Budd Lake is a

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

in Clare County, in the central region of Michigan's lower peninsula. Wilson State Park, a 36-acre wooded area with 160 campsites, borders the lake to the northwest with a sandy beach. In the early 1900s century, several lumber mills operated on the Budd Lake shoreline, and a lumber company that operated in the late 1800s donated

Wilson State Park Wilson Park or variant, may refer to: United States * Wilson Park, Baltimore, Maryland * Wilson Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania * Wilson Park Historic District, Fayetteville, Arkansas * Wilson Commons Park, Washoe County, Nevada * Wilson State ...

to Michigan. The lake is popular among anglers, particularly for its muskies, some longer than 40 inches, along with bass, panfish, perch and walleye. Dropoffs near the shore provide deep water refuge; the lake is up to 30 feet deep, with the south end being shallower. There is a single public boat ramp at the southern end of the lake.

VHS Fish Disease

The Michigan DNR announced on May 17, 2007, that Budd became the first inland lake in the state of Michigan confirmed to be infected by

viral hemorrhagic septicemia Viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) is a deadly infectious fish disease caused by Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus. It afflicts over 50 species of freshwater and marine fish in several parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Different strains of the v ...

(VHS). The DNR analyzed fish specimens after a very large die-off that began on April 30, 2007, of muskies,

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or, in Texas, "copper nose", is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands ea ...

s, and

black crappie The black crappie (''Pomoxis nigromaculatus'') is a freshwater fish in the sunfish family ( Centrarchidae). It is endemic to North America, one of the two types of crappies. It is very similar to the white crappie (''P. annularis'') in size, s ...

. VHS is an infectious virus-spread fish disease responsible for mass die-offs of many species, but not linked to any human health concerns.Crawford, Franklin
Cornell researchers confirm that deadly fish virus has spread to 19 species, threatening sport-fishing industry
''Chronicle Online''. Cornell University. 17 May 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2007. The disease can be spread between bodies of water through live or frozen

bait fish 300px, Feeder Goldfish are common baitfish. Bait fish (or baitfish) are small-sized fish caught and used by anglers as bait to attract larger predatory fish, particularly game fish. Baitfish species are typically those that are common and bre ...

, roe, contaminated fishing equipment, live water wells in boats, and ballast water, among other ways. Boats and fishing equipment should be disinfected before transfer from Budd Lake to other destinations. The DNR announced that tests confirmed the continued presence of the virus in 2011, following a die-off of large mouth and small mouth bass, bluegills, and pumpkinseed sunfish in April to May 2011. Fish specimens collected in May were among those used in testing the effectiveness of StaRT- PCR testing compared to cell culture and conventional qRT-PCR DNA testing, which avoided false negatives that occurred with the other techniques.

References

{{authority control Lakes of Michigan Bodies of water of Clare County, Michigan

VHS Fish Disease

See also

References