Okamanpeedan Lake

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Okamanpeedan Lake is a 2,294-acre lake located on the Iowa and Minnesota border in Martin County. Fish management is shared by both Iowa and Minnesota and is classified as a border water entitling it to its own fish management regulations. A list of those regulations are available in MN Inland Fishing Regulations book published by either state. Approximately 1,313 acres are in Minnesota while the remaining 981 acres are in Iowa. Okamanpeedan Lake is a natural reservoir of the East Fork of the Des Moines River. Okamanpeedan Lake has a maximum depth of 6.5 feet, over 12 miles of shoreline, and has a simple shoalwater substrate made up of sand, silt, and areas of rock and gravel along the shoreline. Okamanpeedan Lake is managed primarily for Northern Pike and secondarily for White Crappie, Yellow Perch, and Walleye. A standard survey was conducted the week of June 12, 2023, using three gill nets and 11 trap nets, to monitor fish populations in Okamanpeedan Lake.

In the 1990's, Okamanpeedan consistently produced abundant Northern Pike populations. In recent decades, Northern Pike have been scarce, and the trend continued in 2023, as only three Northern Pike were sampled. The gill net catch rate was 0.3 per gill net which is below the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (1.2 to 7.8 per gill net) and below the long-term average of 3.3 per gill net since 1993. Lengths of the Northern Pike sampled were 18.4, 23.6, and 30.9 inches.

Walleye catch rates in Okamanpeedan Lake have varied from 0.2 per gill net in 1993 to 14.0 per gill net in 1998 and have averaged 8.3 per gill net since 1993. The 2023 Walleye catch rate was 13.7 per gill net which is within the expected range of catch rates for similar (3.2 to 15.3 per gill net). Five- year classes of Walleye were sampled (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022) of which the 2020 and 2021 year classes comprised 93 percent of the sample. Okamanpeendan Lake was stocked with Walleye fry in 2018 and 2021 by the Iowa DNR. The other year classes that were sampled were likely fish that moved upstream from the East Fork Des Moines River during high water, as that is stocked annually downstream of Okamanpeedan Lake by the Iowa DNR. Lengths of Walleye sampled ranged from 8.3 to 21.5 inches and averaged 14.3 inches. Okamanpeedan Lake has a good Walleye population and angling should be good for the next few years.

Okamanpeedan Lake's Yellow Perch catch rates have varied from 2.7 per gill net in 1993 to 32.0 per gill net in 1998 and have averaged 16.5 per gill net since 1993. The 2023 catch rate was 8.3 per gill net, below the long-term average of 16.5 per gill net, but within the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (3.0 to 22.5 per gill net). Yellow Perch lengths ranged from 5.1 to 10.9 inches and averaged 9.4 inches.

White Crappie catch rates have varied from 0.1 per trap net in 1993 to 25.5 per trap net in 1998 and have averaged 7.8 per tap net since 1993. The 2023 White Crappie catch rate was 9.9 per trap net, exceeding the long-term average of 7.8 per trap net and is within the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (0.5 to 15.9 per trap net). White Crappie lengths ranged from 4.5 to 11.6 inches and averaged 8.8 inches. Only 16 percent of the White Crappie sampled exceeded 10.0 inches in length. Black Crappie have not been present in Okamanpeedan Lake, except for one sampled in 2005. In 2023, Black Crappie were caught at a rate of 3.3 per trap net indicating that their abundance may be increasing. Lengths of Black Crappie ranged from 1.4 to 11.5 inches and averaged 6.8 inches. Based on the length frequency histogram, it appears that there are at least six year classes of Black Crappie present in Okamanpeedan Lake, indicating that natural reproduction occurs annually.

Black Bullhead abundance remained below the long-term average of 50.3 per gill net, as the 2023 catch rate was 36.7 per gill net, within the expected rate of catch rates for similar lakes (4.6 to 83.0 per gill net). Lengths of Black Bullhead ranged from 5.2 to 12.4 inches and averaged 10.0 inches. The Channel Catfish catch rate decreased from 21.7 per gill net in 2017 to 5.7 per gill net in 2023. Channel Catfish lengths ranged from 12.3 to 23.8 inches and averaged 20.2 inches. Common Carp were sampled at a rate of 43.7 per gill net, which is the highest recorded catch rate on Okamanpeedan Lake and greatly exceeds the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (0.5 to 9.1 per gill net). Most of the Common Carp were 16.0 to 20.0 inches in length and likely from one strong year class. Other species sampled included Bigmouth Buffalo, Green Sunfish, Orangespotted Sunfish, Quillback, and White Sucker.

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