By Louie Stout

Bass and bluegill continue to dominate Union Lake gamefish, according to a Michigan fisheries survey.

Union is an impoundment on the St. Joseph River south of Battle Creek in Northwest Branch County. It’s a popular tournament destination averaging about 16 events a year.

The shallow, stumpy watershed has a maximum depth of around 16 feet.

Michigan biologist Matt Diana was there to survey the population and found it has the typical mix of river species and sport fish.

“The bass population was decent with most of them cropping off about 14 inches,” he said. “But we did encounter some bigger ones that were around 20 inches.”

Since it’s part of the St. Joe River, the survey turned up a “good number” of smallmouth bass as well.

“The fish move in and out of the river into the lake portion,” Diana said. “We found smallmouth up to 18 inches.”

Bluegill fishing isn’t bad on the lake, he added. His crew shocked up a lot of 7- to 8-inch ‘gills.

“We also found a good number of black crappie in the 10- to 12-inch size,” the biologist noted.

The lake has been getting stocked with walleyes but Diana says the results aren’t good and that program is being re-evaluated.