Water, Invasives, and Fishing
Stormy Lake is a 523 acre seepage lake (i.e., no obvious inlet or outlet) with a maximum depth of 63 feet. The lake has a sandy bottom with relatively little structure and sparse vegetation.
Secchi Testing
The disc was visible to 19 feet in June, 2024. This has been stable over the past several years.
Preventing Invasives
In 2025, Stormy Lake will be part of the WIsconsin DNR "Clean Boats Clean Waters" grant program. The program provides boat inspectors to perform boat and trailer checks, hand out informational brochures, and educate boaters on how to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species.
With a contract with UW-Oshkosh, we will have a student intern stationed at our boat landing for approximately 200 hours this summer. The intern will:
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Monitor boat landings for aquatic invasive species (AIS)
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Conduct outreach with boat users in order to educate them on AIS issues
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Perform boat inspections at the landing
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Enter data in the WI DNR SWIMS database
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Attend trainings, updates, and other meetings as needed
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Help with sampling and monitoring as requested by the association
The DNR maintains a statewide database, which contains tallies of information tracked at landings. The UW-Extension (UWEX) Lakes trains new boat inspectors and coordinates the volunteer efforts.
Maintaining boat cleanliness is important to Stormy Lake. In 2007, Stormy was one of the first Wisconsin inland lakes to be infected by the spiny water flea. This invasive eats zooplankton and competes with small fish for food sources. Other DNR-identified invasives include the rusty crayfish and the Chinese mystery snail. Eurasian water-milfoil has been identified in several nearby lakes and we hope to keep it from colonizing Stormy.
"Clean, Drain, and Dry"
To prevent spread of invasive species, all boats, trailers, and equipment should be cleaned when moving from lake-to-lake, using hot water if possible. All visible plants, animals, or mud should be removed. All water should be drained from the boat, motor, bilge, live wells, and bait containers. A best practice includes letting the boat dry before using it again.
Fish Populations
Small mouth bass - Stormy Lake has a sustainable population of small mouth.
Brown trout - 3,038 yearling trout were stocked in Stormy Lake by the DNR in 2024.