Freeborn

Six 3/8 inch, single frame trap nets were set on March 31, 2021 to assess the fish community in Freeborn Lake. The nets were lifted on April 1, 2021 and estimated fish counts were collected from the 4 nets that were not collapsed by wind. A subsample of Northern Pike and Yellow Perch were measured from the first trap net to get length frequency data.

Freeborn Lake is a 2,126-acre lake located just south of the town of Freeborn in Freeborn County. A DNR-maintained public access is located within Arrowhead County Park on the east side of the lake off 267th Street. The lake is a shallow, hypereutrophic system with a maximum depth of just 6.7 feet. Poor water clarity and frequent algae blooms are common and caused by high suspended sediments and dissolved nutrients. A new dam structure was installed in 2017 that allowed control of water levels. In cooperation with DNR-Wildlife, the lake was dewatered as much as possible in the fall 2017 with the hopes that it would result in a near complete fish kill overwinter. Although primarily managed for wildlife, the lake has a fisheries management plan that lists Northern Pike and Yellow Perch as primary species and Bluegill as a secondary species. These species grow quickly and should create a fishery while also suppressing nuisance Black Bullhead and Common Carp numbers. The management plan calls for stocking 1,063 pounds of adult Northern Pike and 1,063 to 2,126 pounds of adult pre-spawn Yellow Perch following a winterkill or reclamation event. The lake was not stocked in 2018 due primarily to low water levels and limited access to the lake. A targeted survey was completed by MN DNR-Fisheries on June 5, 2018 to assess the fish community following the winter drawdown. 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 single-frame trap nets were fished for one night and all captured fish were identified and counted with game fish also measured. Just 3 species of fish were sampled with the trap nets. Black Bullheads and Green Sunfish were common with catch rates of 42.0/net and 30.3/net respectively, and Yellow Perch were rare with just 2 individuals measuring 5.7 and 6.2 inches sampled. Although a high number of dead fish were observed around the lake following ice-out, the results from this survey suggest that at least a small portion of the fish community survived the drawdown and winterkill event. Ideally no, or few, Black Bullheads would be detected after the drawdown but complete eradication is nearly impossible. The absence of Common Carp in our survey is encouraging however and should allow the vegetation to reestablish as hoped.

Introduction Freeborn Lake is a 2,126 acre lake located in Freeborn County south of the town of Freeborn. A public access is located off 665th Avenue at Arrowhead Point County Park. Freeborn Lake is a large, very shallow lake with a maximum depth of 6.7 feet and an average depth of only 2.3 feet. The fish population is managed primarily for yellow perch and secondarily for northern pike. However, winterkills occur frequently and game fish populations are often at low abundances. A partial winterkill occurred in the winter of 2014, which greatly depleted the fish community. A contingency stocking plan calling for 200 pounds of adult yellow perch and 200 adult northern pike takes place after winterkill events. Freeborn Lake was surveyed the week of June 23, 2014 as part of a regular monitoring program conducted by Minnesota DNR. This survey was intended to assess the fish community by deploying gill nets and trap nets, as well as recording water quality parameters. Black Bullhead Black bullhead was the most abundant fish species in the 2014 survey. Gill nets yielded 13.3 fish/net and trap nets collected 21.3 fish/net. These catch rates were just a fraction of the rates observed in a 2004 survey (163.8 fish/gill net; 245.8 fish/trap net), which is likely the result of a winterkill during the harsh winter of 2014. Black bullhead lengths from both gear types ranged from 4.3 to 10.5 inches and averaged 7.1 inches, indicating that the population is comprised of many small individuals. Black bullhead, especially young fish, are able to survive in low oxygen environments and are often all that remains in the lake after a winterkill occurrence. Yellow Perch Yellow perch were collected in gill nets at a rate of 8.1 fish/net. This catch rate is significantly lower than the survey conducted in 2004 (76.8 fish/gill net), which is likely due to a winterkill in 2014. The lengths of yellow perch in gill nets ranged from 4.6 to 6.3 inches and averaged 5.6 inches, indicating that the remnant population after the 2014 winterkill was comprised of small individuals. Considering the relatively low abundance of fish in Freeborn Lake after the winterkill, yellow perch have more food resources available and have the potential to grow fast if they do not succumb to winterkill again in the next few years. Adult yellow perch (N = 3,675) were stocked in 2014 after the winterkill event at a rate of 21 fish per pound. Other Species Other fish species collected in low abundance were walleye (N = 1), green sunfish (N = 3), bluegill (N = 1), common carp (N = 21), and white sucker (N = 1).

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

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

Freeborn has a maximum depth of 6.7 feet and a mean depth of 2.3 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

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

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