Thunder Lake is a clear, deep lake
with 30 miles of shoreline and lots of structure
for the serious fisherman to work. In 1992 a 33
pound northern was taken from the lake! We can't
guarantee one of those but you will find
excellent populations of
walleye,
crappie,
largemouth bass,
bluegill,
perch and
trophy smallmouth bass and
northern
pike just waiting for you to challenge them.
While the bite for all species is pretty good
all summer long, the spring bite in June and
fall bite in October are especially the best for
trying to get some walleyes:
In August of 2017, on the day of the solar
eclipse, the guys from
Lake
Commandos came to Thunder Lake Lodge to
film a largemouth and smallmouth bass
fishing segment. The challenge pitted Hall
Of Fame angler Steve Pennaz against
Bassmaster Magazine editor James Hall.
Watch the video to see who won the
one-on-one challenge that day. It's also a
very educational piece for 1st time
fisherman on Thunder Lake.
It's been quite a few years of fishing! In
the summer of 2013, two of our guests landed a
couple gigantic northern pike that measured 41
and 42 inches. Both were over 20 pounds
and were 'filled out' in a manner that only
Thunder Lake can grow with it's bountiful forage
base of cisco, tullibee and perch.
In the spring of 2011 on fishing opener, a 50
inch pike (yes, 50!) was caught on Thunder. The
largest northern caught in the whole Longville
Lakes area in 2006 was caught in front of
Thunder Lake Lodge on July 21. It measured
41-1/2" and topped 20 pounds. It was one of at
least 3 18lb+ northern caught that year. In
January of 2008, a 45" northern was taken from
Thunder Lake Lodge that weighed in at 28 lbs!
There aren't big quantities of pike on Thunder,
but the quality of pike is second to none.
Minnesota outdoors legend and icon Ron
Schara discovered Thunder Lake in 2006. He
spent an afternoon here promising an
assortment of game fish for his efforts and
he didn't fail to deliver! He returned
Memorial Day weekend in '07 to fish for
smallmouth and promptly landed a 20"
smallie. He said he'd return to try for
walleye, which he did with friend Dick
Sternberg in 2013. Ron has turned into
an annual visitor over the years.
He's got some stiff competition however. On
June 23, 2007, a husband and wife team
landed 28" and 30" walleyes (she had the 28)
and he was featured on 'KARE 11 OnLive' on
July 2 with his catch!
Thunder Lake has
been featured in Outdoor News Magazine
two different times as the Lake of the Week.
Once in 2002, and again
in 2010.
Thunder Lake gets stocked for wallleyes by
the DNR to supplement Thunder's natural
reproduction in odd numbered years with
fingerlings, which typically range from 3-8
inches. Stocking data can be found
here. We were along for the ride with the DNR during the fall 2009 stocking:
From the 6/18/2012 Minnesota DNR "Status of the
Fishery" report:
"Thunder
Lake is a 1,330 acre lake located seven miles
south of Remer in Cass County. The shoreline of
Thunder drops off rapidly, with only 17% of the
lake less than 15 feet deep. The lake is highly
developed with 281 homes/cabins and four resorts
on 15.9 miles of shoreline. A DNR owned access
is located on the west shore of the lake. Water
clarity is good, with a secchi depth of 16 feet.
A 2012 aquatic vegetation survey found 32
species of emergent and submergent aquatic
plants. Maximum depth of plant growth was 25 ft.
Protection of aquatic vegetation, especially
emergent vegetation, is important for
maintaining good water quality and is critical
for fish spawning as well as providing cover for
fish.
The walleye catch of
7.8/gillnet was above average, and the highest
on record. Average size was 16 inches and 1.9
lbs, with walleyes up to 30.4 inches captured.
Walleye fingerlings have been stocked in odd
number years since 1999, though natural
reproduction can be very substantial at times.
The 2011 year class is a good example of that.
These fish were highly abundant in the fall of
2011 resulting in an electrofishing catch rate
of 228/hr. They had a mean length of 7.2" in the
fall of 2011, giving them a competitive
advantage over the fingerlings stocked that year
(mean length 5.2"). They continued to be present
in good numbers in 2012 in spring bass
electrofishing and comprised 27% of the gill net
catch. An additional 18% of walleyes resulted
from other non-stocked years. Growth of walleyes
was normal, with eleven year classes present.
The northern pike
gillnet catch of 1.1/net was below average,
although the size was above average. The average
size was 28.2 inches and 5.1 lbs, with fish up
to 37.7 inches captured.
A spring
electrofishing survey was conducted to sample
largemouth and smallmouth bass. Largemouth bass
were captured at a run time rate of 104.7/hr.
Average length was 13.6 inches with individuals
up to 20.0 inches captured. Largemouth were
captured in gillnets at average numbers.
Smallmouth bass were also sampled at a run time
rate of 28.0/hr. Average length was 15.6, with
fish up to 19.8 inches captured. Smallmouth bass
were captured at above average numbers in
gillnets.
The bluegill
trapnet
catch rate was average at 35.1/trapnet. The
average length was a little small at 5.7 inches,
with only 10 % being seven inches or larger.
Growth was slow compared to similar lakes. The
black crappie trapnet catch rate was above
average at 4.3/trapnet. Average length was 7.4
inches, with 49% being eight inches or larger.
Yellow perch are an
important prey species for walleyes and
northerns and the 2012 yellow perch gillnet
catch of 33.4 was above average, and the highest
catch to date. The average length was 6.6
inches, with only 7% eight inches or larger."
