Camp

Camp Lake is a small 79-acre lake located two miles southeast of the city of Clear Lake in Sherburne County. The lake has a maximum depth of 34 feet with good water quality and an average summer water clarity of nine feet. The lake took a winterkill in 1978-79 and eliminated all fish but Black Bullhead and Fathead Minnows. Two standard surveys have been completed since then to update fisheries data in 2009 and 2022. A public access is located on the south side of the lake with five vehicle/trailer parking spaces. Observations by fisheries staff indicates that Camp Lake gets a fair amount of angling activity. Anglers have the chance to catch quality-sized Largemouth Bass in Camp Lake. The average size of bass sampled was 15 inches in length. Numbers are limited, but anglers can encounter some larger fish up to 20 inches. Northern pike are plentiful and can provide a fun fishing experience while filling your limit of 10. Pike sampled ranged in length from 18 to 32 inches and averaged 24 inches and three pounds. Anglers are encouraged to harvest smaller pike (under 22 inches) and release the medium-sized pike (over 26 inches) to help shift the size structure to larger-sized fish over time. Bluegill are abundant and can provide some constant fishing action, but don't expect any trophies. The average size of Bluegill is only four inches and no Bluegill over seven inches were observed during this survey. Black Crappie are present in low numbers. Those observed ranged in length from four to 14 inches. Walleye have not been stocked in the lake since 2006 and are quite rare. An angler looking for Walleye would need to rely more on luck than skill to catch one. No Walleye were observed during this survey. Yellow Perch, a primary forage base for Walleye, have never been observed in Camp Lake and could attribute to the lack of success for Walleye. Other species sampled in low numbers were Hybrid Sunfish and Pumpkinseed.

Camp Lake is a small (79 acres), but relatively deep (34 feet maximum), natural environment lake. The lake has a history of winterkills, the most recent reported in the winters of 1979, 1985 and 1986. Sporadic oxygen testing has occurred over the past 20 years revealing that oxygen was present in sufficient levels during the winters of 1988, 1992, 1993 and 2001. No other reports of winterkills have been reported since 1986. Prior to 2009 the lake had low priority for management because of its small size, lack of a developed access, and history of winter kill. An initial survey was done in 1958 with a resurvey in 1980. In between those years a feedlot located on the north end of Camp Lake contributed greatly to its demise. The bass-panfish fishery present in 1958 was gone. Winterkill had eliminated all but black bullheads and fathead minnows. Water clarity was poor, algal blooms occurred and black bullheads were abundant. Since the feedlot was remediated (circa 1996) Camp Lake has seen improvement in water quality and fisheries. This was the first full lake survey since 1980. Fish catches were generally low except for bluegill, largemouth bass and black bullhead. The origin of fish in Camp Lake is not known. The only stocking which has occurred since 1985 was 1,060 walleye fingerlings, by the lake association in 2006. Four small walleyes between 11-14 inches were taken with gill nets (1.0/lift). Yellow perch were not captured. Only one northern pike was captured, 27.5 inches and 8.0 pounds. Since Camp Lake is isolated and spawning habitat seems poor, northern pike will likely remain at a low level. Bluegill were abundant although the catch was within the range of expected values for similar lakes. The average length of bluegill was 6.6 inches. Bluegill grew at a rate similar to statewide averages. A four year old bluegill was 6.5 inches. Largemouth bass were captured at a rate which was twice that of Sherburne County lakes. However, bass were small, less than 12 inches. Growth of largemouth was below the statewide average. Largemouth did not reach 12 inches in length until age seven. Black bullheads were also abundant, three times the average for similar lakes. Most bullheads were nine inches long. Other species captured were black crappie (one in a gill net), pumpkinseed and hybrid sunfish. The aquatic plant community of Camp Lake was diverse and vegetation grew to a depth of 15 feet. Eight species of submerged aquatic plants were observed. Coontail, northern milfoil, and sago pondweed were common; but all other aquatic plant species were rare. The following species were widespread throughout the lake: Naiad, Fries pondweed, narrowleaf, flatstem, and Illinois pondweed. Curly leaf pondweed was not abundant when surveyed on June 4th, 2009 and was limited to one small area in the northeast corner of the south basin.

Camp Lake is a 79-acre lake located in Sherburne County two miles east of the City of Clear Lake. Although the lake is small, it is relatively deep with a maximum depth of 34 feet. The lake had a winterkill reported in 1979. There has been no history of winterkill for this lake prior to 1976-77. A public access is located on the southeast side of the lake. An initial standard survey was completed in 1958 with a resurvey in 1980. The winterkill in 1978-79 eliminated all gamefish, leaving only Black Bullhead and Fathead Minnow.

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

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

Camp has a maximum depth of 34 feet and a mean depth of 9.1 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Camp is from 2022.

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