickly. Forage doesn't mean everything, there have only been a handful of fish caught there over 35# and only a couple over 40#.
Will the Iowa fish grow much better with Shad? Probably not. Will they be heavier in the fall compared to somewhere like Ovid? For sure. They will be fine in Diane and will grow some nice fish. Who will complain about a 35# 48" fish?
Depth doesn't mean anything if there is no oxygen there. Even with deeper cooler water the fish may not be able to escape 70+ degree water because there isn't enough oxygen once the lake stratifies.
OK thanks Will.
So I'm looking that Lake Diana might be a better place to fish in the spring becuse the water temp will be better. Shallow water and warner temps in the spring. In the fall in a few years it will have fatter fish due to the forage. Its great what can be learned on the MMA pages. [smilie=applause.gif]
Also thanks for clearing up the Indiana fish, fish stocking I only know what I read on the DNR pages. You know the DNR better then I.
LeMay OUT
Jim,
I fished Diane in October and the lake had very little weed growth with most of the bottom being clay. We trolled and casted for most of the day and had no rips or follows. The problem i see with this lake is during the warmer months you might have to deal with a lot of pleasure boaters. Not much traffic in the fall. The 50' hole is right in the middle of the first lake and the other 50' hole is the forth lake back in the chain. The bays that you mentioned are shallow with some sparse weeds. Water was stained to dirty.
We also stopped at the local store and was able to find a lake map in a county leaflet, not a lot of help though. While at the store we dropped off one of the new signs (8" x 11") for the owner to put up in the store. The store owner said he has heard of some fish being caught in the mid to upper 30's.
I have to say i liked the look of the lake but i don't think i would drive 2 hours to learn it or fish it again for a few more years.
Trevor
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