Bagley

Bagley Lake is a 97-acre lake with a maximum depth of 39 feet located 10 miles north of the town of Leonard in Clearwater County. There is a County-owned public access with an earthen ramp and parking for 3 to 4 trucks/trailers located on the north shore of the lake. Bagley Lake has had a history of winter-kills although none have been observed or reported since the early 1990s. The lake is managed primarily for Black Crappie and Northern Pike. Aquatic plants are abundant in the lake. The 2019 lake survey found good oxygen levels for fish down to a depth of 14 feet in mid-June. Black Crappie and Northern Pike were the two most numerous species captured in the 2019 survey. The Black Crappie gill net catch rate of more than 10 fish per net was well above the range typically found in similar lakes. While abundant, Black Crappie captured in the survey had a small average size, with no fish larger than 10 inches in length captured. The Northern Pike gill net catch rate of 13 fish per net was just above the range found in similar lakes. Northern Pike captured had an average size of 19.2 inches in length and 1.7 lbs/fish. The largest pike captured in the survey measured just over 28 inches in length. Other species of fish captured in the 2019 survey were Yellow Perch, Brown Bullhead, White Sucker and Pumpkinseed Sunfish.

Bagley Lake is seven miles north of Leonard in northeastern Clearwater County, and one mile east of County Road 14 in Clover Township. It is a 94-acre lake with a maximum depth of 39 feet. There is a county-owned public access site with an earthen boat ramp at the northwest corner of the lake. The lakeshore has very little residential development, and the surrounding area is a mixture of forest and agricultural lands. Bagley Lake is primarily managed for black crappie and northern pike and secondarily for sunfish and largemouth bass. No stocking of any species has occurred since 1993. Partial winterkill events have occurred over the years with kills reported in the 1950s, 1962, and 1991. These kills influenced fish community composition by favoring tolerant species such as northern pike and yellow perch over less tolerant species such as largemouth bass and black crappie. In 2009, The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency reported a harmful summer algae bloom on Bagley Lake. The primary predator species in this lake is northern pike. In the 2009 population assessment, northern pike abundance was very high, and had increased substantially over the previous five years. In spite of this change, northern pike "quality" indicators such as average length also improved slightly, and growth rates remained good (typically, as northern pike densities increase, the rate of growth and, as a result, average fish size, decrease). The average Bagley Lake northern pike is about 20 inches long, and it reaches that size sometime during its fourth growing season. It appears that the black crappie population of Bagley Lake has responded well to an extended period without a winterkill event. In 2009, crappie were abundant; they ranged in length from 5 to 11 inches and were represented by four different year classes. The 2005 year class comprised 89% of the aged sample. Pumpkinseed sunfish were also fairly abundant. Pumpkinseed up to 9 inches in length were captured, although the typical fish was closer to 7 inches long. Bluegill are not known to inhabit Bagley Lake. There has been a downward trend in yellow perch abundance in Bagley Lake from 1978 to the present. In 2004, 83% of yellow perch in the sample were greater than nine inches total length, while in 2009, no perch were captured that were greater than nine inches long. In 2009, only two largemouth bass were captured. Specialized sampling such as night electrofishing would need to be employed to obtain a more representative sample of this species.

Bagley Lake is a 94-acre lake with a maximum depth of 39 feet. The lake is located six miles north of the town of Leonard in northeastern Clearwater County. There is a county public access in the northwest corner of the lake one mile west of county road 4 in Clover Township. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different lake classes based on physical and chemical characteristics. Bagley Lake is in lake class 29. Other area lakes in the same lake class include Delwater, Jackson, Lost, Meadow, Medicine, Sandy, Silver and Windigo Lakes. Typically lakes in this class have high amounts of area less than 15 feet deep and have regular shaped shoreline. The DNR manages the lake for northern pike, black crappie and largemouth bass. Small lake size makes this a desirable fishing destination for windy days.Winterkills (fish die-offs) have occurred occasionally over the years with reports in the 1950s, 1962 and 1991. These appeared to have been partial kills. This has influenced fish community composition favoring the species tolerant of low oxygen conditions such as northern pike and yellow perch over less tolerant species such as walleye, largemouth bass and black crappie. Following winterkills, DNR personnel will restock species suitable for this lake class.The main predator fish in Bagley Lake is northern pike. They are numerous but small with an average length of 19 inches. There were pike more than 35 inches sampled.In 2004 walleye abundance was the highest ever recorded on Bagley Lake. Walleye ranged in length from 12 to 23 inches with an average length of 15 inches. Most of the walleye were from the 1998 (age 6) and 2002 (age 2) year classes. Since no stocking has occurred since 1993, all of these fish were from natural reproduction.The most abundant panfish sampled in 2004 was pumpkinseed sunfish. These fish ranged in length from 3.7 to 8.2 inches in length. Other panfish sampled include black crappie and yellow perch. No bluegill has been sampled in any assessment conducted on Bagley Lake. Perch numbers were down from the 1993 assessment but were of a size that would interest anglers. Perch ranged in length from 5.7 to 11.5 inches with an average length of 9.8 inches.Other fish sampled include white sucker, brown bullhead and largemouth bass.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Northern Pike, Walleye, Bluegill, Black Crappie, and Yellow Perch in Bagley. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Bagley has a maximum depth of 39 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Bagley is from 2019.

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