Shipman

Shipman Lake is located six miles southeast of Osage in eastern Becker County. Shipman has a surface area of 61 acres and a maximum depth of 55 feet. A county owned public access is located on the southeast shore of the lake. Shipman provides angling opportunities for Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass and panfish. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Shipman is in lake class 28, one of fourteen class 28 lakes in the Park Rapids management area. Class 28 lakes generally are small with clear and hard water and are regularly shaped. Other class 28 lakes in the work area include: Big Bass, Dinner, Emma, Gilmore, Indian, Little Blueberry, Nagel, Newman, and Thomas. Northern Pike abundance was low, but in line with the past surveys. Pike sampled had an average length of 17.8 inches and weighed 1.4 pounds. Largemouth Bass were sampled in good numbers again in 2022. Bass averaged 10.4 inches in length, with the longest sampled at 16 inches. Black Crappies are normally sampled in Shipman, however, none were found in 2022. Shipman also provides good fishing for Bluegill and Pumpkinseed; with a decent number of fish ranging 5 - 8 inches. Currently, no Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) have been identified in Shipman Lake. To avoid spreading AIS, lake users are required to remove all aquatic plants or animals from their watercraft and drain all water from their boat before leaving the access.

Shipman Lake is located in eastern Becker County, six miles southeast of Osage. Shipman has a surface area of 56 acres and a maximum depth of 55 feet. There is a county-owned public access located on the east end of the lake. Shipman has limited shallow water habitat, dropping off quickly into deep water from the shoreline. This limited amount of shallow water habitat along with stratification of the water column limits the productivity of the lake. While Shipman has a maximum depth of 55 feet, the lake stratifies and low oxygen is found below 18.0 feet of water during the summer months. Due to its small size and low productivity, Shipman is very susceptible to over-harvest. Anglers must practice harvest or catch and release if they want to maintain or improve the fishery in Shipman. Shipman provides fishing opportunities for northern pike and panfish. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical and chemical characteristics. Shipman is in lake class 28. Other area lakes in this same classification include Dinner, Gilmore, and Indian. Northern pike abundance (4.5 pike/gillnet) was within the range "typical" for this lake class and similar to the previous survey in 2000. Sampled northern pike had an average length and weight of 19.6 inches and 1.8 pounds, with pike measured up to 30.7 inches. The panfish fishery in Shipman is limited primarily to black crappie. Moderate numbers of black crappie were sampled, similar to past surveys. Anglers will find good numbers of black crappie in the 9-11 inch size range. Shipman supports good numbers of bluegill and pumpkinseed; however, fish run small with few over 7.0 inches in length. Bluegill growth is slow in Shipman. Largemouth bass have been sampled in past surveys in low numbers. Other species sampled include moderate numbers of yellow perch and yellow bullhead. Brown bullhead and bowfin (dogfish) were sampled in low numbers.

Shipman Lake is located in eastern Becker County, six miles southeast of Osage. Shipman has a surface area of 56 acres and a maximum depth of 55 feet. There is a county-owned public access located on the east end of the lake. Northern pike and black crappie are the more popular species for anglers on Shipman. Shipman has limited shallow water habitat, dropping off quickly into deep water from the shoreline. This limited amount of shallow water along with stratification of the water column limits the productivity of this lake. While Shipman has a maximum depth of 55 feet, the lake stratifies and no oxygen is found below 16 feet during the summer months. Due to it's small size and low productivity, Shipman is very susceptible to over-harvest. Anglers must practice selective harvest or catch and release if they want to improve the fishery in Shipman.The Minnesota Department of Natural resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical and chemical characteristics. Shipman is in lake class 28. Other area lakes in this same classification include Dinner, Gilmore, and Indian.Moderate numbers of northern pike were sampled (5.0 pike/gillnet), within the range "typical" for this lake class. Northern pike abundance from past surveys has been slightly lower. Sampled northern pike had an average length and weight of 21.1 inches and 2.2 pounds with the largest pike measuring 28.9 inches. Northern pike are slow growing in Shipman when compared to other area lakes. Shipman is probably only capable of supporting limited numbers of large pike. Anglers are encouraged to release larger northern pike (>28.0 inches) in Shipman.The panfish fishery in Shipman is limited primarily to black crappie. Moderate numbers of black crappie were sampled, similar to past surveys. Average size of black crappie was 9.0 inches with fish up to 11.5 inches sampled. Both bluegill and pumpkinseed were sampled in moderate numbers, however, the fish are small with few fish of an acceptable size for angling. Bluegill growth is very slow in Shipman. Largemouth bass are also present in Shipman, but were sampled in low numbers with standard survey gear (gillnets & trapnets).Other species sampled included moderate numbers of yellow bullhead, brown bullhead, black bullhead, yellow perch, and bowfin (dogfish).

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Black Crappie, Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, and Yellow Perch in Shipman. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Shipman has a maximum depth of 55 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Shipman is from 2022.

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