Pleasant Lake

How big is Pleasant Lake?

How deep is Pleasant Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Pleasant Lake?

What are the closest cities to Pleasant Lake?

Are there boat launches on Pleasant Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Pleasant Lake?

What aquatic invasive species are found in Pleasant Lake?

Pleasant Lake is a 509-acre general development lake located within the city limits of Annandale in Wright County. About fifty percent of the lake area is littoral with 3.9 miles of shoreline. Pleasant Lake has a maximum depth of 74 feet. Two accesses provide anglers boat launching opportunities. Pleasant Lake has been stocked with walleye fingerlings every other year for several decades. In 2001 it was included with many other lakes as part of the statewide walleye stocking study. The last lake survey was conducted in 1997 but gill net assessments were done in 2001 and 2004.

Curled pondweed was assessed at the time of peak abundance on June 7th, 2007. It grew near the surface over 0.8 acres or less than 1% of the entire basin. Coontail and muskgrass were the most common submersed aquatic plants in the lake. Submersed plants grew out to a depth of 20 feet. At the time the survey was conducted in the latter part of July oxygen was available to fish down to a depth of 16 feet.

Few changes in the fisheries are apparent between the 1997 and 2007 surveys. Northern pike and bluegill are still abundant, while yellow perch and black crappie are not. Northern pike numbers are above the normal range and the average size northern pike is 2.2 pounds. Anglers can expect good fishing for small northern pike.

A primary management species for Pleasant Lake is largemouth bass. Pleasant Lake has an excellent bass population with a wide range of sizes available to anglers including fish up to 20 inches. Largemouth bass were sampled by electrofishing on May 7, 2007. A total of 94 largemouth bass were captured in just over an hour of effort for a catch rate of 92.4 fish/hr. This is 50% higher than the average catch rate (63.4 fish/hr) for Montrose Area lakes and greater than that reported in 1997, (16.4 fish/hr).

Because Pleasant Lake has been part of the statewide walleye stocking study it has been netted three times since 1997. The catch has remained somewhat higher over the past 10 years and the average length of walleye was 20.6 inches. It appears that the population, which consists entirely of stocked fish, is surviving despite the high numbers of northern pike and the lack of yellow perch.

Bluegill were abundant though the catch appeared to be less than that of 1997.
The average length was 5.5 inches. The largest bluegill captured was 8.4 inches. Historically, bluegill have been abundant and small.

Pleasant Lake has a low population of black crappie. The catch rate of black crappie in 2007 was similar to 1997. Average length was about 8.5 inches. The largest black crappie was nearly eleven inches long and six years old.

Other species in the fish community include hybrid, green and pumpkinseed sunfish, johny darter, banded killifish, and black and yellow bullheads.

Maintaining the water quality in Pleasant Lake should be a high priority of the county and landowners around the lake. Buffer strips on inlets and lakeshore property are encouraged to reduce nutrients entering the lake. Maintaining adequate septics and keeping grass clippings and raked leaves out the lake will help reduce nutrients entering the lake, thus slowing algae and excess vegetation growth.

What is the average air temp for Pleasant Lake?