Brush

Brush Lake is located southwest of Park Rapids on the Hubbard and Becker County line. Brush Lake is a shallow lake, with a surface area of 88 acres and a maximum depth of 17.0 feet. Due to its shallow depth, Brush Lake is susceptible to an occasional winterkill. Very little fisheries information has been gathered on Brush Lake. An initial survey in 1963 and the 2005 survey are the only fisheries information on file. The initial survey reported that a winterkill occurred during the winter of 1961-62. There is no public access on the lake. Brush Lake provides fishing opportunities for northern pike, largemouth bass, and panfish.The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Brush Lake is in lake class 37. Other area lakes in this same classification include: Claussens, Crow Wing, Deadhorse, Giles, Goose, Hay, Nelson, Round, Shinker, and Sweitzer.Northern pike abundance (5.0 pike/gillnet) was within the range "typical" for this lake class. Northern pike were not sampled in the 1963 survey. Northern pike up to 36.6 inches were sampled. Northern pike growth rates were slow when compared to other area lakes. Brush Lake has good water quality, bottom substrate, and aquatic vegetation that help to support a healthy largemouth bass and panfish population. Anglers will find good numbers bass in the 12 to 16 inch size range. Black crappie were sampled in good numbers, with gillnet and trapnet catch rates within the range "typical" for this lake class. Black crappie tended to run small in size, however, 9-10 inch crappie were sampled. Moderate numbers of pumpkinseed are also present, however, fish are small in size with few fish of an acceptable size for angling. Bluegill have not been sampled in Brush Lake. Anglers looking to pursue bullhead will find good numbers of 11 to 12 inch brown bullhead in the lake.

Brush Lake is located three miles south and five miles west of Park Rapids in Hubbard and Becker Counties. This lake has a total area of 87.5 acres with a maximum depth of 17 feet.The lake's immediate watershed consists of 80% forest area, 10% marsh and 10% grazed agricultural land. The soils along this lake are sandy with some rock. At the time of this survey one cabin with two boats was reported.Brush Lake is a moderately soft water lake with a total alkalinity reading of 32.5 p.p.m. About 1% of the present lake surface is covered by standing emergent vegetation.According to local reports coupled with the survey length-frequency distributions, the panfish in this lake are too small to be fished for at the present time. The lake is known to have winterkilled periodically in past years.Fish StockingStocking a small number of northern pike adults could re-establish this species and provide some additional fishing.Notes by Watershed BiologistThe frequency of pst winterkills should be checked before any fish stocking is considered. Bluegills would be preferable to pumpkinseeds, since bluegills usually grow larger. The present panfish population may consist primarily of young fish, since the lake is known to have winterkilled in 1961-62.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Black Crappie, Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and Pumpkinseed in Brush. 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 Brush. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

Brush has a maximum depth of 17 feet and a mean depth of 8 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Brush is from 2005. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

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