Net Lake

How big is Net Lake?

How deep is Net Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Net Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Net Lake?

Net Lake is a 136-acre lake of moderate fertility. The lake is located east of the town of Nickerson on the boarder of Pine and Carlton Counties within the Nemadji State Forest Area. The immediate shoreline surrounding Net Lake is composed of lake homes and seasonal cabins along the west/northwest shore while marshland and undeveloped forest or woodland make up the remaining shoreline. The surrounding Nemadji River watershed is primarily undeveloped forest or woodland, marshland, and some bog land. The shore is predominately sand and water clarity is pretty good with secchi readings over 6 feet. Net Lake is considered a low priority lake because of its small size, lack of public access, and self sustaining gamefish population. Past management has included some walleye stocking, but this has not occurred since 1983 due to the lack of a public access. Currently, the primary management species are northern pike and walleye with largemouth bass, bluegill sunfish, and black crappie as the secondary management species. A population assessment was conducted during August of 2005 to determine the current status of the fish population. Evaluation of the fish population utilized spring night electrofishing for largemouth bass, gill nets, trap nets, and shoreline seining. Northern pike numbers and size were at normal levels for lakes of this type. Northerns averaged 2.9 pounds with half the catch exceeding 22 inches. When compared to the 2000 sample, northern pike abundance and size has increased. Largemouth bass were sampled at a rate of 9 per hour, very similar to the 2000 rate. While bass abundance appears to be low quality sized fish were found. Only one bass was less than 14 inches in length. Bluegill and black crappie abundance along with their average sizes were typical for the lake type and fairly similar to past assessments. Both were on the small side. Few crappie reached 8 inches while less than 20% of the bluegill catch was over 6 inches. Yellow perch numbers were found at low abundance levels. According to previous surveys dating back to 1955, low perch abundance has been common except for 1977. Shoreline seining efforts found good reproductive success for bluegill, black crappie, and largemouth bass. The fish community in Net Lake was also made up of golden shiner, pumpkinseed, hybrid sunfish, and white sucker. White sucker were high in abundance but small enough to provide forage for both bass and northerns.Anglers seeking a peaceful, relaxing fishing experience with the possibility of catching a quality sized northern pike or largemouth bass may want to visit Net Lake. A fair number of smaller bluegill sunfish and black crappie could also be encountered. Since Net Lake does not have a public access, fishing enthusiasts will have to obtain permission from a private land owner to gain access to this lake. Anglers are encouraged to be selective when they harvest fish by keeping the smaller ones for eating and releasing the larger ones. Releasing larger fish will help maintain or enhance the quality of the fish population and provide future angling opportunities for others. Land owners within the surrounding watershed and lakeshore property owners can maintain the current good water quality of Net Lake by protecting or re-establishing buffer strips along the shoreline of the lake with native plants, updating failing or outdated septic systems, using only phosphorus free fertilizer (if needed) on lawns and gardens, limiting aquatic plant removel or disturbance, and limiting construction of impervious surfaces near the shoreline.

What is the average air temp for Net Lake?

Are there any state parks near Net Lake?