I think most folks are "down" on Sanford because it is a hard nut to crack. I have lived on the lake for over 11 years now and I like to think that my musky fishing skills are pretty decent and it is very hard to establish any real patterns on Sanford and consistently stay on fish. Sanford has a ton of structure and a massive forage base. I certainly would like to see more consistent stocking on Sanford but there is still a fishable population in the lake albeit my bet (I'm no expetr so this is just my personal opinion) is the adult fish per acre out there is less than one. So, relatively low population, tons of structure and a hearty forage base means you have to be at the right place at the right time to encounter a musky never mind get a strike out there. Adding to the frustration of not getting a lot of action, since the draw down two years ago the water is much dirtier than it had been so unless the fish is hot to the back of your bait you aren't going to see many follows. No follows or strikes leads to second guessing yourself and frustration. Spending countless hours without contact gets folks frustrated and they move on to other places to fish. Even living on the lake, I don't fish it as much as I did even 4 years ago…I'd rather run to LSC and see or catch fish then go weeks without luck on Sanford plus the water temps on Sanford for the last two years have been too hot (IMO) to target muskies from early July until early to mid August. The nice thing about Sanford is when you get one it is usually a brute—fish in Sanford are heavy for their size. Late August into early October is prime time and this year is no exception.

I don't fish it nearly enough to feel like I have a finger on the pulse anymore, but Scott would you agree that the drawdown seemed to take a toll on the lake? Do you think its been tougher the last couple years than it was before? Not only were fish lost in the flush downstream, but those left were also vulnerable to harvest- it wasn't exactly a barrel, but they were confined to much less water over that winter. I don't know how many were lost, but I know some were. And whatever the reason, I do think the muskie success has been down over recent years, even with higher stocking and the fact that muskies have been successfully reproducing there. But I'd still love to spend more time there trying to find out!

The pike seem to have gone through ups and lately downs too, which is natural but probably accentuated in a flowage system.

Duke:

Certainly there was a flush of fish after the drawdown and as a result of high waters in Spring, particularly the Spring before last. I think that is evidenced by the amount of contacts and big fish caught (and unfortunately kept for the most part) below the dam the last couple of Springs. I'd like to think Will is right about the stocked fish reaching maturity but I question as to why I'm not seeing a lot of little guys. Of course, see below, seeing follows is even tougher on Sanford the last two years. However, I don't really buy that there are less fish due to flushing as we get trickle down from the other dams and the two Ross drawdowns should have put more fish into Wixom and then, ultimately, Sanford. I'd like to think that the population stays relatively stable given the trickle down but it is hard to ignore that there has been a lot (relatively of course) of really big girls below the dam in the Spring the last couple of years and I think those are newly "flushed" fish.

To add to that, the water in Sanford is dirtier since the draw down and given the reduced sun penetration the weeds aren't growing as deep and the weed treatments,as a result, have been much more successful than in prior years IMO. I sit of the Sanford Lake Assoc. Board and I am on a committee that is responsible for "water quality" issues. There have been a lot of questions why the lake is dirtier. While we are no experts we think there are a number of contributing causes: 1) work being done on Wixom around the discharges, 2) severely declining banks along the East shore of the Flats and up river contributing significant clay loads into the lake and, 3) it would appear the zebra mussle population took a dive after the drawdown since most of the lake was exposed for the winter in the drawdown and reduced the population as a result of the hard freeze. With less weeds, dirtier water and a hearty forage base I think the fish have been feeding deeper than normal but I may be nuts on that point.

There is still a fishable population in Sanford IMO but as Will says, there is a low density of fish in Sanford and it is "real" musky fishing.

"Scrappy" said:
I should also add that I don't think spearing resulted in a toll on the population the year of the drawdown as the current largely made getting out in what little water was left in the lake next to impossible. There were no shallow flats to spear fish that year given the drawdown.

I would also think the same but, talking to a few people about ice fishing that year after drawdown was the best most have had. The water was very clear allowing them to spear in deeper water on the weed edge by the park in 10-12 fow. Also tons of legal pike many between 28"-34" were caught that winter.

A drawdown is planned for Wixom not Sanford. Wixom's drawdown for next year has been put off at least another year until 2015. Sanford will be having some work done next year but that will not require a drawdown.

Duke, to add to the "skin" issue, on the East side of the Flats along the road there, the hydrollics caused by the landowner across the street putting in an unlicensed pond caused a massive landslide in the spring which actually threatened to take the road out with it. The Sewer commission drained the pond and installed better drain pipes but that bank is still a mess. I heard the County has approved some money to help fix the errosion problem but I don't have details yet. That site is adding a huge amount of sediment load into the impoundment. Also, the erroding clay bank on the north side of the Islands area had a big landslide this spring too and now that stretch is even worse than ever as well.