Bass

Bass Lake is a small, moderately fertile lake located in northeastern Kanabec and western Pine counties. Although much of the lake is less the 15 feet, water clarity is higher than most area lakes. During the week of September 9, 2019 Bass Lake was surveyed to evaluate the present fish population. Sampling consisted of six gill net sets, nine trap net sets, and night electrofishing for largemouth bass. Walleye stocking ceased in 2015. Eleven walleye were caught during the survey ranging from 17 and 21.5 inches in length and four to eight years in age. Walleye currently provide a bonus opportunity to anglers targeting other fish species in Bass Lake. The Northern Pike catch was 4.8 per set, a typical level compared to similar lakes. Northern size remains an issue. The average Pike was still 18.1 inches and 1.1 pounds. None of the pike sampled in the nets reached 21 inches in length, however they were relatively young with few fish exceeding three years of age. One hour and twenty two minutes of electrofishing the night of June fifth sampled 39 Largemouth Bass, yielding a catch rate of 28.4 per hour. Bass ranged from 5.8 to 19.1 inches in length with more than half the catch exceeding 14 inches. Compared to both similar lakes and prior Bass Lake assessments, Bluegill and Black Crappie numbers were low. However, half of the Bluegill captured exceeded 7.5 inches and half the Crappies surpassed the 10 inch mark. In summary, Bass is a small lake with good water clarity that receives light angling pressure. A quality Largemouth Bass fishery is present with additional opportunity for smaller sized Northern Pike, larger than average Bluegill and Black Crappie with the occasional Walleye.

Bass Lake is a small, moderately fertile lake located in northeastern Kanabec and western Pine counties. Although much of the lake is less the 15 feet, water clarity is higher than most area lakes. The water clarity during the summer ranges from 2 to 11 feet from the surface, and the color varies from light green to clear with occasional bog stain (clear-brown) tint. Rolling hills bound the shoreline with soil types dominated by sandy loam, clay and glacial till. The shoreline is approximately 50% developed with the remaining lake frontage consisting of bogs, woodland and farmland. Bass Lake is managed primarily for walleye, largemouth bass, and northern pike. The current management plan includes the annual stocking of 147 pounds of walleye fingerlings. A public access is located on the northwest shore with parking for approximately seven rigs. During the week of August 29, 2011, Bass Lake was surveyed to evaluate the present fish population. Sampling consisted of six gill net sets, nine trap net sets, and night electrofishing for largemouth bass. Despite the shift back from fry to fingerling stocking in 2003, the walleye abundance remains low compared to similar lakes. The single walleye sampled by the gill nets was from the 2003 year class. Eleven walleye were captured during the bass electrofishing. Though these fish weren't aged, their lengths indicated they were likely a result of the 2006 and 2010 fingerling stockings. Walleye currently provide a bonus opportunity to angler targeting other fish species in Bass Lake. The northern pike catch was 6.3 per set, a typical level compared to similar lakes. Northern size remains an issue. The average pike was 17.1 inches and 1.0 pounds. None of the pike sampled in the nets reached 24 inches in length, however longer fish were captured during the bass electrofishing. Although they were relatively young (most northerns were 2, 3, or 4 years old), growth was slow compared to the statewide rate. One hour and twenty minutes of electrofishing the night of June 1st sampled 48 largemouth bass, yielding the highest catch rate for Bass Lake (38 bass/hr.). Bass ranged from 5.7 to 20.3 inches in length with 60% of the catch exceeding 12 inches. Five years of growth was required to reach this 12 inch mark. Compared to both similar lakes and prior Bass Lake assessments, bluegill and black crappie numbers were low and high respectively. One third of the bluegill captured exceeded 7 inches while 30% of the crappies surpassed the 9 inch mark. In summary, Bass is a small lake with good water clarity that receives light angling pressure. A quality largemouth bass and black crappie fishery is present with additional opportunity for smaller sized northern pike and the occasional larger walleye.

