Zumbra-Sunny

Zumbra Lake is located in Carver County, near the town of Victoria. It is 233 acres, with a maximum depth of 58 feet. Much of the shoreline of the lake is undeveloped and is managed by Three Rivers Park District, within Carver Park Reserve. MN DNR primarily manages Zumbra for its Northern Pike fishery, and secondarily for its Largemouth Bass and Bluegill fisheries. In 2025, a Standard Fisheries Survey was conducted to assess the gamefish populations. Zumbra is a good fishing spot for Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and panfish. The lake is not stocked, so no Walleye or Muskies are present. Northern Pike are highly abundant in Zumbra. Anglers will have a good opportunity to fill their limit of Northern Pike; 58% of the gill netted fish were smaller than 22 inches, while 4% exceeded 26 inches. Largemouth Bass electrofishing was not conducted in 2025, however the lake has a reputation for its strong bass fishery. When the lake was last electrofished, in 2015, the largest bass sampled was 20.1 inches and 4.8 pounds. While the Bluegill tend to be on the small side, they are very abundant so would offer good fishing action. Black Crappie were sampled in low abundance in 2025, however fish between 9 and 12 inches were present. Overall, Zumbra offers high numbers of Northern Pike and Bluegill, and good-sized Largemouth Bass and Black Crappie. Plenty of natural shoreline exists, and due to its smaller size, Zumbra is rarely teeming with recreational boaters.

A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in the Zumbra portion of Zumbra-Sunny Lake was conducted on June 14-16, 2021, by Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) Program staff. 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 all 10 sampling stations, but one station was sampled from the boat due to site conditions. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample six stations, a 15-foot seine was used to sample three stations, and site conditions prevented the use of a seine at one station. Nearshore sampling captured nine species of fish including two species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Banded Killifish and Least Darter) and one that is tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Green Sunfish). A concurrent summer trap net survey was also conducted by IBI Program staff. Nine trap nets were set along the shoreline in locations that encompassed multiple habitat types. Trap net sampling captured nine species of fish. Bluegill comprised a majority of the catch by number and biomass. The nearshore and trap net data were combined with gill net data from a June 2020 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., Banded Killifish, Least 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 the Zumbra portion of Zumbra-Sunny Lake is adversely impacted by stressors, as indicated by an FIBI score below the impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. These results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Mississippi River-Twin Cities Watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency.

Zumbra Lake is located in Carver County, near the town of Victoria. It is 233 acres, with a maximum depth of 58 feet. Much of the shoreline of the lake is undeveloped and is managed by Three Rivers Park District, within Carver Park Reserve. MN DNR primarily manages Zumbra for its Northern Pike fishery, and secondarily for its Largemouth Bass and Bluegill fisheries. In 2020, a Standard Fisheries Survey was conducted to assess the gamefish populations. Zumbra is a good fishing spot for Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and panfish. The lake is not stocked, so no Walleye or Muskies are present. Northern Pike are highly abundant in Zumbra. Anglers will have a good opportunity to fill their limit of Northern Pike; 39% of the gill netted fish were smaller than 22 inches, while 16% exceeded 26 inches. Largemouth Bass electrofishing was not conducted in 2020, however the lake has a reputation for its strong bass fishery. When the lake was last electrofished, in 2015, the largest bass sampled was 20.1 inches and 4.8 pounds. While the Bluegill tend to be on the small side, they are very abundant so would offer good fishing action. The opposite is true for the crappies. Black Crappie were sampled in low abundance in 2020, however several fish between 11 and 14 inches were present. Overall, Zumbra offers high numbers of Northern Pike and Bluegill, and good-sized Largemouth Bass and Black Crappie. Plenty of natural shoreline exists, and due to its smaller size, Zumbra is rarely teeming with recreational boaters. The Three Rivers Park property leading to the boat launch is a quiet drive down a dirt road. There is a dog park on the way to the boat launch, so it could be a good location to bring the pup.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Hybrid Sunfish, White Crappie, and Bluegill in Zumbra-Sunny. 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 Zumbra-Sunny. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

Zumbra-Sunny has a maximum depth of 58 feet and a mean depth of 14 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Zumbra-Sunny is from 2025.

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