Hattie

Hattie Lake is 484-acre lake located near Backus, MN. With a maximum depth of 30 feet, app`roximately 41% of the surface area is littoral (less than 15 feet). There is no public access but it may be possible to access the lake through one of the resorts. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different classes based on physical, chemical and other characteristics. Hattie Lake is in Lake Class 25; lakes in this class are generally deep, clear, and irregular shaped lakes. This lake is primarily managed for northern pike, walleye, and bluegill, and secondarily for cisco, largemouth bass, black crappie, and yellow perch. Northern pike were abundant, but most of them were below 20 inches long. Northern pike were sampled up to 37 inches with a mean length of 21 inches. Walleye ranged from 10 to 27 inches with a mean length of 19 inches. The number of walleye caught was average for Lake Class 25. Several year classes are present which will provide some angling opportunities for the future. Bluegill were abundant, but few were sampled above eight inches. Other fish species that are present for anglers are black crappie, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, cisco (tullibee), greater redhorse, largemouth bass, pumpkinseed sunfish, rock bass, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and yellow perch. Anglers can help maintain or improve the quality of fishing by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest allows for the harvest of smaller fish for table fare, but encourages release of medium- to large-sized fish. Releasing these fish can help maintain balance in the fish community in Hattie Lake and provide anglers the opportunity to catch more and larger fish in the future. Shoreline areas on the land and into the shallow water provide essential habitat for fish and wildlife that live in or near Minnesota's lakes. Overdeveloped shorelines can't support the fish, wildlife, and clean water that are associated with natural undeveloped lakes. The combined effects of all lakeshore owners "fixing up" their property can destroy a lake's valuable natural shorelines.Shoreline habitat consists of aquatic plants, woody plants and natural lake bottom soils. Plants in the water and at the water's edge provide habitat, prevent erosion and absorb excess nutrients. Shrubs, trees, and woody debris such as fallen trees or limbs provide good habitat both above and below the water and should be left in place. Natural lake bottom materials like silt or gravel are more ecologically productive than pure sand trucked in for a swimming beach. A tidy lawn and a sandy beach make great spots for sunbathing and swimming but do little to provide habitat for fish and wildlife. By leaving a buffer strip of natural vegetation along the shoreline, property owners can reduce erosion, help maintain water quality, and provide habitat and travel corridors for wildlife.Only if more lakeshore owners manage their shoreline in a natural condition can fish and wildlife populations on Minnesota lakes remain healthy and abundant. More specific information on protecting or restoring shorelines and watersheds is available through the local DNR Fisheries office.

