Lake Flaherty

How big is Lake Flaherty?

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What kind of fish can you catch in Lake Flaherty?

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Are there boat launches on Lake Flaherty?

Are there places to eat and drink near Lake Flaherty?

Flaherty Lake is a 450-acre lake located four miles north of the City of Lakefield in Jackson County. Flaherty Lake has a maximum depth of 6.0 feet, and typically has poor water clarity conditions during most of the open water season. Flaherty Lake outlets into a private ditch at the southwest corner of the lake, then flows approximately 1.5 miles downstream into South Heron Lake. Despite a 30 foot drop in elevation from Flaherty Lake to South Heron Lake, fish are able to emigrate from South Heron when water is high. Fisheries management by MNDNR has only occurred on Flahtery Lake since 2015, when a public access was acquired by Jackson County Conservation League. Historically, Flaherty Lake has provided good Yellow Perch and Northern Pike fishing; therefore, the lake is managed primarily for Northern Pike and secondarily for Yellow Perch. In 2021, Flaherty Lake was used as a Walleye rearing pond, so a fishable population of Walleye is also present. A standard survey was conducted the week of July 5, 2023 to monitor fish populations using one gill net and nine trap nets.

Despite extensive stockings over the years, only one Northern Pike was sampled in the 2023 survey. Northern Pike adults or fingerlings were stocked in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2023. The one Northern Pike that was caught was 24.5 inches in length. Northern Pike could be moving downstream into South Heron Lake when water levels are high enough to do so, or the Northern Pike simply weren't active during the survey. Additionally, our angler reports have indicated high catch rates of Northern Pike on Flaherty. Northern Pike will continue to be stocked in Flaherty Lake if available.

Since 2015, the Yellow Perch catch rate was 44.0 to 69.0 per gill net. In 2023, the Yellow Perch catch rate was 1.0 per gill net, which is below the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (2.7 to 25.0 per gill net). The trap net catch rate was 2.1 per trap net, which is within the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (0.3 to 3.8 per trap net). Lengths of Yellow Perch ranged from 4.4 to 7.4 and averaged 5.8 inches. The abundant Walleye population may be decimating the Yellow Perch population through predation. Adult pre-spawn Yellow Perch will likely be stocked in the spring of 2024.

The 2023 Walleye catch rate was 34.0 per gill net, which is the highest catch rate observed on Flaherty Lake, and greatly exceeds the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (2.3 to 18.1 per gill net). The catch was dominated by age-2 Walleye (2021 year class), which comprised 91 percent of aged Walleye. Walleye lengths ranged from 11.4 to 22.5 inches and averaged 15.4 inches. Mean length at capture (July 5, 2023) of the age-2 Walleye was 15.1 inches, suggesting that Walleye grow very fast in Flaherty Lake. Two other year classes of Walleye were sampled including age-1 and age-7. Flaherty Lake has shown that it can be effective at producing Walleye, so it is likely that opportunistic fry stocking will continue in the future.

The 2023 Black Bullhead catch rate was 40.6 per trap net, which is above the long-term average of 18.9 per trap net, but within the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (11.5 to 132.6 per trap net). Lengths of Black Bullhead ranged from 3.6 to 9.9 inches and averaged 5.9 inches.

A Freshwater Drum was sampled in the survey, marking the first time that this species has been captured at Flaherty Lake. The Freshwater Drum was 9.3 inches in length and our best guess is it was likely moved in through an angler's bait bucket. Other species sampled included Bigmouth Buffalo, Common Carp, Orangespotted Sunfish, White Sucker, and Yellow Bullhead.

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Are there any state parks near Lake Flaherty?