A History of Fish and Fisheries Torch Lake

Abstract

Torch Lake, located among the glacial hills of Antrim County, Michigan, is the second largest inland lake in the state. Torch Lake is very deep, and is ranked first in water volume of Michigan's inland lakes. In characteristics, water quality, and biological community, Torch Lake is more like nearby Grand Traverse Bay than the other lakes of the Chain of Lakes. The water is low in nutrients, there are few aquatic plants, and the fish community is characterized by lake trout, cisco, lake whitefish, deepwater sculpin, and other species associated with oligotrophic cold water lakes.