East Side

East Side Lake is a small (39.0 acre) lake located in the Town of Austin in Mower County. Residential development has disturbed and altered the majority of East Side Lake's shoreline. In areas with residential development, lawns are typically maintained to the shores edge, which limits the functionality of the riparian buffer. East Side Lake is unique in that it is situated in a part of Minnesota that has very few lakes, and because it provides an urban fishery opportunity for the Town of Austin. A city owned public access is located on the east side of the lake in the City Park. East Side Lake provides ample shoreline angling opportunities because the city park encompasses the entire east side of the lake. Natural reproduction is sufficient to maintain crappie, largemouth bass, and bluegill populations; however, walleye fingerlings and yearlings were stocked in 2011and 2015 to maintain the walleye population. Primary management species in East Side Lake include bluegill and black crappie, and secondary management species include walleye and largemouth bass. An electrofishing survey was conducted on 8-30-18 to monitor fish populations in East Side Lake. A targeted survey was completed the week of August 30, 2018 using 36 minutes of boat electrofishing to assess the current state of the fishery and to guide future management of the Cedar River system. 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. There appears to be a high abundance of bluegills present in East Side Lake. The sizes of the bluegills captured were between 3.5 and 7.5 inches in length. other panfish present in the lake included green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, black crappies and white crappies. There fair number of crappies captred during the survey ranging from 4.7 inches to 9.4 inches. Both largemouth and smallmouth bass are present in East Side like. there appears to be good natual reproduction as many schools of young of the year bass were seen during the survey. Largemouth bass were plentiful and ranged in sizes to 16.7 inches. There were fewer smallmouth bass captured but the largest captured was 17.7 inches. It is very possible that larger fish of both species may be present in the lake. Walleye are stocked in East Side Lake as needed, typically after a winterkill situation. A few larger walleye were captured during the survey. They ranged in size from 18.7 to 22.6 inches in length. Other fish present included common carp, white sucker, quilback, and minnow species. Fisheries personnel did not observe any bullheads or northern pike during this survey.

East Side Lake is a small (39.0 acre) lake located in the Town of Austin in Mower County. Residential development has disturbed and altered the majority of East Side Lake's shoreline. In areas with residential development, lawns are typically maintained to the shores edge, which limits the functionality of the riparian buffer. East Side Lake is unique in that it is situated in a part of Minnesota that has very few lakes, and because it provides an urban fishery opportunity for the Town of Austin. A city owned public access is located on the east side of the lake in the City Park. East Side Lake provides ample shoreline angling opportunities because the city park encompasses the entire east side of the lake. Natural reproduction is sufficient to maintain crappie, largemouth bass, and bluegill populations; however, walleye fingerlings and adults were stocked in 2007 and 2011 to maintain the walleye population. Primary management species in East Side Lake include bluegill and black crappie, and secondary management species include walleye and largemouth bass. A population assessment was conducted on 8-15-2012 to monitor fish populations in East Side Lake using 1 gill net and 6 trap nets. Water quality was poor at East Side Lake during the assessment. The brown/green water was turbid and had a secchi depth of 1.0 feet. The turbid water color was likely caused by algae blooms and runoff events. Dissolved oxygen was good ranging from 21.0 ppm at the surface to 10.5 ppm at 3.0 feet deep. Black crappie catch rates have decreased significantly in the last decade. In 2003, 2007, and 2012, black crappies were captured at rates of 119.5, 72.5, and 17.8/trap net, which are high compared to similar lakes. Black crappie size structure was small with lengths ranging from 2.6 to 8.2 inches and averaging 7.3 inches. White crappies were also present but occurred in lower numbers than black crappie (4.3/trap net) which is about average for similar lakes. White crappies were small with all of them being less than 9.5 inches in length. The 2012 white crappie catch rate was the lowest observed catch rate on East Side Lake. The 2012 bluegill catch rate (2.3/trap net) decreased since the 2007 survey (29.7/trap net), which is low when compared to similar lakes. The size of bluegills was decent with lengths ranging from 5.2 to 7.1 inches and averaging 6.1 inches. The 2012 bluegill catch rate was the lowest ever observed on East Side Lake. Bluegill and crappie catch rates were the lowest that have been documented on East Side Lake and were likely the result of a summer fish kill reported on July 24, 2012. Locals reported thousands of dead black crappies, largemouth bass, bluegills, and minnows. Walleyes are a secondary management species in East Side Lake and are periodically stocked to maintain the existing population. In 2007, walleyes were captured at a rate of 2.0/gill net and increased to 6.0/gill net in 2012 which was relatively high compared to similar lakes. Otolith ages indicated a successful stocking in 2011, as all of the walleyes collected were age-1. The walleyes exhibited good growth ranging in length from 9.5 to 11.7 inches after their first year. White sucker have historically been abundant in East Side Lake and the trend continued as they were caught at a rate of 23.0/gill net and 9.8/trap net. Common carp, golden shiner, largemouth bass, black bullhead, and green sunfish were present but occurred in low numbers.

East Side Lake, an impoundment of Dobbins creek 0.67 river miles upstream of the confluence of the Cedar River, was surveyed to assess the fish community and habitat. East Side Lake posesses marginal fish habitat. It's shoreline is highly developed with frequent occurance of rip-rap, and little or no natural terrestrial or aquatic vegetation. White sucker and crappie were the dominant species sampled in the survey. Some crappie were notably 13 inches. Two walleye were sampled in the 14 inch size range. Walleye fingerlings were stocked in 2006 and 2007, and are proposed in 2008. Further evaluation may be necessary to determine the effectiveness of fingerling stocking in this system. Orangespotted sunfish were notable in the survey and bluegill were observed in good numbers. Other species included bullheads, carp, golden shiners, green sunfish, and largemouth bass.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Black Crappie, Yellow Perch, and Pumpkinseed in East Side. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

East Side has a maximum depth of 10 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in East Side is from 2018. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

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