Peterson Lake

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Peterson Lake is in fisheries lake class 28 which is a group of small lakes with a regular shoreline and hard, clear water. Most Bemidji area lakes in this class are in Clearwater County. The list includes Lone, Lomond, Walker Brook, Deep, First, Second, and Falk lakes. The latest lake management plan, written in 1990, lists the primary management species as northern pike and bluegill with secondary species as yellow perch and bullheads. Oxygen levels are monitored during severe winters for winterkill conditions. Though low oxygen levels can indicate the potential loss of fish, all species are not affected equally. Generally, species in the centrarchid family such as bluegill, pumpkinseed, bass, and crappie can be totally eliminated while more tolerant species such as northern pike and black bullhead may suffer only minor mortality. Following a winterkill event, those species that survive tend to quickly repopulate filling the void created by the loss of other species. Thus, a lake that experiences periodic partial winterkill can usually be detected by the composition of species present even if the actual event was not documented. Peterson Lake has probably experienced many partial winterkills in the past with the most recent occurring in the winters of 1981-82 and 1995-96. When a winterkill is suspected, mature adult bluegills are reintroduced in the spring so they can spawn and repopulate the lake. The last stocking of bluegill occurred in the spring of 1996, but as of this assessment there is no indication that they have successfully reproduced. All bluegills sampled in 1998 are four years of age or older and average 9.5" in length and weigh just under a pound. Pumpkinseed sunfish abundance is near that of bluegills, but the average length is less than 5". Northern pike abundance has doubled since the initial survey in 1980. Although pike are more numerous than in most other lakes of this class, they are not very large. Seventy-five percent of the northern pike caught in gill nets were less than 20" (about 2 pounds). The largest pike sampled was more than 27" long and weighed about 5 pounds. Seventy-seven percent of the northern pike are infected with Neascus, a parasite that makes the fillets look unattractive but is not harmful to people. Since black bullheads are very tolerant of low oxygen, they are the most abundant species in the lake. Most of the bullheads are under 8" in length and are not sought by most anglers. Yellow perch are about average in abundance for this lake class. This species also tolerates low oxygen levels quite well, but the high pike abundance probably limits their population. The average length is 6.5", but there are enough between 8" and 11" to attract anglers. Over half the perch also have Neascus.