Buffalo

Buffalo Lake is a 376-acre, class 25 lake located in central Becker County near the community of Richwood. It is long and narrow with one bay extending north to the southern boundary of the White Earth Indian Reservation. Although it lies near the headwaters of the Buffalo River, it is the furthest downstream major lake basin through which this river flows on its course to the Red River. The bay on the west end of the lake near the low-head outlet dam has a dense stand of wild rice. Buffalo Lake has a special regulation for Bluegill limiting anglers to keep five fish per day. A standard fisheries survey was conducted in June 2022 to evaluate the fish population in Buffalo Lake. While Walleye abundance was near average for Buffalo Lake, Northern Pike abundance reached an all time high in 2022. Pike size was also smaller than previous surveys with fish averaging 20 inches long. Similar to Northern Pike, Bluegill abundance was also at an all time high. Anglers can expect Bluegill to average a little over seven inches long, with additional opportunities to catch larger fish. Bluegill required seven years of growth to reach seven inches long in Buffalo Lake. This survey also captured Black Crappie that had an average length of nine inches and Largemouth Bass with lengths up to 17 inches. Other fish species present were Brown Bullhead, Black Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead, White Sucker, Pumpkinseed, and Rock Bass.

A targeted survey of the nearshore fish community was conducted by Fisheries Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) Program Staff starting July 31, 2017. Ten sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 15-foot or 50-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at all ten sites with three sites sampled from the boat. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample two sites, a 15-foot seine was used at five sites, and soft sediments with abundant vegetation prevented the use of seines at three sampling sites. Nearshore sampling captured 14 native species of fish including four species that are intolerant of disturbance (Banded Killifish, Blackchin Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Rock Bass) and no species that are tolerant of disturbance. Data from this targeted nearshore survey is combined with trap net and gill net data from a June 2017 standard survey to describe the fish community and provide a Fish-based Index of Biological Integrity (FIBI) score. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. The FIBI score for Buffalo Lake from this survey is above an impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. Data from this survey will contribute biological information about the health of the fish community to the Buffalo River Watershed assessment of surface waters process completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency.

Buffalo Lake is a 376-acre, class 25 lake located in central Becker County near the community of Richwood. It is long and narrow with one bay extending north to the southern boundary of the White Earth Indian Reservation. Although it lies near the headwaters of the Buffalo River, it is the furthest downstream major lake basin through which this river flows on its course to the Red River. The bay on the west end of the lake near the low-head, outlet dam has a dense stand of wild rice which is harvested annually. Water quality is sufficient to sustain Cisco, a cool water species. The lake is mesotrophic with a mean Carlson's trophic state index in the upper forties. Buffalo Lake's Walleye fishery is supplemented by biennial stocking of Walleye fingerlings. This lake was added to the accelerated Walleye stocking program in 1998 and stocking rates were doubled, from one to two pounds of fingerlings per littoral acre per stocking year. In 2017, Walleye catch rates increased for the second consecutive survey to 6.8 fish Walleye per gill net. The historical mean catch rate on Buffalo Lake is 4.9 Walleyes per gill net. The catch rate has been above or very near the expected range for similar lakes in five of the past seven lake surveys. Walleyes sampled via gill nets in 2017 averaged 14.8 inches, and ranged from 7.3 to 26.9 inches. Age three Walleyes, likely attributed to fingerling stocking in 2014, comprised 49% of the sample. A similar situation occurred in the 2012 survey when age four fingerling-stocked fish comprised 45% of the Walleye caught. Although good Walleye spawning habitat is lacking in this lake, the age class frequency distribution reveals evidence of natural reproduction. The short stretch of the Buffalo River just upstream from the lake may provide a few small pockets of gravel for spawning of this species. The growth rate of Walleyes in 2017 was similar to that reported in past Buffalo Lake studies and slower than the statewide averages. The average length reached by Walleyes in four years was 12.7 inches. The gill net catch rate of Northern Pike continues to decline from the historical high of 12.2 per set in 2007 to 8.0 per set in 2017. The lake's historical mean is 7.0 Northern Pike per set. Sampled Northern Pike ranged from 13.6 to 29.0 inches with a mean of 20.6 inches. Northern Pike longer than 30 inches have historically been sampled with regularity, but not in 2017. Despite this fact, the mean length and percent of the catch longer than 24 inches set historic highs. Northern Pike up to age 7 were sampled, but the majority of fish were ages 2-4. Northern Pike in Buffalo Lake reached an average length of 21.6 inches in four years. The Yellow Perch gill net catch increased to 26.0 per net, which was above the lake's historical mean for the first time since 1997. Yellow Perch averaged 6.9 inches in length and ranged from 5.8 to 9.0 inches. Trap net catches of Bluegill remained higher than the lake's historical mean (24.1 per set) at 37.4 Bluegills per trap net. Bluegill relative abundance within the last twenty years has been significantly higher than the time period before. Since 1997, the mean Bluegill catch rate has been 39.3 fish per trap net, while the mean rate for the period prior to 1997 was 11.6. Bluegills ranged from 2.6 to 8.9 inches with a mean length of 6.3 inches in 2017. The Bluegill age frequency was very diverse spanning 15 year-classes. Interestingly, there appears to have been a complete recruitment failure in 2009 as no fish from this year-class were sampled. An astonishing 40% of Bluegills were age 9 or older. The Bluegill growth rate has declined compared to past surveys with fish reaching an average length of 4.7 inches in four years. Black Crappie, which have never been considered abundant in surveys in Buffalo Lake, exhibited a trap net catch rate of 0.11 per net in 2017, the same as 2012. Gill nets were slightly more effective for crappie sampling, but still only 10 fish were caught. The Largemouth Bass catch mirrored Black Crappie with only one fish captured in trap nets and ten fish in gill nets. Gill net catches of Cisco were once again well below the historical average of 6.4 fish per net. Although the catch rate was a mere 0.6 fish per net, two distinct length groups were evident in the length frequency distribution table indicating at least two year-classes. Cisco relative abundance has been very low since 2002. Minnesota DNR Detroit Lakes Area Fisheries staff conducted an assessment of lakeshore habitat on Buffalo Lake on 06/28/2017, following the Score the Shore survey protocols. The assessment consisted of 62 survey sites evenly spaced 200 meters around the lake. Assessments were made in three habitat zones mentioned above: the Shoreline, the Shoreland Zone, and the Aquatic Zone. The average lakewide habitat score was 70.0 (+/- 2.8) out of 100 possible. Approximately 56 percent of the sites were developed with a mean score of 58.0 (+/- 3.9), while undeveloped sites had a mean score of 85.6 (+/- 0.8). The Score the Shore survey was designed to provide a means to quantify and compare lakeshore habitat between lakes. The Buffalo Lake shoreline habitat score was lower than the statewide lake score average of 73.6. Minnesota DNR EWR Lake Habitat program staff delineated the floating leaf and emergent aquatic vegetation of Buffalo lake on 07/06/2017, following the protocols listed in the MN DNR Lake Plant Mapping Manual. There were a total of 99.4 acres of floating and emergent plants mapped. This consisted of 57.6 acres of emergent dominated plant communities and 41.8 acres of floating leaf plant communities.

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

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

Buffalo has a maximum depth of 38 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

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

Yes — Buffalo has confirmed zebra mussel. Clean, drain, and dry your equipment to avoid spreading invasives to other waters.