French

French Lake is a small lake located in central Aitkin County approximately 6 miles southwest of Palisade. The lake has a surface area of 137 acres with a maximum depth of 37 feet. The water is brownish-green in color with a secchi disc reading that has ranged from 5 to 8 feet over the years. There is an unimproved township owned access located on the northeast corner of the lake. The lakeshore is a mixture of timber covered hills, open bog, and grassland, with private homes and cabins on the east side of the lake, and the French Lake Wildlife Management Area on the west. Northern Pike and Black Crappie are the primary management species and Walleye and Bluegill are secondary management species. The invasive aquatic plant Eurasian Milfoil has established itself in the lake, so lake users should be sure to clean, drain and dry equipment when leaving the lake to prevent the spread to other waterbodies. Walleye have inhabited the lake and have been caught in all but two surveys of the lake going back to 1970. Walleye present in French Lake were presumably migrants from Gun Lake during spawning runs or high water events, or possibly via the ditch connection to the Rice River. Spawning habitat for Walleye is limited and recruitment from natural reproduction is poor in French Lake. Since Walleye are known to have survived in the lake, a Walleye fry stocking strategy was implemented in 2013 to augment the existing population. No Walleye had been stocked in the lake prior to 2013. From 2013 to 2018 30,500 Walleye fry were stocked annually. Walleye abundance has ranged from 0 - 2.8/gill net with an average catch rate of 1.0/gill net in the eight surveys conducted spanning a time period from (1981-2020). This is the second survey since fry stocking started. No Walleye were caught in 2016 and only one Walleye was caught in 2020, for a catchrate of 0.17/gillnet. The fish was a 5 year old, 17.5 inches and 1.8 lbs. After two surveys it appears fry survival is poor in this lake and may need to be dropped or amended to fingerlings instead. Walleye from Gun Lake and the Rice River may move to French Lake during favorable hydrologic conditions, however this is sporadic at best. Spawning habitat for Walleye is limited and recruitment from natural reproduction is poor in French Lake. Northern Pike numbers are generally stable and on the low end for this lake type, this survey was no different at a catch of 2.7/gill net. The size structure was reasonable but not as good as 2016. The average size was 21.7 inches, and 2 fish were over 26 inches. For a small lake it has the potential to produce pike in the mid-30 inch range as seen in most surveys. The largest in 2020 was 32.7 inches long. Black Crappie are popular with winter and summer anglers on French Lake. Black Crappie numbers showed an increase from the previous survey 1.5/net (2016) to 4.2/gill net (2020), but not yet at the abundance that was seen through the 1990's, averaging about 8/net (1989-2004). No Black Crappie over 10 inches were sampled, falling short of the lake management goal for this species. The average length for Black Crappie was 7.3 inches with a maximum length of 9 inches. Keep in mind no trap nets were used in this assessment, although at French Lake both gears typically show similar results. Though historically not known as a bass lake, Largemouth Bass have been increasing in abundance and have been sampled in each of the last three surveys at moderate abundance.

A special assessment targeting near shore fish species was conducted on July 20, 2016. The near shore fish survey data is combined with gill net and trap net data from August 2016 survey to describe the fish community and provide a fish-based Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) score based on expectations for similar lakes. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake (10 stations) and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Species information was gathered as part of a statewide project to evaluate the fish IBI for Minnesota lakes. Backpack electrofishing was completed at all 10 stations, but two sites were sampled from the boat due to unstable footing. A 50-foot seine was not used, a 15-foot seine was used at 7 stations, and site conditions prevented the use of seines at 3 sites. Nearshore sampling captured one intolerant fish species, the blackchin shiner. French lake falls within lake class 31 based on the Schupp lake classification used by MnDNR and within Group 4 lakes for evaluating IBI data. IBI scores range from 0 to 100 and the draft impairment threshold for this group of lakes is 38 (CI 30-46) and the potential exceptional quality level is set at 59. The IBI score, using standard gill net and trap net data from the 2016 standard assessment, calculated from this survey was 20.1 below the impairment threshold. This survey is contributing to a watershed assessment process in coordination with the MN Pollution Control Agency. French Lake is located in the Mississippi River - Brainerd Watershed.

A special gill net survey was conducted on 8/22/2011 to assess the fish population. Northern pike abundance increased from 2.0/gill net in 2004 to 3.0/gill net in 2011 (p=0.18), but was below the inter-quartile range for lake class 31. Size ranged from 16.0-27.0" with an average of 21.7" and 2.1 pounds. Fish ranged from 2-7 years old with the 2006 year class strongly represented in the catch (11 of 24). Growth was similar to county and statewide averages. Black crappie abundance decreased from 8.7/gill net in 2004 to 3.8/gill net in 2011 (p=0.12), but remained above the normal range for this type of lake. Age assessment (29 of 30 fish) revealed seven year classes with fish ranging from 1-9 years old. Strong year classes in 2006 (11 fish) and 2007 (11 fish) made up most of the catch. Growth was slow compared to county and statewide averages for all increments. Yellow perch catches have ranged from 0.6-11.0/gill net with a mean of 3.3 and a median of 1.0 in the eight previous surveys dating back to 1970. Only one perch was captured in 2011. Walleye abundance has ranged from 0.7-2.8/gill net with a mean of 1.3/gill net and a median of 1.2/gill net in the six surveys conducted over the last thirty years (1981-2011). Fish from Gun Lake and the Rice River may move to French Lake during favorable hydrologic conditions. Aging revealed all fish were 7-8 years old. Most fish (4 of 6) came from a Gun Lake stocked year class (2004), but two fish may have been the result of natural reproduction (2003 year class). Since no walleye from the 2003 year class were observed in the Gun Lake assessments in 2008 or 2011, it is likely these fish were either from natural reproduction in French Lake or movement from the Rice River. Growth was similar to county and statewide averages. Although gill nets are not typically used to assess bluegill populations, there has been a steady increase in bluegill abundance in French Lake. The catch rate of over 3/gill net was the highest observed.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Largemouth Bass, Rock Bass, Black Crappie, Northern Pike, and Walleye in French. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

Minnesota DNR records list public access for French. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for the launch type and directions before you go.

French has a maximum depth of 37 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in French is from 2020.

Yes — French has confirmed Eurasian watermilfoil. Clean, drain, and dry your equipment to avoid spreading invasives to other waters.