Fourteen

Lake Fourteen is located in St. Louis County near the town of Buhl. The lake has a surface area of 376 acres and a maximum depth of 15 feet (100% littoral). Due to the shallow nature of the lake, aquatic vegetation growth is extensive. Surveys dating back to 1955 mention the abundant vegetation. Northern pike, black crappie and bluegill are the primary management species. Northern pike catches in Lake Fourteen have historically been high. The northern pike gill-net catch in 2010 was 10.7/net, up from 8.2/net in the previous survey (1998). This is above the lake management plan goal of 7.0/net and the expected range for this lake class. Northern pike size structure declined in the most recent assessment. Mean length declined from 23.6 inches in 1998 to 21.1 inches in 2010. Mean weight of gill-net sampled pike also decreased from 3.3 pounds to 2.3 pounds. Age analysis indicated consistent recruitment with fish ages 2 through 7, and 10 present in the sample. Mean length-at-age was below the statewide average for ages 1 and 2, and similar to the statewide average for all other ages. Northern pike grew to 22.7 inches in 5 years. Net catches for black crappie were within the expected ranges at 1.7/gill net and 2.0/trap net. Size structure was relatively poor. Gill-net sampled crappie averaged 7.2 inches and trap-net sampled crappie averaged 6.8 inches. Recruitment appeared consistent with ages 3 through 8, and 10 present in the sample. Mean length-at-age was below the statewide average for all ages. Black crappie took 7 years to reach 9.6 inches. Bluegill catches were above the expected range in the previous two assessments. The trap-net catch for bluegill increased again in 2010, to 36.8/net. Increased abundance of bluegill has been a common occurrence in many lakes in recent years. Size structure of bluegill was poor. Sampled fish ranged from 2.7 to 9.1 inches, with a mean length of 4.5 inches. Only 2% of bluegill exceeded 8 inches. Low numbers of walleye have been sampled in previous assessments, and only two were captured in 2010. The fish were both aged at 4 years old and averaged 14.6 inches. The yellow perch gill-net catch remained below the expected range at 2.5/net. Other species sampled in test nets included pumpkinseed, hybrid sunfish and golden shiner. Local residents mentioned that largemouth bass have become increasingly abundant in the lake, but none were sampled in this assessment. Near-shore IBI (Index of Biotic Integrity) sampling with a small-mesh seine and back-pack electrofishing was conducted in 2010 in an attempt to capture smaller fishes not normally encountered with standard sampling gear. Additional species captured in near-shore sampling included Iowa darter, Johnny darter and tadpole madtom.

Lake fourteen is in St. Louis county located near the town of Buhl. The lake is 376 acres with a maximum depth of 15 ft. Due to the shallow nature of the lake, aquatic vegetation growth is extensive. Surveys dating back to 1955 also mention abundant aquatic vegetation. Northern pike, bluegill, and black crappie are the primary management species.Northern pike gill net catch was 8.2\set which is above the expected range for similar lakes. Historically, northern pike populations have been very abundant. Mean weight was 3.3 pounds and length varied from 10 to 37 inches. Most of the northern pike sampled (46%) were between 21 to 27 inches.Bluegill trap net catch was 18.3/set which is higher than expected for similar lakes. Although bluegill were abundant, none of the fish sampled were greater than 8 inches. Black crappie catch was 5.3/set in gill nets and 1.3/set in trap nets. Both indices are similar to the expected range. Black crappie reproduction appears to be sporadic because only three year classes were represented in this survey. Walleye have been sampled in low abundance in previous surveys, however, walleye were not sampled in gill nets in this survey and only two fish were sampled in trap nets. Lake fourteen is highly developed and because it is only 15 ft deep, aquatic vegetation is naturally abundant. Lakeshore residents can do several things to promote water quality and reduce or prevent aquatic vegetation from becoming a greater nuisance in the future. Some items for lakeshore owners to consider include; leaving a 30 ft. buffer strip of natural vegetation along the shoreline to prevent erosion and debris from washing into the lake, inspecting septic systems to ensure that they are functioning properly and are up to present standards, and eliminate fertilizer usage. If fertilizers must be used, choosing a low or no phosphorous brand will lessen the impacts of fertilizer usage.

The northern pike population appears very high as the gill net catch rate (19.0 fish per net) was twice the third quartile value (9.7 fish per net). The white sucker gill net catch rate of 0.2 fish per gill net was substantially lower than the first quartile value (3.08) and may be due to heavy predation from northern pike.Yellow perch abundance does not appear to be depressed due to northern pike predation as the gill net CPUE (9.6 fish per net) was within the first and third quartile range. The size structure may have been affected by predation as the gill net sample contained mostly 5.5 to 7.0 inch fish. The same size distribution was also observed in the 1980 and 1985 assessments. This down-sizing of perch was probably a function of heavy northern pike predation rather than age structure since it has been observed in the past three assessments.The bluegill and pumpkinseed populations appear to be high as the trap net catch rates, 16.8 and 14.8 respectively, were above the third quartile value for each species.Black crappies were fairly abundant. The trap net catch rate (4.6 fish per net) was slightly higher than the third quartile value (4.25 fish per net) indicating a slightly higher than normal population.The walleye CPUE (1.6 fish per net) was close to the median value(2.0 fish per net) for lake class #19. It appears that lakes with walleye populations in lake class #19 are usually low while providing an additional angling opportunty.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Northern Pike, Bluegill, Black Crappie, Pumpkinseed, and Hybrid Sunfish in Fourteen. 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 Fourteen. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

Fourteen has a maximum depth of 14.5 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

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

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