Pleasant

Pleasant Lake is located three miles southwest of St. Cloud in Stearns County and has one public access located on the northeast side of the lake. The lake is 219 acres and has a maximum depth of 33 feet. Over the years, Pleasant Lake has had different experimental regulations in place, restricting the harvest of sunfish. In 1996, the sunfish bag limit was reduced from the statewide 30/day to 10/day. This regulation remained in place until 2007, when the bag limit was further reduced to five sunfish per day. The goal of the reduced bag limit regulation is to reduce harvest and improve the average size of sunfish. To evaluate the effectiveness of the reduced five-bag daily limit regulation, a targeted Bluegill assessment was conducted on Pleasant Lake from May 28 to May 31, 2024. A total of 444 Bluegills were sampled during the 2024 survey and ranged in length from two to eight inches with an average length of 5 ½ inches. The average size of Bluegill has remained relatively unchanged since 2007, averaging 5.7 inches over the past four surveys. To further evaluate the size structure of the population, fisheries biologists describe the size structure by looking at the percentage of fish over a certain length. From the 2024 survey, Bluegill longer than six inches composed 34% of the total catch while less than 1% were longer than eight inches. Results from this analysis indicate that anglers looking to target large Bluegills should not expect to catch many in Pleasant Lake, but rather catch large quantities of smaller fish. Bluegill grow very slow in Pleasant Lake, only reaching 6.8 inches in length by age 9. In addition to Bluegill, Hybrid Sunfish were also collected during the survey. A total of 215 Hybrid Sunfish were sampled with an average length of 6.4 inches and a maximum length of 9.5 inches. Recent surveys conducted in 2015 and 2016 resulted in similar catches and sizes of Hybrid Sunfish; however, surveys conducted in 2007 and 2011 resulted in catches that were significantly lower (2007 - 43 fish, 2011- 12 fish). On average, it takes between 5 and 8 years for an eight-inch Bluegill to replace itself within a population. By removing large, adult males from the population, this makes it easier for smaller Bluegill, with less desire to grow large, sneak in and fertilize eggs on the Bluegill beds which ultimately influences the size structure of the population. Although large male Bluegill are colorful and easy to target during the springtime due to spawning behaviors, they are also very easily exploited by anglers. Therefore, anglers are encouraged to be selective when harvesting Bluegills in Pleasant Lake since it takes a couple extra years for a fish to replaces itself within this population. Anglers can help improve Bluegill fishing on Pleasant Lake by selectively harvesting medium sized females and releasing the larger males.

A targeted survey of the nearshore fish community in Pleasant Lake was conducted on September 4-5, 2018 by Fisheries Lake IBI program staff. Sampling stations were evenly spaced around the lake and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at eight stations, with two stations being backpack electrofished by boat due to depth. A 50-foot seine was used to sample six stations, a 15-foot seine was used to sample three stations, and one sampling station had conditions that prevented the use of seines. Nearshore sampling captured 14 native species of fish including four species that are intolerant of habitat disturbance (Banded Killifish, Blackchin Shiner, Blacknose Shiner, and Iowa Darter) as well as one tolerant species (Green Sunfish). Data from this targeted nearshore survey is combined with data from standard gill and trap netting surveys to calculate a Fish-based Index of Biological Integrity (FIBI) that describes the overall health of the lake. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. The FIBI score for Pleasant Lake based on this survey is near the impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. Data from this survey will contribute biological information about the health of the fish community to the Sauk River Watershed assessment process in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency.

Pleasant Lake is a small (219 acres) lake located three miles southwest of St. Cloud in Stearns County. The lake has a maximum depth of 33 feet and a public access is located on the northeast side of the lake. Pleasant Lake has had experimental regulations restricting the harvest of sunfish since 1996. In 1996, the sunfish bag limit was reduced from 20 to 10/day. This regulation was in place until 2007 when the sunfish bag limit was further reduced to five sunfish per day. The goal of the regulation is to reduce harvest and improve the average size of sunfish. A targeted Bluegill assessment was conducted on Pleasant Lake from June 6 to June 9, 2016. This assessment was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the 5 fish daily bag limit as well as to get an idea of the size structure of the spawning Bluegills. A total of 996 Bluegills were sampled during this assessment and averaged 5.8 inches long with the largest Bluegill measuring 8.2 inches. Fisheries biologists describe the size structure of a fish population using terms such as Proportional Stock Density (PSD) and Relative Stock Density (RSD). For Bluegill, PSD is the percentage of Bluegill larger than 3" that are also larger than 6". The PSD of Bluegill from Pleasant was 42. So, 42% of the Bluegill sampled larger than 3" were also larger than 6". Similarly, RSD8 is the percentage of Bluegill larger than 3" that are also larger than 8". The RSD8 on Pleasant Lake was 1. In addition to Bluegill, Hybrid Sunfish were also measured during the assessment. A total of 132 Hybrid Sunfish were sampled and averaged 7.6 inches long with a maximum length of 9.7 inches. A similar assessment was completed in 2015 and catches were considerably smaller. Only 226 Bluegill were sampled in the 2015 assessment and fish averaged 6.2 inches with a maximum length of 8.5 inches. A public meeting was held in the fall of 2016 and based on positive results of the experimental regulation and comments from the public the decision was made to make the 5 sunfish daily bag limit permanent beginning in 2017. The average replacement time for an eight inch sunfish in central Minnesota is 5 8 years. Therefore anglers are encouraged to limit their harvest of larger Bluegill. Especially adult males which are more colorful during the spring time when they are in the process of spawning and are more easily exploited by anglers. The larger male Bluegills are important to maintaining a healthy size structure as they restrict reproduction of smaller males, allowing the smaller males to put more energy into growth and less into reproduction. Anglers can help to maintain good fishing for Bluegill on Pleasant Lake by selectively harvesting medium sized females and releasing larger males.

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

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

Pleasant has a maximum depth of 33 feet and a mean depth of 13 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Pleasant is from 2024.

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