Perch

Perch Lake is a 270 acre lake located inside the city limits of Baxter in Crow Wing County. A DNR owned public access is located on the south end of the lake. Perch reaches a depth of 40 feet, with 61% being 15 feet deep or less. Large beds of bulrush and water lilies surround the lakeshore. Protection of aquatic vegetation, especially emergent vegetation, is important for maintaining good water quality. Aquatic vegetation is critical for fish spawning areas as well as providing habitat for fish and other aquatic life. Although Walleye fry are stocked annually (165,000/year), not much of a Walleye fishery exists. Only two Walleyes were captured in the 2021 survey, with past catches have ranged from 0.7/gill net (2009) to a high of 4.7/gill net (1997). Largemouth Bass were sampled by a spring electrofishing survey and captured at a rate of 43.8/hour. Average length was 12.1" with 54% measuring at least 12" in length, and 20% measuring at least 15". Largemouth bass up to 18.1" were sampled. Northern Pike numbers were high for this type of lake at 12.3/gill net. While average size was small at 19.4", fish up to 34.8" were captured. With only 11% of the fish in the protected slot and only 9% above it, there is ample opportunity to harvest your 10 Northern Pike under 22" on Perch Lake. A new regulation was implemented on Perch Lake in 2021 reducing the daily possession of sunfish and crappie to five. Both Bluegill (16.4/trap net) and Black Crappie (1.4/trap net) were caught in average numbers for this type of lake. Both species were fast growing and had plenty of fish that were of harvestable size. Average size of Bluegill was 6.5", with 32% measuring at least 7" in length. Average size of Black Crappie was 8.9", with 69% measuring at least 8". No invasive species have been discovered in Perch Lake, but they are located in the local area. Before and after launching lake users are required to inspect and remove any aquatic plants and animals from their watercraft and trailers as well as pull the plug and drain all water from the watercraft, including bilges, livewells and baitwells.

Perch Lake is a 270 acre lake located in the city of Baxter in Crow Wing County. Perch has a maximum depth of 40'. A nearshore survey was conducted to assess the populations of both game and non-game fish species. Ten 100' long sampling stations were evenly spaced around the lakeshore. Each station was then sampled by backpack electrofishing, and if conditions allowed with a 15' or 50' 1/8th inch seine. In this survey all ten station were sampled by backpack electrofishing. The 50' 1/8th inch seine was used at one station, and the 15' 1/8th inch seine was used at four additional stations. Five stations had heavy vegetation and/or soft sediments which did not allow for seining. 14 species were sampled including Johnny Darter, Iowa Darter, banded killifish and blackchin shiner. This nearshore survey will be used along with the gillnet and trapnet survey on 10-12 June 2015, to calculate an Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) score. This score will be an indicator of the health of Perch Lake.

Perch Lake is a 270 acre lake located inside the city limits of Baxter in Crow Wing County. A DNR owned public access is located on the south end of the lake. Perch reaches a depth of 40 feet, with 61% being 15 feet deep or less. Water clarity is good with a secchi disk reading of 14 feet. Large beds of bulrush and water lilies surround the lakeshore. Protection of aquatic vegetation, especially emergent vegetation, is important for maintaining good water quality. Aquatic vegetation is critical for fish spawning areas as well as providing habitat for fish and other aquatic life. Although walleye fry are stocked annually (165,000/year) no walleyes were captured in this survey. Past catches have ranged from 0.7/gillnet (2009) to a high of 4.7/gillnet (1997). The northern pike gillnet catch of 5.8/gillnet was average compared to similar lakes, and the lowest catch to date. Average size was 18.1" and 1.8 lbs. Northern pike up to 33.7" were captured, with 21% measuring at least 24" in length. Voluntary catch and release of these large pike will help build a balanced population. Largemouth bass were sampled by a spring electrofishing survey. Largemouth were captured at a rate of 89.4/hr of run time. Average length was 12.3" with 47% measuring at least 12" in length, and 17% measuring at least 15". Largemouth bass up to 20.9" were sampled. Bluegills were captured in trapnets in average numbers at 23.0/net. Average length was 6.8", with 47% at least 7" in length. Black crappies were caught in low numbers in both gillnets (0.3/net) and trapnets (0.4/net). For both gears combined all crappies were at least 8" in length. No invasive species have been discovered in Perch Lake, but they are located in thelocal area. Before and after launching lake users are required to inspect and remove any aquatic plants and animals from their watercraft and trailers as well as pull the plug and drain all water from the watercraft, including bilges, livewells and baitwells.

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

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

Perch has a maximum depth of 40 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Perch is from 2021.

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