Pickerel

Pickerel Lake is a highly productive and relatively turbid lake only a few miles west of Aitkin. Pickerel Lake maintains a very popular winter fishery for lake and Aitkin area residents. Access is limited to a private lakeshore owner who has allowed access in winter. Winter fishing pressure for panfish appears to be high despite the limited access. There is no public access to the lake during the summer season. The primary interest to anglers on Pickerel Lake is bluegill and black crappie. Bluegill numbers from the trap net catches have increased from the last survey in 1998, and are above average for this lake type. Growth of bluegills was average compared to other lakes in Aitkin County. The bluegills in the trap net ranged from 3.9 to 8.5 inches long, and their average size has increased from 5.1 inches in 1998 to 7.1 inches in length this year. Nearly 64% of them were over 7 inches long. Black crappie abundance has remained stable since 1998 and is above the average for this lake type. Black crappies grew slower than normal compared to a state wide average, but only the fourth and fifth year were slow compared to the county average. Only 8% of the black crappies were over nine inches in length, indicating strong fishing pressure. If allowed to grow, the strong year classes from 2003 and 2005 should reach preferred size (10 inches) within a few years. The abundance of northern pike has decreased from the last survey to a level below the statewide median for this lake class. Growth rates are still good and average size is high, with half of the fish over 24 inches. Fishing pressure may be taking a toll on the northern pike population. Overfishing these small lakes is easy to do, so remember to practice catch and release. Yellow perch are present in good numbers, but tend to be small. These provide excellent forage for the northern pike population. Yellow bullheads are not over abundant and are respectably sized, ranging from 10 to 14 inches in length. Bowfin are abundant and appear to be effective in controlling the abundance of small bluegills and crappies in the lake.

Pickerel Lake maintains a very popular winter fishery for lake residents and Aitkin area senior citizens. The winter access from highway 210 to the senior citizen fish house was leased in 1994-95 for a ten year period. Winter fishing pressure for panfish appears to be high despite the limited access. There is no public access to the lake during the summer season. The primary interest to anglers on Pickerel Lake is panfish. Bluegill numbers from the trap net catches have decreased over the last three nettings, but are still above the average for this type of lake. Growth of bluegills was normal to above average. The bluegills in the trap net ranged from 3.3 to 9.3 inches long and averaged 5.1 inches in length. The mean size has decreased from 6.5 inches in 1993, but there are still 24%with length greater than or equal to six inches long. Black crappie abundance has remained stable since 1993 and is well above the average for this lake type. Black crappies grew at normal rates during early life history, but then slowed down after age five. Numbers of crappies over eight inches long have dropped from around 50% in 1993 to 18% in 1998. The abundance of northern pike has increased from the last survey to an above average level. These fish are of good size with 36% of the fish taken in the gill nets larger than 24 inches. This is down from 60% in 1988 and 50% in 1993. Yellow perch tend to be small and slow growing. The yellow bullhead population is abundant and has good size with fish from 10 to 14 inches long. Bowfin are rather abundant and appear to be effective in controlling the abundance of small bluegills and crappies in the lake. Bluegill, black crappie, and northern pike populations all have reduced proportions of larger sized fish from previous surveys. The lake has received an unknown quantity of runoff from the cattle farm on the southwest side of the lake. Water quality during the 1998 assessment showed extremely high levels of total phosphorus and chlorophyll indicating heavy nutrient loading. Further housing or agricultural development may negatively affect the fish community by decreasing the shoreline spawning areas and increasing nutrient loading, resulting in nuisance bluegreen algae blooms and increased risk of winter kill.

Pickerel Lake is very popular with winter anglers in the Aitkin area. For several years the County Sheriff's Office, local Conservation Officers and local civic organizations sponsored a senior citizens' fish house on Pickerel Lake. In the winter of 1993-94 that fish house was moved to another lake due to questions of legal access to Pickerel Lake. Winter angling pressure still appears to be high. The lake provides a consistent source of angling action, particularly for black crappie and bluegill, to area residents during the winter months. Bluegill numbers decreased since 1988, but are still normal for lakes of this type. The bluegills inthe trap net ranged from 3.5 to 8 inches long and averaged 6.5 inches in length. Black crappie arestill more abundant than normal despite a decrease in abundance since the 1988 survey. Almost half of the crappies were at least 8 inches long. Bluegills and black crappies are growing at normal rates.Large northern pike are common in Pickerel Lake, and they are growing normally. Sixty percent of thepike in 1988 and 50 percent in 1993 were more than 24 inches long. Yellow perch tend to be small and slow growing. For bullhead anglers, the yellow bullhead population is low, but the fish are 11 to 13 inches long. Bowfin are rather abundant and appear to be effective in controlling the abundance ofsmall bluegills and crappies in the lake. A lakeshore owner noted that cattails have replaced bulrushes in selected areas on the lake. The number of homes has been slowly increasing, particularly on the south side of the lake. The lake has received an unknown quantity of runoff from the cattle farm on the southwest side of the lake. Further housing or agricultural development or a sharp increase in angling pressure may negatively affect the fish community by decreasing shoreline spawning areas, increasing nutrient loading, and increasing theharvest of quality-sized fish past a sustainable level.

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

We don't have a confirmed public access point on record for Pickerel. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

Pickerel has a maximum depth of 34 feet and a mean depth of 12 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Pickerel is from 2008. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

No invasive species are on record for Pickerel in Minnesota DNR data. Always clean, drain, and dry your equipment to help keep it that way.