Long

Long Lake is a shallow, 201-acre basin located approximately two miles south of Brandon. A public access is located off County Road 55 NW. The West Branch of the Chippewa River flows through Long Lake. Shallowness and high productivity make Long Lake vulnerable to partial winterkills. Winterkills can influence fish community composition and fishing experiences. A fisheries survey was completed in summer 2019. An electrofishing survey was completed on May 29 to sample Largemouth Bass. The netting component of the standard survey was completed June 17-20. Five gill nets and nine trap nets were used to sample the fish community. Largemouth Bass proved to be moderately abundant. Average size at capture was 12.5 inches. Fishing quality offered by the bass population can be qualified as "fair". Twelve percent of captures exceeded 15.0 inches. The largest bass capture measured 18.4 inches. Walleye fry are stocked in alternate years to supplement natural reproduction and sustain a fishery. Walleye catches were lower than anticipated from prior surveys, averaging 3.4 fish/gill net. Length of captures ranged from 10.0 to 27.2 inches and averaged 17.1 inches. Most of the gill net catch was comprised of fish less than six years old. Walleye grow rapidly in Long Lake, 59% of captures exceeded 15.0 inches. Northern Pike remain abundant. Length distribution of pike catches ranged from 17.8 to 34.3 inches, with an average length of 24.6 inches. Elevated pike density has likely limited success of Walleye stocking. Anglers are encouraged to take advantage of the liberalized pike harvest in the North-central harvest zone. As a reminder, anglers are able to keep up to 10 pike with no more than two fish longer than 26 inches. All Northern Pike measuring 22 to 26 inches must be released. Panfishing opportunities have improved. Black Crappie are abundant. Trap net catches increased to average 13.9 fish/net with the addition of a strong year class produced in 2013. Crappie caught in trap nets averaged 8.7 inches. The largest fish exceeded 12.0 inches. Many more Bluegill were captured in comparison to past surveys. Bluegill captures averaged 6.9 inches. The largest measured 8.7 inches. Few Yellow Perch were captured. At time of the 2019 survey, all perch captures were too small to stimulate fishing interest and harvest. Though not officially designated as a zebra mussel infested basin, Long Lake is downstream of Stowes Lake, which is an infested basin. Zebra mussels will likely be found in Long Lake in the near future. Anglers are reminded to drain boats and equipment prior to moving between bodies of water to minimize the risk of transferring aquatic invasive species to this or other lakes.

Long Lake is a shallow, turbid lake which has experienced occasional winterkill events. The West Branch of the Chippewa River flows through Long Lake and provides a heavy load of nutrient laden sediments from the predominantly agricultural watershed. Water quality and clarity are poor and the aquatic plant community is limited. Submergent vegetation grows to a depth of only 3.0 feet. Emergent vegetation is sparse. Despite Long Lake's history, no winterkills have been documented in recent years. As such, a more abundant and diverse gamefish community has become established. Survey statistics describe an abundant northern pike population. Mean length of northern pike sampled in Long Lake was 19.4 inches; however, two fish exceeded 37.0 inches. Over two-thirds of northern pike captured were young fish hatched in 2010 and 2011. Barring a winterkill event, these fish should provide quality angling opportunities by 2014. Walleye catches averaged 6.2 fish/gillnet, whcih isll within the range of expected catches for similar lakes. Age distribution of 2012 captures correlates well with the odd-year fry stocking chronology. Walleye grow fast in Long Lake. Older walleyes grew to average 17.8 inches by age 4. Mean size was 17.1 inches and 2.3 pounds. Twenty percent of walleye captured during the 2012 survey exceeded 20.0 inches in length. Key members of the sunfish family include largemouth bass, bluegill and black crappie. All three species' catches increased since the previous survey. Population densities are not excessive and subsequently growth rate and sized distribution are good. Largemouth bass were sampled from Long Lake for the first time. Electrofishing effort yielded 30.0 fish per hour. Their origin is unknown. Unauthorized stocking by private individuals or migration into the lake via the West Branch of the Chippewa River are plausible explanations. Survey statistics describe a well-established, healthy largemouth bass population that should support a quality fishery. Mean length of captures was 13.6 inches. Fifty-two percent of captures exceeded 15.0 inches in length. Bluegill trapnet catches were the highest recorded for Long Lake, but the catch rate remained on the low end of expected catch rates for similar lakes. Eighty-one percent of captures exceeded 8.0 inches and 19% exceeded 10.0 inches in length. The largest fish sampled measured 10.5 inches. Age-3 fish accounted for 50% of captures. Black crappie trapnet catches aaveraged 4.6 fish/net, exceeded previous survey results which ranged from 1.0 to 2.0 fish/trapnet. Size distribution of the 2012 capture sample reflected a rapid rate of growth. Twenty-four percent of sampled fish exceeded 10.0 inches in length. The largest black crappie captured in the 2012 survey was 13.5 inches. Mean length of sampled fish was 10.7 inches. Bigmouth buffalo and freshwater drum were captured for the first time.

Long Lake is a shallow, turbid, and seasonally hypereutrophic lake which experiences occasionalwinterkill events. The West Branch of the Chippewa River flows through Long Lake and provides a heavyload of nutrient laden sediments from the predominately agricultural watershed. Water quality andclarity are poor and the aquatic plant community is limited. Submergent vegetation grows to a depthof only 3.0 feet. Stands of emergent vegetation are limited and sparse. The fish community iscomprised mostly of species tolerant to these adverse environmental conditions. Northern pike are abundant. Gillnet catches averaged 19.4 fish/net which greatly exceeds the normalrange of mean catch rates from similar lakes (1.5 - 7.0 fish/gillnet). Gillnet catches averaged 5.5fish/net in 1991 and 4.0 fish/net in 1986. Mean weight of fish captured in 1996 was 2.2 pounds. Yellow perch catches averaged 4.4 fish/gillnet. Gillnet catches averaged 3.0 and 4.5 fish/gillnet in1991 and 1986, respectively. All of the fish captured in gillnets were between 6.0 and 7.9 inches intotal length. Age-0 yellow perch were common in shoreline seine hauls. One walleye was captured ingillnet sets. It measured 15.9 inches in total length and weighed 1.5 pounds. Six walleye werecaptured in trapnets. Four of the six were between 9.0 and 10.0 inches in total length. These wouldlikely correspond to an initial fry stocking in 1994, however no aging structures were collected. Sunfish populations are limited. One hour of daytime, DC electrofishing did not yield any largemouthbass. Bluegill catches averaged only 0.3 fish/trapnet. However, shoreline seining averaged 7.4 age-0bluegill per haul. Black crappie catches averaged 1.9 fish/trapnet. Black bullhead catches averaged16.6 fish/gillnet and 15.6 fish/trapnet. Mean weight of fish captured was 0.2 pounds in gillnets and0.1 pounds in trapnets.

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

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

Long has a maximum depth of 18 feet and a mean depth of 8.5 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

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

Yes — Long has confirmed zebra mussel. Clean, drain, and dry your equipment to avoid spreading invasives to other waters.