Linka

Lake Linka is a 175 acre, moderately productive basin located in southern Pope County. Maximum depth of the lake is 50 feet. Average depth is estimated at 22 feet. Water clarity is very good. Transparency measurements average 14.0 feet throughout the summer with occasional decreases due to weather events. The lake supports a robust and diverse aquatic plant community which offers high-quality fish habitat for sunfishes, Largemouth Bass, and Northern Pike. The public access is located on the east shore off Lake Linka Road. This access is shallow and launching larger boats during low water levels can be problematic. A standard fisheries survey was completed in July of 2023 to evaluate abundance and size distribution of gamefish populations. Walleye catches remain low (1.3/gill net). Walleye captures tended to be large fish averaging 19.9 inches and 3.1 pounds. Regular Walleye fingerling stockings were discontinued by the MN DNR in 2017 due to extremely poor survival of stocked fingerlings. The current stocking regime prescribes surplus stockings of larger Walleye, when available, to maintain a limited fishery. Northern Pike abundance remained at a desirable level (6.8/gill net). Average length was 26.5 inches. The largest pike capture measured 34.1 inches. Anglers are reminded that new pike zone regulations were implemented in 2018. Lake Linka is located in the North-Central Zone. Anglers can now keep up to 10 pike but not more than two can be over 26 inches in length. All pike between 22-26 inches must be immediately released. Harvesting smaller pike will help shift the population back towards larger individuals and reduce the number of predators for young Walleye and other gamefish. Largemouth Bass are abundant in Lake Linka. Electrofishing catch rates of Largemouth Bass were the second highest on record. Largemouth Bass growth is moderate and on average it takes four years for bass to reach 12.0 inches. Size structure of the electrofishing catch described a quality fishery. Fifty-Five percent of the bass were over 12.0 inches and the largest bass observed from all sampling types was 20.8 inches. Bluegill catch rates (21.8 fish/trap net) were similar to the historic average for Lake Linka. Age distribution of Bluegill catches extended to age 6, but 70% of the captures were young (age 2 or 3). Consequently, average size was low (5.2 inches). Growth was rapid and did allow some individuals to exceed 8.0 inches. Black Crappies are present at low density and offer minimal fishing opportunity for this species. Adult Yellow Perch numbers were low during the 2023 survey. Yellow Perch are preferred prey of Walleye, Northern Pike, and Largemouth Bass. Other fishes caught during the 2023 survey include Green Sunfish, Hybrid Sunfish, White Sucker, and multiple species of bullheads. Lake Linka is not currently known to be infested with any aquatic invasive species, and lake users should take extra precautions to keep it that way. Anglers are reminded to drain boats and equipment prior to moving between bodies of water to minimize the risk of transferring aquatic invasive species to this or other lakes.

Lake Linka is a 175 acre, moderately productive basin located in southern Pope County. Maximum depth of the lake is 50.0 feet. Average depth is estimated at 22.0 feet. Water clarity is very good. Transparency measurements average 14.0 feet throughout the summer. The lake supports a robust and diverse aquatic plant community which offers high-quality fish habitat for sunfishes and Northern Pike. A fisheries survey was completed on June 10-13, 2017. A combination of six gill nets and nine trap nets were used to sample the fish community. Due to an increased effectiveness of springtime electrofishing sampling for Largemouth Bass, the bass population was surveyed in May. Walleye catches were low (1.7/gill net), even though fingerlings are stocked. Walleye captures tended to be large fish averaging 20.7 inches and 3.9 pounds. Northern Pike abundance remained at a desirable level (5.8/gill net). Average length was 24.4 inches. The largest pike capture measured 29.9 inches. Bluegill are moderately abundant. Age distribution of Bluegill catches extended to age 8, but most captures (76%) were young (ages 2 or 3). Consequently, average size was low (5.1 inches). Growth was rapid and did allow some individuals to exceed 8.0 inches. Black Crappies are present, but poor and irregular reproductive success or survival in recent years has reduced abundance, age and size distribution, and fishing opportunities for this species. Yellow Perch are moderately abundant, but few grow large enough to attain a harvestable size. Average size of Yellow Perch captured was 6.0 inches. Survey catch statistics described a high-quality Largemouth Bass fishery. Due to high recruitment in recent years, average size was low (7.6 inches), but large fish are present. Over twenty percent of all bass captured during the electrofishing survey exceeded 16.0 inches. The largest bass measured 20.1 inches. Fishing quality may decline in the coming years as larger, older individuals drop out of the population, but cohorts of a strong 2015 year class will provide some fishing opportunities. Lake Linka is not currently known to be infested with any aquatic invasive species. Anglers are reminded to drain boats and equipment prior to moving between bodies of water to minimize the risk of transferring aquatic invasive species to this or other lakes. The public access is located on the east shore off Lake Linka Road. This access is shallow and launching larger boats during low water levels can be problematic.

Lake Linka is a 197-acre lake located in southern Pope County. A state-owned public access is located on the east side of the lake. The access is shallow making it difficult to launch and load larger boats. Maximum depth is 50 feet. Water quality is very good. Long-term monitoring statistics describe an average summer water transparency in excess of 10.0 feet. The basin supports an abundant and diverse aquatic plant community. Habitat attributes are characteristic of "bass-panfish" lakes. Catch information from the 2011 fish community assessment is sufficiently divergent from prior survey findings to suggest some environmental factor may have reduced fish movements and vulnerability to capture in standardized gear. If staffing and the programmed work load permit, a repeat survey will be completed in 2012 to validate accuracy of survey statistics. In the interim, 2011 catch data is considered an under-estimate of true gamefish abundance. Bluegill numbers have decline since the last survey, but catches were well within the range of normal. Reproductive success was very good in 2009, thus most of the population was made up of two-year-old fish. Average size was small (4.6 inches and 0.09 pounds). There were a few older fish captured. These 8.0 inch and larger bluegill made up four percent of the population sample. The largest bluegill captured measured 9.0 inches. It takes four years for a bluegill to reach 6.0 inches in length. Fishing should be good in the future when two-year-old bluegill in the 2011 population sample reach a harvestable size. Largemouth bass catches also declined. Electrofishing catch rates decreased from 75.7 fish/hour in 2006 to 21.6 fish/hour in 2011. The decline can be attributed to poor spawning success or poor survival of young fish since 2005. With few young fish being added to the population, length distribution of the population sample was skewed towards older, larger individuals. Mean length of bass captures was 13.8 inches. Bass grow fast in probable response to limited competition within the population. Age structure of the 2011 population sample extended out to age 10. There is potential to catch a 20.0 inch bass. Northern pike stocking was suspended in 1998 to increase potential returns from walleye stocking. Abundance has gradually declined, but average gillnet catches in 2011 continued to be within the range of expected catches for similar lakes. Most captures were young fish, thus average size of the population sample was only 22.3 inches in total length. Mean weight of captured pike was 2.5 pounds. The largest capture was 29.3 inches. Walleye abundance remains low despite alternate year stocking. Only five walleye were captured during the 2011 survey. Black crappie catches were common to 1980 and 1985 survey catches. No black crappie have been captured during the last two surveys. There have been no fish kill events specific to crappie, thus it would be unreasonable to assume black crappie no longer exist in the lake. Crappie is not very vulnerable to capture during mid-summer due to a preference to occupy deeper, cooler water. A special netting assessment conducted in spring months may be necessary to increase catches and better describe population attributes.

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

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

Linka has a maximum depth of 50 feet and a mean depth of 22 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Linka is from 2023.

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