Pearl

Pearl Lake is a 280-acre lake southwest of Detroit Lakes, MN, within the Ottertail River Watershed. There is a public access on the southeast side of the lake. Pearl Lake is primarily noted for its Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and panfish angling, with occasional catches of Walleye. A standard fisheries survey was completed in August 2024 to assess the fish populations for Pearl Lake. Anglers will find an abundant number of Northern Pike in Pearl Lake, however, most of these fish will be on the small side. The catch rate of Northern Pike in the 2024 survey was the highest observed at the lake since 1998. The average size of the pike captured was 20 inches, but one fish measured close to 40 inches. Walleye numbers were below average for the lake, but the average size was good. Almost 93% of the Walleye captured in 2024 were over 15 inches and 64% were over 20 inches. Bluegill numbers were down for the lake and most of the fish were small. No fish over eight inches were caught in trap nets. The longest Bluegill measured from gill nets was 8.2 inches. Black Crappie and Largemouth Bass were captured in low numbers in the trap nets, which is often the case with this sampling gear. Black Crappie up to 10.5 inches were measured and Largemouth Bass up to 16.5 inches were captured. Other fish species observed were Black and Brown Bullhead, Green Sunfish, hybrid sunfish, Pumpkinseed, and Yellow Perch.

A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Pearl Lake was conducted on June 27th, 2024, by Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) Program. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at ten sampling stations, but one station was sampled from the boat due soft sediments and thick vegetation. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample six stations, and a 15-foot seine was used at four stations. Nearshore sampling captured nine species of fish including two species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Banded Killifish and Blackchin Shiner) and one that is tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Green Sunfish). The nearshore data were combined with trap net and gill net data from an August 2024 survey to describe the fish community and provide a fish-based IBI (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. In Minnesota lakes, certain fish species cannot survive without clean water and a healthy habitat (e.g., Blackchin Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Rock Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Green Sunfish and Common Carp). 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. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. Results from this survey provide evidence that the fish community in Pearl Lake is healthy as indicated by an FIBI score above the general use impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. These results are similar to previous findings which indicated that Pearl Lake is fully supporting aquatic life. The survey results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Otter Tail River assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. You can help protect the fish community in Pearl Lake by reducing runoff, maintaining natural shorelines, and preventing the spread of invasive species.

Pearl Lake is a 280-acre lake southwest of Detroit Lakes, MN, within the Ottertail River Watershed. There is a public access on the southeast side of the lake. Pearl Lake is primarily noted for its Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and panfish angling with occasional catches of Walleye. A standard survey was completed in August 2019 to evaluate the status of the fish population in Pearl Lake. In the 2019 survey, Northern Pike catch rates were 12.2 per net, similar to the lake's historical average. Pike sampled ranged from 10.8 to 38.6 inches, with a mean length of 21.2 inches. The general size structure of the population has improved since 2009, as 26% of all pike sampled were longer than 24 inches. Bluegill abundance was within the normal range for Pearl Lake, yet slightly below the lake's historical average. Bluegills up to 8.0 inches were sampled, yet the average length was 5.6 inches. Largemouth Bass and Black Crappie were common during sampling. Bass up to 20 inches long and crappie up to 12 inches long were captured. Yellow Perch were not abundant, with only 11 fish total sampled. The average length of Yellow Perch sampled was only 6 inches. Walleyes are stocked in Pearl Lake, yet the population is not abundant. Walleyes Sampled ranged from 15.4 inches to 20.4 inches, and the abundance was near a historic low. Pearl Lake is a small, productive lake with water quality impacted by development-related pressures. Watershed landowners are encouraged to practice good land stewardship to slow the decline of water quality, fish habitat, and property values in Pearl Lake. In addition, anglers can help provide higher quality fish by practicing selective harvest, especially for Northern Pike and sunfish.

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

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

Pearl has a maximum depth of 54 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Pearl is from 2024.

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