State Line

State Line Lake is a 446 acre shallow lake located near the southern Minnesota border on the north side of the town of State Line in Freeborn County. It is managed cooperatively with DNR Wildlife primarily for duck hunting and secondarily for fishing. The primary management species are Northern Pike and Yellow Perch and the secondary species is Bluegill. The management plan calls for stocking Northern Pike fry, pre-spawn adult Yellow Perch, and adult Bluegill following reclamations or winterkill events. These species are more likely to survive stressful dissolved oxygen levels and should help suppress Black Bullhead and Common Carp numbers. Following a 2014 drawdown and reclamation, these species were stocked at the recommended levels in the spring of 2015. By the summer of 2017 however, water quality had deteriorated, aquatic plants were rare, and there was reason to believe Common Carp and Black Bullhead numbers had reached concerning levels. A targeted survey was conducted on September 12, 2017 to assess the fish community. A targeted survey is generally used for sampling a specific kind of fish or time of year (i.e. spawning season, fall season, etc.) unlike a standard survey which samples a wider range of fish species during the summer months using standard methods (i.e. standard time of year, set sampling stations, taking water clarity readings and oxygen/temperature profiles, etc.) and gears (i.e. lake survey gillnets, trap nets, and spring electrofishing for Largemouth Bass). Results from this targeted survey should not be compared to results from standard surveys. Three trap nets were used to assess the State Line Lake fish community. Water quality parameters were also collected. As suspected, Common Carp and Black Bullhead were the most commonly sampled fish species in the trap net sample. A total of 638 Black Bullhead ranging from 4.5 to 13.2 inches were sampled for a catch rate of 212.7/net and 47 Common Carp with an average length of 15.1 inches were sampled for a catch rate of 15.7/net. All three stocked game fish species were represented in the sample with Northern Pike the most common. A total of 21 Northern Pike ranging from 20.7 to 29.2 inches were sampled for a catch rate of 7.0/net. Yellow Perch and Bluegill were both sampled in low numbers with catch rates of 5.3/net and 2.7/net, respectively. Although Northern Pike fry stocking succeeded in creating a robust, fast growing population, Yellow Perch and Bluegill failed to produce sizable year classes since being stocked in 2015. Additionally, undesirable species had returned to pre-reclamation levels and were responsible for the degraded condition the lake existed in. Another drawdown was prescribed in late 2017 to once again reset the lake and fish community. -Sky Wigen, fisheries specialist

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, and Bluegill in State Line. 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 State Line. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in State Line is from 2017. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

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