Lime

Lime Lake is a shallow 316-acre lake adjacent to the City of Avoca in Murray County. Due to its shallowness (maximum depth of 5.0 ft.), Lime Lake has been highly vulnerable to winterkill. Historically, Lime Lake has been managed as a Northern Pike and Yellow Perch fishery because of the extensive network of wetlands that were connected upstream of the lake (Big Slough), which provided ideal spawning areas for Northern Pike, and because these species tend to have a higher tolerance of hypoxic conditions during winter. Primary management species include Northern Pike and secondary management species include Yellow Perch. A targeted survey was conducted during the week of May 27, 2025 to monitor fish populations using 11 trap nets. Northern Pike catch rates have averaged 2.1 per trap net since 1987. Prior to 2025, the highest Northern Pike catch rate was 3.1 per trap net in 2007. In 2025, the catch rate of Northern Pike was 6.1 per trap net, greatly exceeding historical catch rates in Lime Lake. Lengths of Northern Pike ranged from 15.3 to 32.8 inches and averaged 22.3 inches (PSD=57, PSD-P=14). Condition of Northern Pike was high (Wr=96), indicating that forage is available. From 2023-2025, DNR has stocked close to 5 Fall fingerlings Northern Pike per acre which is likely a driving reason behind the high catch rate in trap nets. It is possible that the Big Slough/Badger lakes wetland complex could provide additional fish through natural reproduction and emigration as well. Either way we suspect the increase in catch rate is a byproduct of increased recruitment to the population. Historically, brood fish collection has been done by the dam at Big Slough, however this depends on the amount of precipitation there is to maintain flow into Lime Lake. The management goal was met because the catch rate exceeded 1.5 per trap net. The Yellow Perch catch rate increased from 0.2 per trap net in 2019 to 0.8 per trap net in 2025, within the expected range of catch rates for class 43 lakes (0.3 to 3.8 per trap net). Yellow Perch lengths ranged from 7.6 to 12.6 inches and averaged 10.0 inches. The management goal was met. Other species sampled included Bigmouth Buffalo (1.4 per trap net), Black Bullhead (76.2 per trap net), Black Crappie (0.3 per trap net), Bluegill ( 0.4 per trap net), Common Carp (4.5 per trap net), Largemouth Bass ( 0.1 per trap net), Quillback (2.3 per trap net), Tadpole Madtom (0.1 per trap net), Walleye (0.1 per trap net), Yellow Bullhead (N=0.1 per trap net),and White Sucker (1.3 per trap net).

Lime Lake is a shallow 316-acre lake adjacent to the City of Avoca in Murray County. Due to its shallowness (maximum depth of 5.0 ft.), Lime Lake has been highly vulnerable to winterkill. The winter of 2022-2023 proved to be harsh, as dissolved oxygen levels in Lime Lake were less than 0.7 for most of the winter. Historically, Lime Lake has been managed as a Northern Pike and Yellow Perch fishery because of the extensive network of wetlands that were connected upstream of the lake (Big Slough), which provided ideal spawning areas for Northern Pike, and because these species tend to have a higher tolerance of hypoxic conditions during winter. Primary management species include Northern Pike and secondary management species include Yellow Perch. A winterkill check was done on May 15, 2023, using boat electrofishing to determine the extent of the winterkill and the impacts on the fish community of Lime Lake. Lime Lake had seven species of fish present in the 2019 targeted survey. In the 2023 winterkill check, three species were sampled including Bigmouth Buffalo (45.4 per hour), Black Bullhead (5.9 per hour), and Fathead Minnow (493.7 per hour). While several species of dead fish were observed at ice-out, Lime Lake likely suffered a partial winterkill that affected species vulnerable to low dissolved oxygen such as Channel Catfish and crappie. Northern Pike fingerlings (280) were stocked in the fall of 2023 to reestablish a predator base in Lime Lake.

Lime Lake is a shallow 316-acre lake adjacent to the City of Avoca in Murray County. Due to its shallowness (maximum depth of 5.0 ft.), Lime Lake has been highly vulnerable to winterkill. Historically, Lime Lake has been managed as a Northern Pike and Yellow Perch fishery because of the extensive network of wetlands that were connected upstream of the lake (Big Slough), which provided ideal spawning areas for Northern Pike, and because these species tend to have a higher tolerance of hypoxic conditions. Primary management species include Northern Pike and secondary management species include Yellow Perch. A targeted survey was conducted during the week of May 22, 2019 to monitor fish populations using 6 trap nets. Northern Pike catch rates have varied from 0.6 per trap net in 1992 to 3.1 per trap net in 2007 and have averaged 1.5 per trap net since 1987. The 2019 catch rate was 0.8 per trap net, which is within expected catch rates for similar lakes in the Windom management area (0.1 to 0.9 per trap net). Lengths of Northern Pike ranged from 21.8 to 28.4 inches and averaged 23.5 inches. Although trap net catches indicate that the Northern Pike population may be within the expected range for numbers in Lime Lake, it is unknown how effectively trap nets sample Northern Pike in late May because it was post spawn. It is possible that the netting may be underestimating the abundance of pike in Lime Lake. Evidence from brood fish collections in the spring suggests that the Northern Pike population is more abundant than observed in this survey, as 150 to 200 northern pike are collected in 1 to 2 days annually. Lime Lake is within the "southern zone" of the new Northern Pike zone regulations, so the limit is two and they must be 24 inches or longer to be harvested. Northern Pike under 24 inches must be released. One 5.4 inch Yellow Perch was sampled in the survey, triggering stocking of pre-spawn adult Yellow Perch in the spring of 2020. Catch rates of Yellow Perch have ranged from 0.0 per trap net in 2001 to 4.2 per trap net in 1997 and have averaged 1.7 since 1987. Other species sampled included Bigmouth Buffalo (0.8 per trap net), Black Bullhead (12.3 per trap net), Black Crappie (0.3 per trap net), Common Carp (4.7 per trap net), and White Sucker (1.3 per trap net).

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

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

Lime has a maximum depth of 7 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Lime is from 2025.

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