George

George is a 612-acre lake near the city of Outing in Cass County. It has a DNR owned access, with a concrete ramp, on the south end of the lake. A standard survey using gill nets and trap nets was conducted in June 2025 to assess fish populations from recent winterkill events and provide information to anglers. Walleye is the primary management species, although none were captured in the 2025 survey. George frequently winterkills and it appears stocking combined with an aeration system run by lake residents has not been successful in creating a Walleye fishery. Northern Pike numbers were the highest to date (15.5 per net), with fish ranging from 13.2 to 26.7 inches. A large portion of the sample, 67%, was below the 22 to 26 inch protected slot. Anglers have an opportunity to take advantage of the limit of 10 Northern Pike under 22 inches on George Lake. All of the Northern Pike in the 2025 survey were age 4 or younger. The Bluegill catch was also the highest to date (13.0 per net). Size was good, with 42% measuring 8 inches or larger. If they make it through another winter, they could continue to provide opportunities for anglers to catch quality panfish. Yellow Perch, Black Crappies, and Largemouth bass were caught in low numbers of small sized fish. These species are unlikely to be of much interest to anglers unless George can go a few more years without significant winterkill. The lake is currently dominated by large numbers (110.5 per net) of small Brown Bullheads (7.4 inch average). Other species sampled in the latest survey include Black Bullhead, Bowfin (Dogfish), Hybrid Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, and Yellow Bullhead.

A fairly dramatic winterkill took place during the winter of 2007-2008 and the lake was open to unlimited fishing for most of March in 2008. This event and frequent partial winterkills had lake residents worried about the fish in the lake. They have operated an aeration system to help prevent winterkill since January of 2011. Now that the lake is aerated, residents have requested that fish be stocked to get their lake back to the way it was before 2008. Electrofishing was done on George Lake during the day on September 4th, 2012 to get a quick glimpse of the fish population before a lake association meeting. The last netting was done in 1990. The most common game fish species captured was yellow perch. Length ranged from 2.2" to 11.0", with a mean length of 4.6". Bluegills were the second most abundant and all fish were 5" or shorter. A fair amount of largemouth bass were also present, with sizes ranging from 3.8"-9.3". Several of the larger bluegill and bass were aged and all were either one or two years old. Other fish species captured were black crappie, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, pumpkinseed, and golden shiner.

Lake Class 40. Northern pike, white suckers, yellow bullhead, brown bullhead, pumpkinseed and yellow are present in average numbers and average sizes of individual fish. However, bluegill are present in low numbers but are average in size when compared to other lakes in the same class. Growth rates cannot be accurately determined due to the small number of fish sampled.

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

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

George has a maximum depth of 20 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

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

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