Cascade Ponds

Cascade Lake is a 92-acre former gravel pit with a maximum depth of 35 feet located in Rochester, Minnesota. Cascade Lake is entirely within a city park. Natural buffers with an average width of 20 feet encompass 95 percent of the shoreline. There are three fishing platforms on the Northwest side of the Lake and a fishing pier was recently installed on the southern shore. A swimming beach and playground is on the Southeast Corner of the Lake. An initial survey was completed summer of 2022. Components included bathymetric mapping, temperature and oxygen profile, electrofishing, gillnetting, trap-netting, seining, and a vegetation survey. As a former gravel quarry, Cascade Lake is likely limited in nutrients which results in clear water, however it becomes anoxic at 24 feet and had a water temperature ranging from 77°F on the surface to 46.9°F near the bottom at 35 feet. The vegetation survey was conducted as a point intercept survey. There were 259 points sampled and the maximum depth of vegetation was 14 feet. Eighty-nine points in the survey had at least one species of vegetation. The dominant vegetation type was a species of narrow-leaf pondweed found at 23.9% of the survey points. The second most dominant was coontail at 20.1% of the sites. Chara was third in 16.6% of the sites. Other submergent species sampled was bushy pondweed, river pondweed, water celery, and filamentous algae. Emergent vegetation was limited to cattails, softstem bullrush, and willows. The most common substrate type was silt at 45.2% of sites, followed by sand at 43.3% of the sites. Gravel occurred mainly near the shore and occurred at 10.6% of the sites. Rubble was found at one location. Electrofishing was conducted on June 1, 2022, to evaluate the Largemouth Bass population. Total run time was 52 minutes. One hundred and one Largemouth Bass were sampled for a total catch rate of 116.5/hour. Lengths ranged from 5 inches to just short of 21 inches. Mean length was 10.9 inches, and the mode around 12 inches. Other species sampled, but not targeted were Black Crappie, Bluegill, Common Carp, River Carpsucker, and White Suckers. Seining was conducted on June 29th, 2022 to identify nearshore fish communities. Fish species caught were Blacknose Shiners, juvenile Bluegill, and young-of-year carpsuckers, Largemouth Bass, and White Suckers. These nearshore fish are important prey items for larger fish. A total of three gill nets were set to assess the offshore fish community. The nets were set and lifted approximately 24 hours later on Cascade Lake. The first net was set on June 16, followed by June 21 and 22. The most common species captured in the gill nets were White Suckers (8.7/gill net) that ranged in length from 12.5 to 18.4 inches and a mean length of 16.5 inches. The gamefish with the highest catch rate was Bluegill at 8.3/gill net. Bluegill length in the gill nets ranged in length from 4.8 inches to 7.5 inches. White Crappies were the second most caught gamefish at 7.3/gill net. White Crappies ranged in length from 6.9 inches to 9.3 inches, with a mean length of 8.7 inches. Twelve Black Crappies (4.0/gill net) were sampled with a length range of 4.8 to 6.6 inches. Four Yellow Perch were sampled and ranged from 6.0 to 9.7 inches. Largemouth Bass (N=4) were the only other gamefish species sampled in the gill nets and ranged from 7.4 14.4 inches. Three White Bass were caught, and all were around 13 inches. Other species caught in the gill nets were two Black Bullhead, one Common Carp, one Shorthead Redhorse, and one Yellow Bullhead. Eight trap nets were set on the same dates as the gill nets. The most common fish in the trap nets were Bluegill. Seventy-six Bluegill were caught for a catch rate of 9.5 fish/trap net. Bluegill ranged in length from 3 inches to 8.5 inches in length. The second most common was Black Crappie at 14 fish for a catch rate of 1.75 fish/net. Black Crappies ranged in length from 5 inches to 12 inches. Other fish caught in the trap nets were Black Bullhead, Green Sunfish, Hybrid Sunfish, Largemouth Bass, White Suckers, and Yellow Perch.

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

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

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Cascade Ponds is from 2022.

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