Pickeral Lake

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Pickeral Lake is a shallow, 620 acre lake in Freeborn County. Mean depth is 3.5 feet and maximum depth is 6 feet. The city of Albert Lea is immediately northeast of Pickeral Lake. A city-owned earthen public access is located on the southeast corner of the lake off highway 69. The lake was reclaimed in fall of 2009 and experienced a partial winterkill during winter 2010-2011. The shallow water column of Pickeral Lake makes it prone to frequent winterkill events. Thus it is managed as a boom and bust northern pike and yellow perch fishery, where northern pike fry, pre-spawn yellow perch, and sometimes adult bluegills are stocked after reclamations or winterkill events. These fish then exhibit rapid growth due to the abundance of forage coupled with lack of predation, creating a quality fishery within two or three years following the reclamation or winterkill event.

Pickeral Lake was surveyed the week of July 15th, 2013 as part of a regular monitoring program conducted by Minnesota DNR. This survey consisted of deploying trap and gill nets to monitor the fish community. The partial winterkill during 2010-2011 likely contributed to black bullhead being the most abundant fish sampled in the 2013 assessment. Black bullhead averaged 282.0 fish/gill net, which is above average compared to similar lakes in Minnesota. Average total length of black bullhead was 7.0 inches for both gear types, which was below an acceptable size to most anglers. The second-most abundant species sampled in 2013 was bluegill, which averaged 46.0 fish/trap net and had a mean length of about 7.0 inches. The abundances and weights of bluegill were both above what was considered a normal range for similar lakes in Minnesota. The size and number of bluegills present in Pickeral Lake should provide quality opportunities for angling.

Pickeral Lake features a high abundance of northern pike. Northern pike averaged 14.5 fish/gill net, which was above average for this lake type. Northern pike captured in gill nets ranged in total length from 15.0 to 33.0 inches, with the average total length of 24.0 inches. The average pike weight was 3.7 pounds, which was above normal for similar lakes in Minnesota. Most of the northern pike sampled during 2013 were from the 2010-2011 year classes.

Yellow perch were also prevalent in the 2013 survey with a gill net catch rate of 63.0 fish/net. The abundance of yellow perch during 2013 was well above average compared to similar Minnesota lakes. Yellow perch ranged from 5.0 to 12.0 inches with the majority categorized as an acceptable size to most anglers. Mean weight was 0.4 pounds, which is above average compared to similar lakes in Minnesota. The yellow perch population looks to provide sufficient opportunity for anglers. Black crappie, however, were observed in low numbers; mean length was 8.9 inches. Other fish observed during the 2013 survey included green sunfish, and hybrid sunfish.

Pickeral lake is shallow and hypereutrophic with sparse submergent vegetation. It is one of many shallow satellite lakes around the city of Albert Lea and maintains an intermittent connection to the Shell Rock River just north of the lake. Pickeral Lake's fish community is heavily influenced by this connection. Shoreline areas on the land and into the shallow water provide essential habitat for fish and wildlife that live in or near Minnesota's lakes. Shoreline habitat consists of aquatic plants, woody plants, and natural lake bottom soils. Plants in the water and at the water's edge provide habitat, prevent erosion, and absorb excess nutrients. By leaving a buffer strip of natural vegetation along the shoreline, property owners can reduce erosion, help maintain water quality, and provide habitat and travel corridors for wildlife.

-Prepared by: Matt Mork (Fisheries Specialist) and Craig Soupir (Area Fisheries Supervisor).

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