Medicine

Medicine Lake is a 924-acre lake surrounded by the cities of Plymouth and Medicine Lake. Clifton E. French Regional Park (a Three Rivers Parks District property) borders the northwest portion of the lake and provides the only public boat launch during the open-water season; a fee is charged for parking boat trailer-vehicle combinations. Harty's Boatworks, located on the east side of the lake, rents boats and provides drive-on wintertime access. Two Plymouth city parks provide year-round shore-based access. Medicine has a maximum depth of 49 feet, and supports populations of Northern Pike, Walleye, Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, and Black Crappie. In 2021, a special regulation went into effect, limiting the harvest of Bluegill and Black Crappie to 5 fish per day of each species. In 2023, a Standard Survey was conducted. Northern Pike are highly abundant in Medicine, and plenty of harvest opportunity exists. Thirty-eight percent of the 126 pike sampled were smaller than 22 inches, and 35% of the sample exceeded 26 inches. The largest fish measured 36.0 inches. With the presence of smaller fish, and a good chance of catching a few larger fish, Medicine Lake would be an ideal spot for the harvest oriented angler. Walleye are also present in the lake, and fish size ranged between 13 and 26 inches in 2023. The average size of Walleye in Medicine Lake was 19.2 inches and 2.65 pounds. Walleye were last stocked in Medicine Lake in 2019. Largemouth Bass sampling was not conducted in 2020, however, the lake supports a bass population, and continues to be a popular destination for bass anglers. When bass sampling was last conducted, in 2014, fish ages 1 through 10 years old were caught, which shows that the fish are successfully reproducing each year. Medicine Lake supports a strong population of Bluegill. Although not highly abundant, the fish attain quality sizes in the lake. In 2023, the largest Bluegill sampled was 9.0 inches long. Because the lake can support large Bluegill, a special regulation was implemented with the aim of protecting those fish so that they remain in the population and have the opportunity to grow large. By harvesting a limit of 5 Bluegill per day instead of 20, anglers will give the fish a chance to persist, and the large ones won't be cropped off as quickly as they usually are. In time, we hope that a greater proportion of the fish in the population will attain a large size. Black Crappie are abundant in the lake, and of modest size. We hope that with the special regulation of a 5 bag limit, size of these fish will improve as well. Although not the most popular game fish, the Yellow Bullhead in Medicine Lake are both abundant and of quality size. The average size Yellow Bullhead was 11.4 inches and 0.8 pound. Thirty-five percent of the sample exceeded 12 inches, and the largest fish was 14.2 inches long. If you are in the metro and a fan of catching these fish, Medicine Lake should be on your list of lakes to try. Other species caught in low abundances included Black Bullhead, Brown Bullhead, Bowfin, Hybrid Sunfish, Golden Shiner, Green Sunfish, and Pumpkinseed.

A targeted survey of the nearshore fish community in Medicine Lake was conducted by Fisheries Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) Program Staff starting September 1, 2020. Fourteen sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 15-foot or 50-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at all 14 sites with one site sampled from the boat. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample seven sites, a 15-foot seine was used at four sites, and soft sediments with abundant vegetation, dense woody habitat in the water, and deep water prevented the use of seines at three sampling sites. Nearshore sampling captured 15 native species of fish including three species that are intolerant of disturbance (Banded Killifish, Iowa Darter, and Least Darter) and one species that is tolerant of disturbance (Green Sunfish). Data from this targeted nearshore survey is combined with trap net and gill net data from a July 2020 standard survey to describe the fish community and provide a Fish-based Index of Biological Integrity (FIBI) score. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. The FIBI score for Medicine Lake from this survey is below an impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. Data from this survey will contribute biological information about the health of the fish community to the Mississippi River - Twin Cities Watershed assessment of surface waters process completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency.

Medicine Lake is a 924-acre lake surrounded by the cities of Plymouth and Medicine Lake. Clifton E. French Regional Park (a Three Rivers Parks District property) borders the northwest portion of the lake and provides the only public boat launch during the open-water season; a fee is charged for parking boat trailer-vehicle combinations. Harty's Boatworks, located on the east side of the lake, rents boats and provides drive-on wintertime access. Two Plymouth city parks provide year-round shore-based access. Medicine has a maximum depth of 49 feet, and supports robust populations of Northern Pike, Walleye, Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, and Black Crappie. In 2021, a special regulation will go into effect, limiting the harvest of Bluegill and Black Crappie to 5 fish per day of each species. In 2020, a Standard Survey was conducted. Northern Pike are highly abundant in Medicine, and plenty of harvest opportunity exists. Forty-four percent of the 255 pike sampled were smaller than 22 inches, and 22% of the sample exceeded 26 inches. The largest fish measured 33.5 inches. With lots of smaller fish, and a good chance of catching a few larger fish, Medicine Lake would be an ideal spot for the harvest oriented angler. Good numbers of Walleye are also present, and fish size ranged between 10 and 28 inches. The average size of Walleye in Medicine Lake was 17.8 inches and 2.35 pounds. The Walleye stockings in 2015 and 2017 were particularly successful. Walleye were stocked in 2019, and those fish should appear in the sampling gear and reach harvestable size within a few years. Largemouth Bass sampling was not conducted in 2020, however, the lake supports a strong bass population, and continues to be a popular destination for bass anglers. Medicine Lake supports a strong population of Bluegill. Although not highly abundant, the fish attain quality sizes in the lake. In 2020, the largest Bluegill sampled was 9.2 inches long. A good proportion of the fish, particularly the ones sampled off shore in the gill nets, are larger than 7 inches. Because the lake supports large Bluegill, a special regulation will be implemented in 2021 with the aim of protecting those fish so that they remain in the population and have the opportunity to grow large. By harvesting a limit of 5 Bluegill per day instead of 20, anglers will give the fish a chance to persist and the large ones won't be cropped off as quickly as they usually are. In time, we hope that a greater proportion of the fish in the population will attain a large size. Black Crappie are abundant in the lake, and of modest size. We hope that with the special regulation of a 5 bag limit, size of these fish will improve as well. Although not the most popular game fish, the Yellow Bullhead in Medicine Lake are both abundant and of quality size. The average size Yellow Bullhead was 11.8 inches and 0.9 pound. More than half of the sample exceeded 12 inches, and the largest fish was 14.4 inches long. If you are in the metro and a fan of catching these fish, Medicine Lake should be on your list of lakes to try. Other species caught in low abundances included Brown Bullhead, Black Bullhead, Bowfin, Common Carp, Hybrid Sunfish, Green Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, Yellow Perch, and White Sucker.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, White Crappie, and Hybrid Sunfish in Medicine. 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 Medicine. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

Medicine has a maximum depth of 49 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Medicine is from 2023.

Yes — Medicine has confirmed Eurasian watermilfoil, starry stonewort, and zebra mussel. Clean, drain, and dry your equipment to avoid spreading invasives to other waters.