Pickerel Lake

How big is Pickerel Lake?

How deep is Pickerel Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Pickerel Lake?

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Pickerel Lake is a 121-acre lake connected to Long and Round Lakes. The three lakes are located three miles west of Clear Lake in western Sherburne County. Water quality was good with a secchi reading of 11.7 feet and oxygen levels to 14 feet. The lake is heavily developed along the west side but the remainder of the shore was natural. There is no public access on Pickerel Lake. Because of this, the DNR has not stocked the lake and has limited management to periodic test netting. The last survey was conducted in 1975.

Emergent and submergent vegetation along with curled pondweed were observed during times of peak abundance. Twenty-five species of aquatic plants were found in Pickerel Lake and grew to a maximum depth of 13 feet. Muskgrass, Illinois pondweed, northern milfoil, sago pondweed and coontail were the most abundant species. Curled pondweed, an exotic, was sparse and grew at or near the surface on less than 0.1 acres.

Very little appeared to have changed in the fisheries from 1975 to 2007. Northern pike, largemouth bass and bluegill would be expected to thrive in this type of lake with clear water and abundant aquatic plants. Catches of northern pike were above the range of expected values and fish were relatively small. Of the forage species only a few yellow perch were observed.

A primary management species for Pickerel Lake is largemouth bass. Pickerel Lake had an excellent bass population with a wide range of sizes available to anglers including fish up to 20 inches. Little is known about the former condition of the largemouth bass population because 2007 was the first opportunity to survey with electrofishing. Growth of largemouth was similar to the statewide average. Largemouth bass grew to 12 inches in five years.

Pickerel Lake had a moderate population of bluegill, which was similar to the last survey. Catch rates and average lengths were similar. Growth of bluegill was slow. A six-year-old bluegill was six inches in length.

The black crappie catch was below the range of expected values for similar lake classes. Fourteen black crappie were captured and the average length was 7.5 inches.

Other species sampled during the survey were: blackchin shiner, blacknose shiner, pumpkinseed sunfish and brown and yellow bullhead.

Maintaining the water quality in Pickerel and Round Lakes should be a high priority of the county and the landowners around the lake. Some effort may be needed to identify any sources of phosphorus and plans developed to reduce the sources. Buffer strips on inlets and lakeshore property are encouraged to help reduce the amount of nutrients entering the lake. Maintaining adequate septic systems and keeping grass clippings and raked leaves out of the lake will also help reduce the amount of nutrients entering the lake.

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