Sunrise

Sunrise is a shallow, 742 acre lake located 3 miles north of Lindstrom, MN. The lake's turbidity and fertility is high while lakeshore development and fishing pressure is light. The maximum depth is 21 feet but only 4% of the lake exceeds 15 feet. Purchase and development of a public access is a management priority. A private access with a fee is available on the east side of the lake. Ample angling opportunities are available on the lake. Northern pike and largemouth bass abundance has decreased since the 2003 assessment, but with a subsequent increase in size. Bass quality is high averaging 13.8 inches and 1.5 pounds. The northern size is also impressive. The twenty seven northern pike sampled averaged 27.8 inches with one individual exceeding 40 inches. Black crappie and bluegill remain very abundant. Crappie size has improved in recent years. The current assessment found 40% of the fish 8 inches or longer. Bluegill would be considered small by most anglers with a 6 inch average and relatively few fish over 7 inches.

Sunrise is a shallow, 742 acre lake located 3 miles north of Lindstrom, MN. The lakes turbidity and fertility is high while lake shore developement and fishing pressure is light. The maximum depth is 21 feet but only 4% of the lake exceeds 15 feet. Purchase and developement of a public access is a management priority. A private access with a $5 fee is available on the east side of the lake. Ample angling opportunities are available on the lake. Northern pike and largemouth bass abundance has increased since the 1998 assessment. Bass quality is high averaging 12.1 inches and 1 pound. The northern size has decreased on average but fish exceeding 30 inches are still available. Black crappie and bluegill remain very abundant. Crappie size has improved in recent years with the bulk of the fish between 7.5 and 9 inches. Bluegill would be considered small by most anglers with a 5 inch average and few fish over 7 inches. Fall shoreline seining found reproduction of bass, bluegill, and yellow perch.Ageing data found a relatively young fishery. The majority of northerns and crappies sampled were 3 and 4 year olds. The bass catch was dominated by the 1999 year class while 73% of the bluegill were 2 and 3 year olds.

Sunrise Lake, which is located in Chisago County, is managed for largemouth bass, black crappie and bluegill sunfish primarily and secondly for northern pike. The 742 acre lake has been assigned to lake class 41 based on seven different parameters.Historical records indicate that fish stocking, which took place sporadically from 1908 to 1952, included such species as northern pike, brown trout, crappie, bass and sunfish.During the week of August 17, 1998, a fish population assessment was conducted to evaluate the present status of the fish population. Sampling methods utilized included spring night electrofishing, six gill nets, ten trap nets, and five shoreline seine hauls.Spring electrofishing was conducted on May 25, 1998 to evaluate the largemouth bass population. Three stations sampled shoal water areas that were suitable for spawning largemouth. A catch rate of 53.3 fish/hour (on-time) was calculated. Currently, catch rate averages for this gear type by lake class have not been formally developed, so comparisons were not made. However, this catch rate appears to be moderately high. The 1998 electrofishing catch rate remains fairly consistent with the 1993 rate of 47.7 fish/hour (on-time). Largemouth bass lengths sampled during electrofishing ranged from 5.5 to 16.1 inches with an average length of 8.9 inches. Sunrise Lake largemouth bass growth was typical of normal when compared to statewide averages.Black crappie abundance was found to be above average for this type of lake while the average weight, at 0.2 pounds, was within a normal range. Crappie lengths extended from 3.9 to 9.3 inches with an average length of 7.7 inches.For lakes of this type, bluegill sunfish numbers were well above normal while the average weight was within a normal range. Bluegill lengths ranged from 3.5 to 8.0 inches with an average length of 6.0 inches.The abundance of northern pike was found to be normal, while the average weight, at 3.7 pounds, was above normal for this type of lake. Measured northern pike ranged from 19.0 to 34.0 inches in length with an average length of 25.4 inches. Growth was determined to be within a normal range when compared to statewide averages.Numbers of yellow perch sampled along with the average weight were typical of normal for lakes of this type. Yellow perch lengths extended from 5.8 to 14.0 inches with an average length of 7.2 inches.Five shoreline seine hauls were conducted to evaluate natural reproduction success. Bluegill sunfish showed very successful reproduction while largemouth bass and yellow perch showed some reproductive success.In addition, the fish species composition in Sunrise Lake also included black, brown, and yellow bullhead, golden shiner, common carp, green sunfish, pumpkinseed sunfish, and hybrid sunfish. For this type of lake, black bullhead and common carp were below normal in numbers, brown bullhead, green sunfish and pumpkinseed sunfish abundance were found within a normal range, and yellow bullhead along with golden shiner were above normal in numbers.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye, Black Crappie, and Bluegill in Sunrise. 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 Sunrise. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

Sunrise has a maximum depth of 21 feet and a mean depth of 4 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Sunrise is from 2008. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

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