Bone Lake

How big is Bone Lake?

How deep is Bone Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Bone Lake?

What are the closest cities to Bone Lake?

Are there topographical lake maps available Bone Lake?

We have an topograpical map for online viewing near the top of this page. Lake-Link Pro users can download an print a topograpical map of Bone Lake (.pdf format) along with 2,700 more lake maps. For more information on all the benefits of Lake-Link Pro click here.

Bone Lake

Are there boat launches on Bone Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Bone Lake?

What aquatic invasive species are found in Bone Lake?

Bone Lake is a fertile, eutrophic basin located in a rural area of the city of Scandia, Minnesota. It covers an area of 221 acres, of which 124 are littoral, with a maximum depth of 30 ft. The lake is listed as impaired for excess nutrients and unacceptable levels of biological indicators. The Comfort Lake-Forest Lake Watershed District installed fish barriers on the outlet and on the inlet from Moody Lake in the fall of 2012. These structures, in conjunction with subsidized commercial fishing, are hoped to reduce the rough fish population to negligible levels. There is a public boat access at the northwest corner of the lake which is owned by Washington County but operated by DNR Parks and Trails. There is undeveloped shoreline along the north shore owned by the City of Scandia which is popular with shore anglers. Walleye is the primary management species and fingerlings had been stocked in the lake at one pound/littoral acre since 1982. Walleye stocking success was assessed starting in 2017, and management plans have been adjusted. In 2017, the stocking rate was changed to 0.65lb/littoral acre annually. Subsequent surveys will monitor for any resulting change in the walleye population. The lake was surveyed using gill nets in June 2021. The previous survey was conducted in 2018.

Walleyes were sampled in gill nets at a rate of 3.8 fish per net. This is the highest rate sampled since 2006. Fish size was slightly smaller than average with a mean length of 14.4 inches and a range of 9 to 27 inches. The majority of those fish were less than 20 inches long and the age distribution was dominated by 2 year old fish. This is not surprising, as the 2020 stocking was done with yearling fish that effectively doubled the relative number of fish in the 2019 "year class." The oldest individual was aged at 12 years old indicating some persistence of year classes in the lake. The long range management goal of maintaining a catch rate in excess of 3 fish per net is being met.

Northern Pike were sampled at the highest rate in the lake's history at 5.8 fish per gill net. Despite this high catch rate, fish sizes were of sizes desirable to anglers, with a mean length of 27 inches. Fish ranged from 17.1 to 37.8 inches in length. Fish were well distributed through this range with 34% of fish over 30 inches.

Only one Yellow Perch was sampled in the survey. This is the lowest catch rate in the history of the lake at 0.17 fish per net. The next lowest catch rate was observed in 1981 with 7 fish per net. The previous survey was the highest catch rate since 1975 with 76 fish per net and surveys back to 2006 all had catch rates exceeding 35 fish per net. The one fish sampled was 7.5 inches long.

This survey was primarily targeting Walleye and Northern Pike and only gill net were used to sample them. While a number of other game fish were sampled, gill nets do not offer reliable data to infer anything about their abundances. Other fish species sampled were: Black Crappie, Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, White Sucker, and Yellow Bullhead.

What is the average air temp for Bone Lake?

Are there any state parks near Bone Lake?