Lake information report

Name: HAM

Nearest Town: Within Ham Lake
Primary County: Anoka

Survey Date: 08/09/2004
Inventory Number: 02-0053-00

Public Access Information

Ownership	Type	Description
County	Concrete	Anoka County Park on southwest shore with concrete ramp and gravel parking area. Replaces old access on west shore. Constructed 1994.

Lake Characteristics

Lake Area (acres): 174.00
Littoral Area (acres): 160.00
Maximum Depth (ft): 22.00
Water Clarity (ft): 6.80

Dominant Bottom Substrate: sand, muck, detritus
Abundance of Aquatic Plants: abundant
Maximum Depth of Plant Growth (ft): 11.50

Did you know? The annual budget for the Section of Fisheries is approximately $17 million, which is funded primarily by fishing license and stamp fees and by a federal excise tax on fishing and boating equipment.

Fish Sampled up to the 2004 Survey Year

Species	Gear Used	Number of fish per net		Average Fish Weight (lbs)	Normal Range (lbs)
Species	Gear Used	Caught	Normal Range	Average Fish Weight (lbs)	Normal Range (lbs)
Black Bullhead	Gill net	6.3	7.7 - 104.7	1.58	0.2 - 0.5
Black Crappie	Gill net	1.8	1.7 - 17.5	0.11	0.1 - 0.3
	Trap net	0.6	2.1 - 24.1	0.30	0.2 - 0.4
Bluegill	Gill net	24.0	N/A - N/A	0.08	N/A - N/A
	Trap net	51.1	3.5 - 57.1	0.09	0.1 - 0.3
Hybrid Sunfish	Trap net	1.7	N/A - N/A	0.14	N/A - N/A
Northern Pike	Gill net	12.0	2.0 - 10.8	2.17	1.7 - 3.1
	Trap net	0.6	N/A - N/A	2.57	N/A - N/A
Pumpkinseed Sunfish	Gill net	1.8	N/A - N/A	0.21	N/A - N/A
	Trap net	5.9	0.7 - 6.5	0.16	0.1 - 0.2
White Sucker	Gill net	0.3	0.5 - 2.3	3.64	1.6 - 2.5
Yellow Bullhead	Gill net	7.5	0.5 - 5.0	0.72	0.4 - 0.8
	Trap net	2.1	1.0 - 7.1	0.79	0.4 - 0.8
Yellow Perch	Gill net	1.0	2.0 - 22.3	0.08	0.1 - 0.2
	Trap net	0.6	0.4 - 2.8	0.12	0.1 - 0.2

Normal Ranges represent typical catches for lakes with similar physical and chemical characteristics.

Length of Selected Species Sampled for All Gear for the 2004 Survey Year

Species	Number of fish caught in each category (inches)
Species	0-5	6-8	9-11	12-14	15-19	20-24	25-29	30+	Total
Black Bullhead	0	0	2	22	1	0	0	0	25
Black Crappie	4	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	11
Bluegill	219	39	0	0	0	0	0	0	258
Hybrid Sunfish	8	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	12
Northern Pike	0	0	0	0	11	36	5	0	52
Pumpkinseed Sunfish	26	22	0	0	0	0	0	0	48
Yellow Bullhead	0	4	30	11	0	0	0	0	45
Yellow Perch	6	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	8

For the record, the largest Longnose Gar taken in Minnesota weighed 16 lbs., 12 oz. and was caught:

Where: St. Croix River, Prescott
When: 5/4/82
Statistics: 53" length, 16.5" girth

Fish Consumption Guidelines

These fish consumption guidelines help people make choices about which fish to eat and how often. Following the guidelines enables people to reduce their exposure to contaminants while still enjoying the many benefits from fish.

Pregnant Women, Women who may become pregnant and Children under age 15

LAKE NAME County, DOWID	Species	Meal Advice				Contaminants
LAKE NAME County, DOWID	Species	Unrestricted	1 meal/week	1 meal/month	Do not eat	Contaminants
HAM Anoka Co., 02005300	Bluegill Sunfish		All sizes			Mercury
	Northern Pike			All sizes		Mercury
	White Sucker		All sizes			Mercury

General Population

LAKE NAME County, DOWID	Species	Meal Advice				Contaminants
LAKE NAME County, DOWID	Species	Unrestricted	1 meal/week	1 meal/month	Do not eat	Contaminants
HAM Anoka Co., 02005300	Bluegill Sunfish	All sizes
	Northern Pike		All sizes			Mercury
	White Sucker	All sizes

DOWID - MN DNR, Divion of Waters' lake ID number.

Contaminants listed were measured at levels high enough to warrant a recommendation to limit consumption.

Listing of consumption guidelines do not imply the fish are legal to keep, MN DNR fishing regulations should be consulted.

Dioxin
Mercury
PCBS - Polychlorinated biphenyls
PFOS - Perfluorooctane sulfanate

Status of the Fishery (as of 08/09/2004)

Ham Lake is a typical Largemouth Bass-Bluegill-Northern Pike lake with fair water quality. Northern Pike (NOP) were sampled in the highest gill net catch rate ever recorded for this lake. The average size of NOP sampled was 21.6 inches and 2.2 pounds, with approximately 8% of all captured fish measuring 25.0 inches or larger. No adult Largemouth Bass were captured during this survey, however, young-of-year were present in good numbers in the natural reproduction check. Bluegill (BLG) were sampled above the median level for abundance in the trap net catch. The average BLG captured was 5.1 inches and 0.1 pounds. Pumpkinseed Sunfish (PMK) were sampled at the highest level observed since 1979. The average size of PMK was 5.7 inches and 0.2 pounds. Black Crappie (BLC) were sampled at the lowest catch rate recorded in the last 30 years. The average size of BLC captured was 7.0 inches and 0.2 pounds. Yellow Perch were sampled in low abundance and small average size (6.2 inches and 0.1 pounds). Black Bullhead (BLB) were sampled in low numbers but above average size. The average BLB captured was 13.9 inches and 1.6 pounds. Yellow Bullhead were sampled in the highest gill net catch rate recorded for this lake with the average fish being 10.8 inches and 0.75 pounds.

For more information on this lake, contact: Area Fisheries Supervisor 1200 Warner Rd St. Paul, MN 55106 Phone: (651) 259-5831 Internet: East Metro Fisheries E-Mail: MetroEast.Fisheries@state.mn.us	Lake maps can be obtained from: Minnesota Bookstore 660 Olive Street St. Paul, MN 55155 (651) 297-3000 or (800) 657-3757 To order, use D0010 for the map-id.
For general DNR Information, contact: DNR Information Center 500 Lafayette Road St. Paul, MN 55155-4040 TDD: (651) 296-6157 or (888) MINNDNR Internet: www.dnr.state.mn.us E-Mail: info.dnr@state.mn.us	Turn in Poachers (TIP): Toll-free: (800) 652-9093