Bass Lake is a 189-acre lake in northeastern Kanabec and western Pine counties. The nearest town is Finlayson. Of the 189 acres, 148 (78%) are shallower than 15 feet (littoral area). Maximum depth is 24 feet. The shoreline length is 3.3 miles. The water clarity during the summer ranges from 2 to 11 feet from the surface, and the color varies from light green to clear with occasional bog stain (clear-brown) tint. Rolling hills bound the shoreline with soil types dominated by sandy loam, clay and glacial till. The shoreline is approximately 50% developed with the remaining lake frontage consisting of bogs, woodland and farmland. This lake is managed primarily for walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike and panfish. Past survey records and local reports have not documented any winterkills for Bass Lake. Various stockings have occurred through the years of mainly northern pike and walleye. Present fisheries management plans call for walleye fingerlings to be stocked every other year. During the week of August 28, 2006 Bass Lake was surveyed to evaluate the present fish population, aquatic plant community and water quality. Gear sampling types for fish consisted of six standard gillnets, nine standard trapnets and night electrofishing for largemouth bass. Twenty-eight species of aquatic plants were found throughout the lake. This is down from 32 species documented in 1996. Species not sampled in 2006 that were in 1996 include water horehound, bluntleaf pondweed, stiff wapato and large cranberry. Walleye abundance was below normal compared to other Minnesota lakes of similar type. For the first time during a survey of Bass Lake, walleye were not sampled with gillnets. However, two were captured in the trapnets. Average weight per fish was 1.5 pounds. This is not that unusual, as walleye populations have fluctuated through the years on Bass Lake. The 1986 survey only sampled one walleye. Walleye populations fluctuate for a number of reasons ranging from success of stocking, harvest levels and success of natural reproduction. Limited natural reproduction has at times produced some small year-classes of walleye on Bass Lake. Bass Lake has a couple of gravel/rock areas available for walleye spawning. Hatching success in those areas depends on water levels and if the rocks are kept clean and free of sedimentation. Ecologically, Bass Lake is a bass-panfish lake and will be managed as such. The presence of walleye provides an alternative angling opportunity. Based on the net catch and the absence of walleye in the 2000 fall electrofishing assessment, it was apparent that the current annual fry stocking was not establishing the desired walleye population. The current management plan has recently been amended to replace the fry stocking with fall fingerling stocking. Walleyes that have been recently stocked may not be showing up in net catches yet because they are too small to be susceptible to the sampling gear. The northern pike gillnet catch was 3.5 fish per net which was also below normal compared to other Minnesota lakes of similar type. Average weight was 1.7 pounds. Ages two through six were sampled with age class four and five showing a strong presence. The northern pike sampled ranged from 15.7 to 26.2 inches in length with an average of 20.6 inches. Only about nine percent of the northern pike were over 24 inches in length. Northern pike catch rates in Bass Lake have increased from a historic low of 1.5 fish/gillnet in 1967 to 3.5 fish/gillnet in 2006, while average weight per fish has dropped to 1.7 pounds from historic highs of over 5 pounds per fish in 1967. Nighttime electrofishing was used to sample the largemouth bass population. This sample of bass (9.5 bass/hour) ranged in length from 6.9 to 17.8 inches, averaging 13.7 inches. These findings were very similar to what was sampled in 1996 (10.1 bass/hour), the first time that largemouth bass were electrofished on Bass Lake. Ages three, five, seven, nine and ten were sampled with age class 7 being the strongest. The bluegill trapnet catch was 12 fish per net, which is normal compared to other Minnesota lakes of similar type and typical of catches in past surveys. Bluegill ranged from 3.9 to 7.8 inches with an average of 5.0 inches. Twelve and one half percent of the bluegills sampled were greater than six inches. Both trapnets and gillnets sampled black crappies. The trapnets caught an average of .5 fish per net. The gillnets caught an average of 2.1 fish per net. Black crappies ranged in size from 5.8 to 12.48 inches in length. The average size was 8.0 inches. Twelve and one-half percent of the catch was greater than 10 inches. Three other species were sampled in the netting gear: brown bullhead, pumpkinseed and white sucker. Brown bullheads ranged in length from 6.8 to 9.9 inches with an average size of 8.0 inches. A total of 9 pumpkinseed sunfish were captured, which is normal. Their sizes ranged from 3.8 to 8.0 in length. The average size was 5.4 inches. One white sucker was sampled. This species has historically been sampled in very low numbers on this lake.

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

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

Bass has a maximum depth of 24 feet and a mean depth of 12 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Bass is from 2019.

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