Long

Long Lake is a 1,273-acre lake located in north-central Otter Tail County. The southwest shoreline of the lake abuts the city of Vergas, MN. Long Lake is composed of two distinct basins. The west basin is characteristic of an oligotrophic lake (i.e., deep and unfertile) while the east basin is characteristic of a mesotrophic lake (i.e., moderately deep and fertile). Several intermittent inlets are located along the north and south shorelines. An outlet to the Otter Tail River is located along the east shoreline. The inlets and outlet are not navigable by boat. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of agricultural land interspersed with hardwood woodlots. The maximum depth is 128 feet; however, 42% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. Historically, secchi disk readings have ranged from 8.0 to 18.1 feet. Development is scattered around the entire shoreline of the lake and consists of homes, cottages, and resorts. Approximately 40% of the shoreline remains undeveloped mixed hardwoods. A DNR owned concrete public water access is located off of State Highway 228 along the northwest shoreline of the lake. A city park is located along the west shoreline of the lake. A disabled accessible fishing pier is located in the park and is available for public use. The shoal water substrates consist primarily of sand and gravel. Large stands of hardstem bulrush and common cattail are prevalent around the entire shoreline of the lake. Emergent aquatic plants such as bulrush and cattails provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat, and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines and lake bottoms, and can absorb and break down polluting chemicals. Emergent plants provide spawning areas for fish such as Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and panfish. They also serve as important nursery areas for all species of fish. Because of their ecological value, emergent plants may not be removed without a DNR permit. Long Lake can be ecologically classified as a bass-panfish-walleye type of lake and this is reflected in the assemblage of the fish community. Walleye, Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and Bluegill are the dominant gamefish species. The prolificacy of these species can be attributed to the abundance of suitable spawning habitat that is available. A targeted survey (special gill netting) was conducted in 2024 to assess the Walleye and Northern Pike populations. Walleye ranged in length from 9.3 to 26.2 inches with an average length and weight of 16.6 inches and 1.9 pounds, respectively. Walleyes attain an average length of 15.9 inches at four years of age. Northern Pike ranged in length from 17.7 to 38.0 inches with an average length and weight of 22.8 inches and 2.6 pounds. Age data indicate that pike reproduction is consistently good. Northern Pike exhibit fast growth with an average length of 22.4 inches at four years of age. Anglers can maintain the quality of fishing by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of medium to large size fish while allowing the harvest of the more abundant smaller fish for table fare. Releasing the medium to large fish will ensure that the lake will have enough spawning age fish on an annual basis and will provide anglers with more opportunities to catch large fish in the future. Long Lake was designated as infested with zebra mussels in 2018. Aquatic invasive species are threatening Minnesota waters. Aquatic invasive species can potentially harm water quality, water recreation, aquatic habitat, native species, and fish populations. Anglers can help prevent the introduction and spread of invasive species by following watercraft transportation laws.

A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Long Lake was conducted on July 17, 2023, by Fergus Falls Fisheries staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at eighteen sampling stations, but two stations were sampled from the boat due to site conditions. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample 16 stations, a 15-foot seine was used at two stations. Nearshore sampling captured 21 species of fish including eight species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Iowa Darter, Banded Killifish, Blacknose Shiner, Blackchin Shiner, Least Darter, Rock Bass, Pugnose Shiner, and Mimic Shiner) and one that is tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Green Sunfish). The nearshore data was combined with trap net and gill net data from a 2019 survey to describe the fish community and provide a Fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. In Minnesota lakes, certain fish species cannot survive without clean water and a healthy habitat (e.g., Blackchin Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Rock Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Green Sunfish and Common Carp). The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. Data from this survey will contribute biological information about the health of the fish community to the Otter Tail River Watershed assessment process in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency.

Long Lake is a 1,273-acre lake located in north-central Otter Tail County. The southwest shoreline of the lake abuts the city of Vergas, MN. Long Lake is composed of two distinct basins. The west basin is characteristic of an oligotrophic lake (i.e., deep and unfertile) while the east basin is characteristic of a mesotrophic lake (i.e., moderately deep and fertile). Several intermittent inlets are located along the north and south shorelines. An outlet to the Otter Tail River is located along the east shoreline. The inlets and outlet are not navigable by boat. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of agricultural land interspersed with hardwood woodlots. The maximum depth is 128 feet; however, 42% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. Secchi disk readings have historically ranged from 8.0 to 18.1 feet. Development is scattered around the entire shoreline of the lake and consists of homes, cottages, and resorts. Approximately 40% of the shoreline remains undeveloped mixed hardwoods. A DNR owned concrete public water access is located off of State Highway 228 along the northwest shoreline of the lake. A city park is located along the west shoreline of the lake. A disabled accessible fishing pier is located in the park and is available for public use. The shoal water substrates consist primarily of sand and gravel. Large stands of hardstem bulrush and common cattail are prevalent around the entire shoreline of the lake. Emergent aquatic plants such as bulrush and cattails provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat, and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines and lake bottoms, and can absorb and break down polluting chemicals. Emergent plants provide spawning areas for fish such as Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and panfish. They also serve as important nursery areas for all species of fish. Because of their ecological value, emergent plants may not be removed without a DNR permit. A reduced daily bag limit regulation for sunfish (10 per day) was implemented in 2021. The objective of the regulation is to improve and then maintain the quality of the Bluegill size structure. A special spring trapnetting survey was conducted to collect baseline data on the Bluegill population, which will be used for regulation evaluation purposes in future surveys. The Bluegill population has historically been very abundant with slow growth rates and a low-quality size structure. In this survey, seventeen percent of the Bluegill sample was 7.0 inches or greater in length, while only 1% was 8.0 inches or greater in length. Bluegills attain an average length of 7.2 inches at eight years of age. Future surveys will provide Bluegill population data that will determine if the reduced bag limit regulation can produce a higher-quality size structure than has historically existed. Anglers can also maintain the quality of fishing by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of medium to large size fish while allowing the harvest of the more abundant smaller fish for table fare. Releasing the medium to large fish will ensure that the lake will have enough spawning age fish on an annual basis and will provide anglers with more opportunities to catch large fish in the future. Long Lake was designated as infested with zebra mussels in 2018. Aquatic invasive species are threatening Minnesota waters. Aquatic invasive species can potentially harm water quality, water recreation, aquatic habitat, native species, and fish populations. Anglers can help prevent the introduction and spread of invasive species by following watercraft transportation laws.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Hybrid Sunfish, Walleye, and Black Crappie in Long . See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Long has a maximum depth of 128 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Long is from 2024.

Yes — Long has confirmed zebra mussel. Clean, drain, and dry your equipment to avoid spreading invasives to other waters.