THE NUMBER OF CISCO IN THE HATTIE LAKE GILLNET SAMPLE (1.6 FISH/NET) WAS WITHIN THE INTERQUARTILE RANGE FOR LAKE CLASS 25 LAKES, THOUGH IT WAS BELOW THE MEDIAN CATCH RATE OF 2.6 FISH/NET. THE 1992 CISCO CATCH RATGE WAS SIMILAR TO THE RATE IN 1959 AND BELOW THE 1980 RATE (4.2 FISH/NET). SAMPLED CISCO RANGED FROM 8.0 TO 18.9 INCHES IN LENGTH AND HAD A MEAN WEIGHT OF 1.0 POUNDS EACH.THE GILLNET CATCH OF NORTHERN PIKE IN 1992 WAS 7.3 FISH/NET, WHICH IS HIGHER THAN THE CATCH IN 1959 (2.1 FISH/NET) AND 1980 (6.0 FISH/NET). THE 1992 RATE IS WITHIN THE INTERQUARTILE RANGE FOR LAKE CLASS 25 LAKES. THE SIZE STRUCTURE OF THE 1992 NORTHERN PIKE SAMPLE WAS SIMILAR TO THAT OF THE 1959 AND 1980 SURVEYS. IN THE 1992 SURVEY, NORTHERN PIKE RANGED FROM 12.0 TO 32.9 INCHES AND HAD A MEAN WEIGHT OF 1.8 POUNDS. GROWTH OF NORTHERN PIKE COMPARED FAVORABLY WITH THAT OF OTHER LAKES IN CLASS 25. THE AVERAGE AGE 4 NORTHERN PIKE WAS 20.2 INCHES AT THE TIME ITS FOURTH ANNULUS FORMED.THE TRAPNET CATCH OF YELLOW BULLHEAD (8.2 FISH/NET) WAS ABOVE THE MEDIAN CATCH, BUT WITHIN THE INTERQUARTILE RANGE FOR LAKE CLASS 25 LAKES. YELLOW BULLHEAD RANGED FROM 5.5 TO 11.9 INCHES. THE TRAPNET CATCH OF BROWN BULLHEAD WAS 0.7 FISH/NET WHICH IS WITHIN THE INTERQUARTILE RANGE. BROWN BULLHEAD RANGED FROM 6.5 TO 13.9 INCHES.PUMPKINSEED WERE CAUGHT IN TRAPNETS AT ABOUT THE SAME RATE AS IN THE 1980 SURVEY. THE PUMPKINSEED CATCH RATE OF 14.3 FISH/NET WAS HIGH FOR THIS LAKE CLASS AND WAS WELL ABOVE THE THIRD QUARTILE RATE, OF 9.8 FISH/NET. IN THE 1959 SURVEY, FEWER PUMPKINSEED WERE CAUGHT PER NET (5.7 FISH/NET), BUT THE AVERAGE SIZE WAS LARGER. IN 1959, 87 PERCENT OF THE MEASURED PUMPKINSEED WERE 6.0 INCHES OR GREATER (PSD=87), WHILE IN THE 1980 AND 1992 SURVEYS, THE PROPORTIONAL STOCK DENSITIES (PSD'S) WERE 26 AND 29 RESPECTIVELY. TWENTY PERCENT OF THE 1959 PUMPKINSEED CATCH WERE 7.0 INCHES OR GREATER, WHILE IN BOTH 1980 AND 1992, JUST 1 PERCENT OF THE PUMPKINSEED WERE THAT LARGE.THE TRAPNET CATCH OF BLUEGILL WAS 35.3 FISH/NET, COMPARED TO 4.3 FISH/NET IN 1959 AND 64.7 FISH/NET IN 1980. THE 1992 CATCH RATE WAS GREATER THAN THE MEDIAN VALUE (22.4 FISH/NET) FOR THIS LAKE CLASS, BUT FELL WITHIN THE VERY WIDE INTERQUARTILE RANGE. THE SIZE STRUCTURE OF HATTIE LAKE BLUEGILL POPULATION HAS BEEN GOOD DURING THE PAST THREE SURVEYS. IN BOTH 1992 AND 1959, THE PSD WAS 44, WHILE IN 1980, THE PSD WAS 63. THE RSD-7 (PERCENT GREATER OR EQUAL TO 7.0 INCHES) IN 1992 WAS 19, COMPARED TO 27 IN 1959 AND 40 IN 1980. THERE HAS BEEN A DECLINE IN PREFERRED (RSD-P) SIZE BLUEGILL OVER TIME. THE AVERAGE SIZE OF BLUEGILL IN 1992 WAS SLIGHTLY LESS THAN IN PREVIOUS SURVEYS. GROWTH RATES OF BLUEGILL WERE GOOD COMPARED WITH OTHER LAKE CLASS 25 LAKES IN THIS AREA. AGE 5 BLUEGILL AVERAGED 6.7 INCHES AT FORMATION OF THEIR FIFTH ANNULUS.THE 1992 LARGEMOUTH BASS CATCH IN TRAPNETS (0.7) WAS WITHIN THE INTERQUARTILE RANGE FOR THIS SPECIES AND IS SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN IN PREVIOUS SURVEYS. JUST 6 LARGEMOUTH BASS WERE SAMPLED BY NETTING IN 1992, RANGING FROM 4.5 TO 9.9 INCHES. ONLY 