County: Aitkin Near: Aitkin Border water: No Sentinel Lake: No Area: 1725.81 acres Littoral Area: 405 acres Shore length: 27.56 miles Mean depth: 28 feet Maximum depth: 105 feet Fish species: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, burbot, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, sunfish, tullibee (cisco), walleye, yellow bullhead, yellow perch, bigmouth buffalo, bowfin (dogfish), shorthead redhorse, suckers, white sucker, banded killifish, blackchin shiner, blacknose shiner, bluntnose minnow, brook silverside, central mudminnow, common shiner, creek chub, emerald shiner, fathead minnow, golden shiner, Iowa darter, Johnny darter, least darter, mottled sculpin, pugnose shiner, spottail shiner, tadpole madtom Cedar Lake is a large and popular lake located three miles west of the City of Aitkin. There is a state-owned public access with a concrete log ramp located on the south side of the lake. The shoreline is complex with several distinct basins that provide a variety of habitats ranging from shallow vegetated bays to cool and deep open water areas. The fish community reflects this diverse habitat, and besides gamefish includes several species of shiners, darters, and minnows. Walleye and Muskellunge are the primary management species and both species are currently stocked annually as fingerlings to maintain their populations, although some natural reproduction of Walleye likely occurs. The 2021 Walleye gill net catch rate of 1.9/net was similar to previous assessments and generally on the lower end of the expected range for this type of lake. While Walleye may not be overly abundant their population has a quality size component with fish over 30 inches sampled on a regular basis. We have documented Walleye to live as long as 20 years in Cedar Lake. Muskellunge are not captured well in standard survey gear so sampling with special large frame nets targeting Muskellunge is conducted every other survey, the last in 2017. Muskellunge have been challenging to sample in Cedar Lake due to their low density and the general morphology of the lake. Cedar Lake is connected to the Mississippi River, which is native Muskellunge water, via Cedar Brook. With the exception of 2005, 2020 and 2021, Muskellunge have been stocked annually since 1994 and have created a popular sport fishery for anglers. Department Covid-19 protocols prohibited Muskellunge egg take activities in 2020 and there was a statewide shortage of Muskellunge fingerlings in 2021. Two Muskellunge were caught in this survey, one in a gill net, which was 24.3 inches and one in a trap net that was 49.6 inches. The Cedar Lake Muskie fishery will continue to be evaluated on a regular basis (the next in 2024) to increase our knowledge of Muskellunge behavior in these waters and to determine appropriate stocking guidelines. Largemouth Bass are another popular species targeted by anglers and are not sampled well with standard survey nets, so their populations are often evaluated using nighttime electrofishing. Night electrofishing was conducted in early June and yielded a catch rate of 29.3/hr, similar to what was observed in previous surveys. The average size of Largemouth Bass was 13.0 inches and fish up to 17.6 inches were observed. As indexed by the gill net, however it had been increasing steadily since the 1980s and in 2021 was the highest that has been observed at 1.95/net , which was a statistically significant change. The Northern Pike population provides anglers yet another opportunity to catch a top predator. While not able to attain the same maximum size as Muskellunge, Northern Pike in Cedar Lake have a decent size structure with fish averaging 1.8 pounds, and with individuals up to about 31 inches observed in this year's survey. A good majority of the fish were under 22 inches while about 7 percent were greater than the 26 inches. Black Crappie have historically been the preferred species for panfish anglers at Cedar Lake because they tend to reach an acceptable harvest size more regularly than the lake's Bluegill. The Crappie fishery can be highly variable and generally fluctuates based on spawning success. The Black Crappie gill net catch rate (7.2/net) was similar to 2017 (8.9/gill net) and was above the long-term average for the lake (4.7/gill net) dating back to 1959. Catch rates for the species have ranged from 2 to 8.9 per net. Size averaged 7.2 inches, with fish up to 11.9 inches in the sample. Age analysis revealed fish ages 1 to 10, with a good proportion of young ages ready to recruit to the fishery along with some older ages already being targeted by anglers. The lake is also known for its abundant Tullibee/Cisco population. Tullibee can be found in the deep, cool oxygen rich areas of the lake in the summer and can be found almost anywhere in the lake as temperatures allow during the fall, winter and spring. The species provides an important, nutrient rich forage base for the lake's gamefish. While Tullibee were not directly surveyed in this summer survey, their habitat was assessed and found to be in excellent condition with adequate thermal and oxygen levels from just below the surface to around 60 ft. Anglers are reminded to follow current MN-DNR Aquatic Invasive Species guidelines as described in the MN fishing regulations handbook in order to prevent the spread of unwanted invasive species. Cedar was recently added to the list of lakes now infested with Zebra Mussels.