Bella

Bella Lake is a 182-acre reservoir located 8 miles south of the City of Worthington, in Nobles County. On a year with average water level fluctuations, the lake has a maximum depth of 14 ft. Bella Lake serves as an aquifer replenishment reservoir for Worthington municipal water supplies, and thus has substantial water level fluctuations (up to 5 ft.). Due to these water level fluctuations, shoreline erosion is prevalent around Bella Lake. Bella Lake is managed primarily for White Crappie and secondarily for Yellow Perch, Walleye and Northern Pike. The winter of 2022-2023 proved to be harsh on many area lakes, resulting in low dissolved oxygen levels and subsequent fish kills. While dissolved oxygen was not measured on Bella Lake, reports of dead fish were received at ice out, thus a winterkill check was done on May 15, 2023, using boat electrofishing to gauge the extent of the winterkill. The previous standard survey done on Bella Lake in 2017 documented 12 species of fish present in the lake. The electrofishing survey done in 2023 captured two species of fish, Bigmouth Buffalo (82.9 per hour) and Fathead Minnow (2857.1 per hour). The lack of other species being captured suggests that Bella Lake had a significant partial winterkill. It is possible that other species weren't sampled with electrofishing, but regardless a winterkill occurred. Bella Lake was stocked with 180,000 Walleye fry in the spring of 2023 to try to establish a top-level predator in that system.

Bella Lake is a 182-acre reservoir located 8 miles south of the City of Worthington, in Nobles County. On a year with average water level fluctuations, the lake has a maximum depth of 14 ft. Bella Lake serves as an aquifer replenishment reservoir for Worthington municipal water supplies, and thus has substantial water level fluctuations (up to 5 ft.). Due to these water level fluctuations, shoreline erosion is prevalent around Bella Lake. Bella Lake is managed primarily for White Crappie and secondarily for Yellow Perch, Walleye and Northern Pike. A survey was conducted the week of June 19, 2017 to monitor fish populations using three gill nets and nine trap nets. The White Crappie catch rate was 3.1 per trap net in 2017 which is within the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (0.3 to 6.0 per trap net). Lengths of White Crappies ranged from 8.8 to 12.5 inches and averaged 10.2 inches. The trap net catch rate of Black Crappie was 5.3 per net, with lengths ranging from 5.0 to 10.4 inches. While not abundant, some keeper sized crappie are available in Bella Lake. Yellow Perch were captured at a rate of 0.3 per gill net in 2017, which is below expected catch rates for similar lakes (2.7 to 25.0 per gill net). Presently Bella Lake does not have a fishable perch population. Walleye were captured at a rate of 3.7 per gill net, which is within the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (2.3 to 18.1 per gill net). Walleye have historically occurred in low abundance in Bella Lake, as catch rates have never exceeded 7.0 per gill net. Lengths of Walleye ranged from 8.3 to 24.1 inches and averaged 13.8 inches. Five year classes were sampled (age-1 to age-5), with age-1 Walleye accounting for 50 percent of aged fish. While not highly abundant, Bella Lake has a fishable population of Walleye, with nice sized fish available. The Northern Pike catch rate was 1.3 per gill net, which is the highest observed catch rate on Bella Lake, and is within the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (1.1 to 8.0 per gill net). Lengths ranged from 12.5 to 32.9 inches and averaged 18.0 inches. Pike fishing should be good in a couple of years when pike grow to larger sizes. Beginning on the 2018 fishing opener, the Northern Pike daily limit changes to 2, and all Northern Pike less than 24 inches need to be released. The Channel Catfish catch rate was 8.3 per gill net, which is the highest observed catch rate on Bella Lake. Catfish lengths ranged from 7.7 to 22.5 inches and averaged 10.4 inches. This population is sustained through natural reproduction as stocking of Channel Catfish hasn't occurred. Other species sampled included Bigmouth Buffalo, Black Bullhead, Bluegill, Common Carp, Freshwater Drum, and Yellow Bullhead.

Bella Lake is a reservoir located in southern Nobles County. During an average year, the Lake has a surface area of 182 acres and a maximum depth of 14 feet; however, the lake serves as an aquifer replenishment reservoir for municipal water supplies and fluctuates substantially. In 2002 a new management plan was developed to include white crappie as primary management species, and northern pike, walleye, and yellow perch as species of secondary management. Bella Lake is primarily managed for white crappie and supports a good population when compared to other similar lakes. Lengths of white crappie were 3.7 to 10.5 inches with a mean of 8.9 inches. While the numbers are extremely high, there are good numbers of respectable sized fish that can be caught. Of the 65 white crappies sampled, 62% of those fish were in the 9 to 10.5 inch range. The northern pike gill net catch of 1.0 per net was in the lower range for lakes similar to Bella. Lengths of northern pike were 18.4 to 21.9 inches with a mean of 19.7 inches. There was a total of 8 northern pike sampled in this assessment, compared to 1 in 2000. Bella has potential to have a naturally self-sustaining population with the upstream channels and wetlands that connect it to Lake Ocheda. Starting in 2012 we will be stocking 3600 northern pike fingerlings every 3 years in an effort to improve numbers and provide an additional predator on small common carp. The walleye gill net catch of 4.3 per gill net is in the middle of the road, so-to-speak, for lakes similar to Bella. Lengths of walleye were 6.5 to 17.8 inches with a mean of 12.2 inches. Although the average length is 12.2, 44% of the walleye sampled were 14.0 to 18.1 inches. That being said, the potential is there to catch good "eaters". The yellow perch gill net catch of 5.0 per net was in the lower range for lakes similar to Bella. Lengths of yellow perch were 5.4 to 8.6 inches with a mean of 6.2 inches. The overall size of yellow perch in Bella are small. This may be due in part to the large black bullhead population, and competition for forage. The black bullhead gillnet catch of 112.0 per net is well within the upper threshold for lakes similar to Bella. Lengths of black bullhead were 3.8 to 10.2 inches with a mean of 7.0 inches. The yellow bullhead trap net catch of 2.4 per net is also in the upper threshold for lakes similar to Bella. If you are looking for a peaceful wind protected place to catch some nice spring time bullheads, Bella would be a good option. Other species sample in the 2011 assessment included; black crappie, pumpkinseed, bigmouth buffalo, common carp, freshwater drum, and white sucker. Prepared by Luke Rossow

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Channel Catfish, White Crappie, Walleye, Northern Pike, and Pumpkinseed in Bella. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Bella has a maximum depth of 14 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Bella is from 2017. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

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