Pickerel

Pickerel Lake is an 829-acre mesotrophic (moderately fertile) lake located in central Otter Tail County one mile north of Maine, MN. Pickerel Lake is located within the Otter Tail River Watershed and there is an un-navigable, intermittent outlet located along the northeast shoreline. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of agricultural land interspersed with hardwood woodlots. Pickerel Lake has a maximum depth of 78 feet; however, 33% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. The secchi disk reading during the 2025 survey was 16.0 feet. Historical secchi disk readings have ranged from 11.0 to 16.8 feet. The entire shoreline of Pickerel Lake has been extensively developed with homes and cottages. A DNR owned concrete public access is located on the south shoreline of the lake. Shoal water substrates consist primarily of sand interspersed with areas of gravel and rubble. Emergent aquatic vegetation such as hardstem bulrush or common cattail is extremely limited; however, a wide variety of submerged aquatic plant species are prevalent throughout the lake. All of these aquatic plants are important to Pickerel Lake because they provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat and are critical for maintaining good water quality. A special gillnetting survey was conducted to analyze the Walleye and Smallmouth Bass populations. Data indicates that these species are abundant and have good size distributions as well. Walleye abundance has remained stable and at a high level over the recent series of surveys. Walleyes ranged in length from 6.5 to 23.2 inches with an average length and weight of 13.2 inches and 0.9 pounds. Age data indicates that the 2022 and 2024-year classes are very strong and should provide excellent Walleye angling for several years. MN DNR Fisheries maintains the Walleye population at a viable level by stocking Walleye fingerlings on an every-other-year basis. Walleye growth is fast as they reach an average length of 16.5 inches at four years of age. Survey data indicate that an excellent Smallmouth Bass population exists. Smallmouth Bass are abundant, and the size structure is very good. Age data indicate that Smallmouth Bass reproduction is consistently good. Smallmouth Bass ranged in length from 10.3 to 18.0 inches with an average length and weight of 14.6 inches and 1.9 pounds. Smallmouth Bass growth is also fast as they reach an average length of 13.6 inches at four years of age. The DNR has constructed and placed fifty Smallmouth Bass half-log spawning structures in Pickerel Lake. These spawning structures increased the amount of suitable spawning habitat available to Smallmouth Bass. There are no special or experimental fish harvest regulations in effect for Pickerel Lake. Anglers can maintain the quality of fishing by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of medium to large fish while allowing the harvest of 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. Pickerel Lake was listed as infested with zebra mussels in 2020. 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.

Pickerel Lake is an 829-acre mesotrophic (moderately fertile) lake located in central Otter Tail County one mile north of Maine, MN. Pickerel Lake is located within the Otter Tail River Watershed and there is an un-navigable, intermittent outlet located along the northeast shoreline. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of agricultural land interspersed with hardwood woodlots. The maximum depth is 78 feet; however 33% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. The secchi disk reading during the 2020 survey was 11.3 feet. Previous secchi disk readings have ranged from 11.0 to 16.8 feet. The entire shoreline of the lake has been developed. Homes and cottages compose the majority of the development. A DNR owned concrete public access is located on the south shoreline of the lake. Shoal water substrates consist primarily of sand interspersed with areas of gravel and rubble. Emergent aquatic vegetation is very limited. A wide variety of submerged aquatic plants are found in the lake. All these aquatic plants are important to Pickerel Lake because they provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat and are critical for maintaining good water quality. Pickerel Lake is a popular angling lake. Species most sought after include Walleye and Smallmouth Bass. Data from recent lake surveys indicate that these species are abundant and have good size distributions as well. Walleye abundance has remained stable at a high level over the recent series of surveys. Walleyes ranged in length from 11.0 to 24.8 inches with an average length and weight of 15.5 inches and 1.4 pounds. Age data indicate that the 2018 year class is very strong and should provide good Walleye angling for several years. Walleyes attain an average length of 15.9 inches at four years of age. Survey data indicate that an excellent Smallmouth Bass population exists. Smallmouth Bass are abundant and the size structure is very good. Age data indicate that reproduction is consistently good. Smallmouth Bass ranged in length from 7.6 to 18.5 inches with an average length and weight of 15.0 inches and 2.2 pounds. Smallmouth Bass attain an average length of 13.5 inches at four years of age. The DNR has constructed and placed fifty Smallmouth Bass half-log spawning structures in Pickerel Lake. These spawning structures increased the amount of suitable spawning habitat available to Smallmouth Bass. Only seven Bluegills were sampled in trap nets during the 2020 survey. Prior to this survey, the long-term trend had been an increase in Bluegill abundance. Age data from recent surveys indicate that Bluegill reproduction occurs inconsistently which can cause fluctuations in Bluegill abundance and size structure. 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 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. Pickerel Lake was listed as infested with zebra mussels in 2020. 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.

Pickerel Lake is an 829-acre mesotrophic (moderately fertile) lake located in central Otter Tail County one mile north of Maine, MN. Pickerel Lake is located within the Otter Tail River Watershed and there is an un-navigable, intermittent outlet located along the northeast shoreline. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of agricultural land interspersed with hardwood woodlots. The maximum depth is 78 feet; however 33% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. The secchi disk reading during the 2016 survey was 11.1 feet. Previous secchi disk readings have ranged from 11.0 to 16.8 feet. The entire shoreline of the lake has been extensively developed. Homes and cottages compose the majority of the development. A DNR owned concrete public access is located on the south shoreline of the lake. Shoal water substrates consist primarily of sand interspersed with areas of gravel and rubble. Emergent aquatic vegetation is very limited. A wide variety of submerged aquatic plants are found in the lake. All these aquatic plants are important to Pickerel Lake because they provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat and are critical for maintaining good water quality. Pickerel Lake is a popular angling lake. Species most sought after include Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, and Bluegill. Data from recent lake surveys indicate that these species are abundant and have good size distributions as well. Walleye is a primary management specie in this lake. Walleye abundance has remained stable at a high level over the recent series of surveys. Walleyes ranged in length from 10.2 to 25.7 inches with an average length and weight of 15.8 inches and 1.5 pounds. Age data indicate that the 2014 year class is very strong and should provide good Walleye angling for several years. Walleyes attain an average length of 16.1 inches at four years of age. Data indicate that an excellent Smallmouth Bass population exists. Smallmouth Bass are very abundant and the size structure is very good. Age data indicate that reproduction is consistently good. Smallmouth Bass ranged in length from 7.1 to 18.1 inches with an average length and weight of 14.9 inches and 2.1 pounds. Smallmouth Bass attain an average length of 13.8 inches at four years of age. The DNR has constructed and placed fifty Smallmouth Bass half-log spawning structures in Pickerel Lake. These spawning structures increased the amount of suitable spawning habitat available to Smallmouth Bass. The long-term trend has been an increase in Bluegill abundance. Thirty-five percent of the Bluegills were 7.0 inches or greater in length. Bluegills attain an average length of 7.5 inches at six years of age. Anglers can maintain the quality of angling by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of medium to large-size fish while allowing the harvest of 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.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Black Crappie, and Rock Bass in Pickerel. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Pickerel has a maximum depth of 78 feet and a mean depth of 28 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

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

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