4 LARGEMOUTH BASS WERE COLLECTED IN 2.21 HOURS OF ELECTROFISHING. THESE FISH RANGED FROM 7.58 TO 18.9 INCHES. LARGEMOUTH BASS GROWTH WAS SIMILAR TO OTHER AREA LAKES IN THIS CLASS.THE CATCH RATE OF BLACK CRAPPIE IN TRAPNETS (1.3 FISH/NET) WAS WITHIN THE INTERQUARTILE RANGE FOR LAKE CLASS 25. THE 1959 SURVEY REPORTED HIGHER CATCHES OF BLACK CRAPPIE IN BOTH TRAPNETS AND GILLNETS. LENGTH DISTRIBUTIONS OF FISH IN ALL THREE NETTING SURVEYS (1959, 1980 AND 1992) WERE SIMILAR. BLACK CRAPPIE RANGED FROM 4.0 TO 10.9 INCHES IN 1992 AND THE PSD WAS 94. IN 1992, THE RSD-P WAS 12. BLACK CRAPPIE GROWTH RATES WERE GOOD AND WERE GREATER THAN MOST OTHER LAKE CLASS 25 LAKES IN THIS AREA. AT FORMATION OF THEIR THIRD ANNULUS, BLACK CRAPPIE AVERAGED 8.0 INCHES.YELLOW PERCH WERE CAUGHT IN GILLNETS AT A RATE OF 21.2 FISH/NET, WHICH IS ABOVE THE MEDIAN CATCH RATE FOR THIS LAKE CLASS, BUT WITHIN THE INTERQUARTILE RANGE. YELLOW PERCH RANGED FROM 5.0 TO 9.4 INCHES IN 1992, WHICH IS SIMILAR TO THE LENGTH DISTRIBUTION NOTED IN PREVIOUS SURVEYS.THE 1992 WALLEYE GILLNET CATCH RATE (3.14 FISH/NET) WAS SIMILAR TO PREVIOUS SURVEYS AND NEAR THE MEDIAN VALUE FOR THIS LAKE CLASS. ALL WALLEYE TAKEN IN THE 1992 NETTING SURVEY WERE 10.0 INCHES OR LONGER AND 57 PERCENT OF THESE FISH WERE 15.0 INCHES OR MORE. SEVEN INCH LONG WALLEYE WERE SAMPLED BY ELECTROFISHING. TWENTY PERCENT EQUALLED OR EXCEEDED 20.0 INCHES. THE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF THE WALLEYE CATCH IN 1992 WAS SIMILAR TO THAT OF 1959 AND 1980, THOUGH IN 1980 SEVERAL WALLEYE LESS THAN 10.0 INCHES WERE SAMPLED. WALLEYE GROWTH IS NEAR THE AVERAGE GROWTH FOR OTHER LOCAL LAKES IN LAKE CLASS 25. AGE 5 WALLEYE AVERAGED 16.1 INCHES WHEN THEY FORMED THEIR LAST ANNULUS. ALL YEAR CLASSES OF WALLEYE ARE PRESENT, FROM AGES 1 THROUGH 8. PREVIOUS SURVEYS HAVE ALSO CONSISTENTLY SHOWN THE PRESENCE OF WALLEYE AGES 2 THROUGH 7. THESE FISH ARE ALL FROM NATURAL REPRODUCTION OR IMMIGRATION.

APPEARED TO BE SLIGHT BLOOM RECENTLY AS SOME FILAMENTOUS ALGAE CLUMPS WERE WASHED UP ON SHORE.TWO OUT OF TEN YELLOW PERCH EXAMINED HAD LIGHT INFECTION OF YELLOW GRUB. WALLEYE SCALE AGING INDICATES NATURAL REPRODUCTION CONTRIBUTES FOR SOME WALLEYE.GOOD POPULATIONS OF CISCO, NORTHERN PIKE, YELLOW PERCH, AND PANFISH. FAIR WALLEYE POPULATION. BULLHEAD POPULATION NO PROBLEM AT PRESENT.MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS:STOCK WALLEYE FRY AT 1,000 PER SURFACE ACRE EVERY FOURTH YEAR TO SUPPLIMENT NATURAL REPRODUCTION. AT PRESENT, YELLOW PERCH WOULD PROVIDE AMPLE SUPPLY OF FORAGE FOR AN INCREASE OF WALLEYE.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Walleye, Northern Pike, Rock Bass, Largemouth Bass, and Hybrid Sunfish in Hattie. 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 Hattie. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

Hattie has a maximum depth of 30 feet and a mean depth of 18 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Hattie is from 2002. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

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