Clear Lake
Lyon County, Minnesota
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Frequently Asked Questions About Clear Lake, MN
- How big is Clear Lake?
- How deep is Clear Lake?
- What kind of fish can you catch in Clear Lake?
- What are the closest cities to Clear Lake?
- Are there places to stay in the Clear Lake area?
- Are there boat launches on Clear Lake?
- Are there places to eat and drink near Clear Lake?
- Are there any state parks near Clear Lake?
How big is Clear Lake?
How deep is Clear Lake?
What kind of fish can you catch in Clear Lake?
Other fish species in the lake include Fathead Minnow, Hybrid Sunfish and White Sucker.
What are the closest cities to Clear Lake?
Are there places to stay in the Clear Lake area?
More Lodging Options
Are there boat launches on Clear Lake?
Are there places to eat and drink near Clear Lake?
History & Status of the Fishery
Clear Lake is a 65-acre lake located in the Town of Russell in Lyon County. Clear Lake has a maximum depth of 10 ft. and a watershed to lake ratio of 6 to 1, which is fairly small compared to many of our other lakes (Secchi depth = 0.8 ft.). Clear Lake is managed primarily for Walleye and secondarily for Yellow Perch and Northern Pike. A standard survey was conducted the week of June 1, 2021 to monitor fish populations using a gill net and trap nets.
Walleye catch rates have been highly variable in Clear Lake, ranging from 0.0 per gill net in 1995 to 94.0 per gill net in 2016, and averaging 30.7 per gill net since 1995. The 2021 gill net catch rate was 61.0 per gill net and 9.8 per trap net, both exceeding their expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (1.0 to 7.3 per gill net and 0.4 to 1.9 per trap net). Three year classes of Walleye were present (age-2, 4, and 6) with age-2 Walleye comprising 76 percent of the sample. Walleye growth appears to be fast, as mean length at age-2 was 14.6 inches. Lengths of Walleye ranged from 13.0 to 27.6 inches and averaged 18.1 inches. Stocking Walleye fingerlings every other year appears to be an effective stocking strategy that has produced a very abundant Walleye population.
The 2021 Yellow Perch catch rate was 2.0 per gill net, which is the lowest observed catch rate ever observed on Clear Lake and is below the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (3.0 to 26.5 per gill net). Lengths of the two Yellow Perch sampled were 8.1 and 8.3 inches. The abundant Walleye population is likely decimating the Yellow Perch population. It is likely that pre-spawn adult Yellow Perch will be stocked to restart this population.
One, 22.8-inch Northern Pike was sampled in the survey. Seven-hundred Northern Pike fingerlings were last stocked in 2016. Other species sampled included Black Bullhead and White Sucker.
Are there any state parks near Clear Lake?
For more Minnesota State Park information see our State Park Guide.
More Nearby Lakes To Explore
There's more lake's to explore around Clear Lake...| DISTANCE | ACRES | MAX DEPTH | |
| Brawner Lake | 1.7 mi | 30 | 18 ft |
| Schrunk Slough | 2.9 mi | 17 | |
| Highpoint Lake | 3.3 mi | 45 | |
| Rock Lake | 3.6 mi | 379 | 8 ft |
| Leedom Slough | 3.8 mi | 10 | |
| Hively Lake | 3.9 mi | 12 | |
| Mahlke Lake | 4.0 mi | 49 | |
| Wood Lake | 4.0 mi | 373 | 14 ft |
| McKay Lake | 4.5 mi | 171 | |
| Island Lake | 4.6 mi | 170 | 8 ft |
