Locke Lake

How big is Locke Lake?

How deep is Locke Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Locke Lake?

Are there boat launches on Locke Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Locke Lake?

What aquatic invasive species are found in Locke Lake?

Locke Lake is a 156-acre general development lake located one mile southeast of Hasty in northern Wright County. There is a public access located on the northeast side of the lake. The water quality of Locke Lake is generally poor with a 10 year mean secchi reading of 3.3 feet; and adequate dissolved oxygen for fish life was observed to a depth of 12 feet during the third week of June, 2016. The watershed is large and agriculture comprises the majority of the watershed. A downstream barrier on Silver Creek isolates Locke Lake from the Mississippi River. A standard lake survey was conducted in 2016 to monitor changes in the fishery from the last survey completed in 2008. In addition to the standard lake survey, an index of biotic integrity (IBI) survey was conducted in August.

Locke Lake has a long history of Walleye stocking and rough fish removal. Current Walleye management consists of fry stocking every other year which began in 1998.

The catch for Walleye in 2016 was higher than observed in 2008 and 1998 and is within the range of expected values for similar lakes. Walleye ranged in length from 8 to 27 inches with an average length of 16 inches. Four year classes were represented and 94% of the Walleye sampled were three years old or younger. Fry stocking appears to be successful as fall fingerling catches have ranged from 5-103 fingerlings/hour. However, gill net catches remained low. While the fry stocking hasn't been as successful as we have hoped, the 2016 gill net catch was the second highest on record only behind the 1992 survey (5.0/gill net). Still, stocking the lake with Walleye fry remains a less expensive option with results similar to stocking fingerlings.

The gill net catch for Northern Pike in 2016 was the highest ever reported for Locke Lake and is above the expected range for similar lakes. Pike ranged from 17 to 34 inches with an average length of 23 inches and 32% were longer than 24 inches.

Anglers are encouraged to harvest smaller pike (under 22 inches) and release the larger ones to help achieve a more balanced fish community and promote good growth rates. Lower pike numbers may also increase the survival of young Walleye and allow Yellow Perch numbers to increase. Higher perch populations are desirable as they are an important prey species for both Walleye and Northern Pike.

Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass were sampled by day-time electrofishing on May 19, 2008. Locke Lake is one of the few lakes in the area where anglers have a good chance at catching a Smallmouth Bass. Largemouth Bass were sampled at a higher rate than previous surveys and fish up to 22 inches were caught. Smallmouth Bass were sampled at a similar rate compared to previous surveys and fish up to 21 inches were caught.

Anglers can expect reasonable fishing for Black Crappie and Bluegill. The trap net catch of both Black Crappie and Bluegill were within the range of expected values for similar lakes with crappies up to 9.5 inches and Bluegill up to 9 inches being captured in this survey.

Other species sampled during the 2016 survey included: Bigmouth Buffalo, Black Bullhead, Common Carp, Golden Shiner, Green Sunfish, Hybrid Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, White Sucker and Yellow Bullhead.

What is the average air temp for Locke Lake?