Fish

Fish Lake is a moderately fertile 82 acre basin located in Pine County on the west side of the town of Finlayson. The shoreline surrounding the lake has minimal development with most of the shoreline made up of undeveloped mixed hardwood forest, marshland, and grassland. The fishery is managed primarily for northern pike with largemouth bass, bluegill sunfish, and black crappie as the secondary management species. The lakes fertility and shallow nature has led to low oxygen levels some winters. Fish Lake has experienced winterkill in the past with the lake being opened to unlimited fishing in 1997. A lake survey was conducted in June of 2010 to evaluate the current status of the lake's fish population and water quality. Compared to similar lakes, northern pike, black crappie, and bluegill numbers were normal, while black bullhead and yellow perch numbers were low. Anglers wishing to access Fish Lake will have to obtain permission through private property owners. Harvestable black crappies and quality sized northern pike are present. Well over half of the netted northerns exceeded 24 inches and fish over 30 inches were present. Likewise, more than half the black crappies were over 8 inches, a size acceptable to many anglers. Bluegill numbers are on the rise but most are too small to warrant harvest. Yellow perch have declined dramatically since the 2000 assessment, likely due to northern pike predation. Because the lake has the potential for some degree of winterkill, the fish population is subject to change.

Fish Lake is a moderately fertile 82 acre basin located in Pine County on the west side of the town of Finlayson. The shoreline surrounding the lake has minimal development with most of the shoreline made up of undeveloped mixed hardwood forest, marshland, and grassland. Currently, management of the fishery is primarily for northern pike with largemouth bass, bluegill sunfish, and black crappie as the secondary management species. Since shallow water depths are characteristic of this basin along with good fertiltiy, this type of lake may experience low levels of oxygen during the winter which can cause partial or complete fish winterkills. For fish and most other organisms in an aquatic environment, oxygen must by present in adequate amounts. The amount of oxygen present is determined by the amount given off by plants through photosynthesis, the amount used by bacteria during dead plant decay, and the amount open water acquires from exchange with the atmosphere. Ice and heavy snow cover can decrease light penetration. Because light is essential for plants to survive and bacteria use oxygen while decomposing dead plants, a lake with a lot of shallow water acreage may experience low oxygen levels. According to historical records, Fish Lake has experienced winterkill in the past with the lake being opened to unlimited fishing in 1997, but the frequency or severity of winterkill has not been well documented. The current DNR Fisheries management plan calls for a resurvey as per a ten year schedule. According to this schedule, a resurvey should have occurred in 1996. However, due to time contraints and Fish Lake low priority status the evaluation was postponed until adequate time became available.The most recent survey took place in June of 2000 to evaluate the current status of the fish population and water quality. Sampling gear types consisted of gill and trap nets and late summer shoreline seining. Northern pike numbers and average size, at 2.6 pounds, were normal for this lake type. Measured northern ranged from 18.9 to 27.4 inches with an average length of 22.3 inches. When compared to statewide averages, northern pike growth was typical of normal. A single 6 year old largemouth bass that measured 12.9 inches and weighed 1.3 pounds was sampled. Since trap or gill nets are not considered to be the most effective method for sampling largemouth, this low catch may not be representative of the largemouth population. Future management goals should include spring night electrofishing which targets largemouth as part of the next survey since this gear type has been proven to be more effective. The 2000 survey was was the first time bluegill sunfish were found during DNR Fisheries sampling efforts with their abundance and size at below normal levels. Lengths ranged from 5.2 to 9.0 inches with an average length of 6.3 inches. Black crappie numbers and size were within the normal range for this type of lake with their lengths extending from 3.7 to 10.4 inches. Of the 51 crappie sampled in trap nets, 59% were from 7.5 to 8.5 inches in length. Crappie growth was found to be normal when compared to statewide averages. Yellow perch, an important forage species for northern pike, were sampled at a normal level for this lake type. The fish community in Fish Lake was also made up of black and yellow bullhead, golden shiner, Iowa darter, pumpkinseed sunfish, and white sucker. The current fish population, when compared to the 1986 survey, has shifted from an abundance of low oxygen tolerant fish species, such as black bullhead, to a lower abundance. An increase in gamefish species, such as northern pike, have taken up the empty space the high black bullhead population once occupied.An angler fishing Fish Lake will have to obtain permission to access the lake through private property. Encountering an abundance of harvestable northern pike and black crappie is likely. Pumpkinseed sunfish numbers are abundant, but size is small. Because the lake has the potential for some degree of fish winterkill during favorable conditions, the fish population is subject to consistent change. Shoreline property owners and surrounding landusers within the watershed can maintain or improve water quality by protecting the existing abundance of natural shoreline, updating outdated or failing septic systems, using phosphorus free fertilizer (if needed) on surrounding lawns or crop land, utilizing crop farming practices that reduce run-off, limiting aquatic plant removel or disturbance, and limiting construction of impervious surfaces near the shoreline.

Based on their respective local medians, the present fish population status of Fish Lake is as follows: The northern pike was very low in the gillnet catch at 0.50 but was at the local median in the trapnets at 1.00 per set. Median length was 18.0-18.9 inches with a mean weight of 2.09 pounds. The black crappie was very high at 36.33 per set and length frequency ranged from 5.5 to 11.4 inches with a median length of 7.0-7.4 inches. The pumpkinseed sunfish was slightly low at 3.17 per set and of small size (5.0-5.4 inches). The northern pike, black crappie and pumpkinseed showed average growth rate at all annulus formations. The yellow perch was slightly low at 14.50 per set when compared to the local median of 24.27. Length frequency ranged from 5.0 to 9.9 inches with a median length of 7.0 to 7.4 inches. Net catches of the white sucker and the golden shiner (0.17) indicate extremely low populations. The black and yellow bullheads were very high at 61.17 and 16.67 per set respectively with median lengths of 6.0-6.5 inches for the black bullhead and 7.0-7.4 inches for the yellow bullhead. Young-of-the-year largemouth bass were present in the shoreline seining to indicate their presence in the lake.

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

We don't have a confirmed public access point on record for Fish. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

Fish has a maximum depth of 18 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Fish is from 2010. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

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