Sand Lake

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What kind of fish can you catch in Sand Lake?

Are there boat launches on Sand Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Sand Lake?

Sand Lake is a class 28 lake located 20 miles northeast Grand Rapids, MN. The lake has one public access and moderate shoreline development. The 2000 lake management plan indicates bluegill and largemouth bass as the primary species of management with northern pike and walleye as secondary species.

Trap-net catch rates for bluegill have been near the lake class median or above in all assessments. The 2009 trap-net catch was 25.3 fish/net which was similar to the 28.2 fish/net recorded in 1999. Bluegill lengths ranged from 3.1 to 8.2 inches and had a mean length of 6.2 inches. Seven year-classes were identified from scales ranging from age 3 to age 11. Age-6 and age-8 fish were most common. Growth rates were slow; mean back-calculated lengths-at-age were less than (<85% of median) those reported for class 28 lakes for all ages.

Largemouth bass were sampled by electrofishing In June 2009. The catch of 80.2 largemouth bass/hr on-time was substantially higher than the 16.7 fish/hr observed in 1999. Many lakes in the area have experienced an increasing trend in bass numbers in the last 10 to 15 years. Largemouth bass ranged from 8.2 to 17.6 inches with a mean length of 12.5 inches. Seven year-classes were identified from scales ranging from age 4 to age 10. Mean back-calculated lengths for ages 1 to 3 and 7 and older were less than 85% of the reported medians for class 28 lakes.

Northern pike gill-net catch rates have been fairly stable (7.5 to 13.8 fish/net) since 1974. The northern pike gill-net catch was 12.8 in 2009 which was above the 3rd quartile of 8.7 fish/net. The sampled fish ranged from 11.8 to 39.4 inches and had a mean length of 19.5 inches. The length distributions resulted in PSD, RSD-P, and RSD-M values of 24, 10, and 3 respectively. Eight year-classes were identified from cliethra and scales ranging from age 2 to age 12. Northern pike averaged 19.0 inches by age 4 which was below the statewide average of 20.5.

Walleye catch rates have ranged from 1.5 to 3.2 since 1974. In 2009, the catch was 3.2 fish/gill net, the same as in 1999. The walleye gill-net catch rate was near the 3rd quartile of 3.3 fish/net for class 28 lakes. The sampled fish ranged from 11.5 to 25.4 inches and had a mean length of 17.9 inches. Six year classes from age 2 to 12 were identified from scales, opercles and otoliths. The 2006 year class was the largest having 8 of the 19 aged fish. The lake was last stocked with walleye in 1990 indicating all the sampled walleye resulted from natural reproduction. Growth was similar to statewide averages for all ages. Walleye averaged 16.0 inches at age 4.

Yellow perch gill-net catch rates have ranged from 3.4 fish/net in 1986 to 12.3 fish/net in 1999. In 2009, the catch was 4.3 fish/net; near the lake class median of 6.5. The sampled fish ranged from 5.7 to 11.7 inches and had a mean length of 7.5 inches.

Other species observed during the population assessment included pumpkinseed sunfish, rock bass and white sucker.

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Are there any state parks near Sand Lake?