Pughole Lake

How big is Pughole Lake?

How deep is Pughole Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Pughole Lake?

Are there boat launches on Pughole Lake?

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Pughole Lake is a class 35 lake located 13 miles north of Grand Rapids, MN in the Mississippi River watershed. The lake has a surface area of 152 acres, a maximum depth of 23 feet, and moderate shoreline development. Pughole Lake is primarily managed for northern pike and panfish.

The 2009 northern pike gill-net catch was 3.8/net, below the lake class median but similar to the two previous assessments. Northern pike size structure was fairly poor. Sampled pike ranged from 16.9 to 33.5 inches with a mean length of 20.6 inches. Ages 2-4, and 8 were identified from cleithra and scale samples. Growth was similar to the statewide average with individuals growing to 21.4 inches in 4 years.

The black crappie trap-net catch rate remained near the lake class first quartile at 1.0/net. Trap-net sampled fish ranged from 5.6 to 11.5 inches with a mean length of 9.5 inches. Ages 2-4, 6 and 7 were identified from scale samples. Growth was similar to the statewide average for all ages, with fish reaching 10.1 inches in 6 years.

The trap-net catch rate for bluegill remained within the expected range at 14.9/net. Size structure was moderate with fish ranging from 3.3 to 8.8 inches, with a mean length of 7.1 inches. Recruitment appeared consistent, with ages 2-8, and 10 represented in the sample. Growth was similar to the lake class average for all ages, with fish growing to 6.9 inches in 6 years.

Largemouth bass are also fairly abundant in Pughole Lake. Since traditional summer test-netting does not give a good representation of a lake's bass population, night electrofishing was conducted in June 2009. This assessment recorded a moderate catch rate of 21 fish/hour of on-time. Largemouth bass size structure was modest. Sampled bass ranged from 8.2 to 17.0 inches with a mean length of 12.3 inches and a mean weight of 1.1 pounds. Age analysis revealed fish from age 3-7, and 10 were represented. Back-calculated lengths-at-age were similar to the statewide average for all ages, with fish reaching 14.6 inches in 6 years.

Yellow perch gill-net catch rates have generally been low, and declined in the 2009 assessment to below the first quartile at 1.8/net. Sampled perch ranged from 5.9 to 6.6 inches with a mean length of 6.2 inches.

One walleye (23 inches) was captured in a trap net in the most recent assessment. Despite frequent stocking in the past, walleye catch rates never exceeded the lake class first quartile of 1.0/gill net in any assessments since 1965. Walleye management was discontinued in 1997.

Other species sampled in this assessment included pumpkinseed, hybrid sunfish and golden shiner.

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Are there any state parks near Pughole Lake?