Goodners

Goodners Lake is a popular panfish lake located five (5) miles northwest of Kimball in southeastern Stearns County. The lake is 150 acres and has a maximum depth of 24 feet. The watershed is primarily agricultural and is reflected in the lower water clarity. Proper land use practices are encouraged within the watershed and by lakeshore owners to improve the water quality and fish habitat in Goodners Lake. Protecting the fish habitat is important to help sustain the quality and balance of the fish community. A public access is located on the southeast side of the lake. A standard survey was completed in 2019 to update fisheries data last survey collected in 2015. Largemouth Bass were sampled via daytime electrofishing on May 28, 2019. The catch rate in 2019 was the highest on record for the lake, but below the average for the Sauk Rapids Management Area. Fifty-nine fish were sampled and ranged in length from 11 to 19 inches with an average length of 15 inches. The 2019 Northern Pike catch rate was similar to 2015 and near the long-term average for the lake. The catch rate was above the range of expected values for lakes with similar characteristics and was dominated by smaller fish. Pike sampled ranged in length from 13 to 35 inches with an average length and weight of 21 inches and two (2) pounds. Only eight (8) percent of the pike sampled were greater than 26 inches. Anglers are encouraged to harvest the surplus of pike under 22 inches and release the larger pike. This would help maintain a healthy predator/prey balance within the fish community. Black Crappie have provided a popular spring and winter fishery. Goodners Lake experienced a Columnaris outbreak in crappies in 2018. The population is stable, but will need a few years to rebound back to previous levels anglers have grown accustomed to. The catch rate in 2019 was lower than 2015, but within the expected values for lakes with similar characteristics. Crappies ranged in length from five (5) to 10 inches and averaged seven (7) inches although few crappies over eight (8) inches were sampled. The Bluegill catch rate in 2019 was lower than 2015, but within the range of expected values for lakes with similar characteristics. Anglers looking for Bluegill have a chance to find some "keepers" as Bluegills ranged in length from three (3) to nine (9) inches and averaged six (6) inches. Walleye were last stocked in Goodners Lake in 1987 and have not been present in the survey since 1994. A walleye population was difficult to establish due to an abundance of predator species (Northern Pike) and lack of prey species (Yellow Perch). All three species of Bullhead, Yellow, Brown, and Black, can be found in Goodners Lake. Yellow Bullhead are the most abundant of the three species. Quality-size fish over eleven inches were sampled of each species and some individuals measured up to 15 inches. Other fish sampled included: Bowfin (Dogfish), Golden Shiner, Hybrid Sunfish, and Pumpkinseed.

Goodners Lake is a popular panfish lake located five miles northwest of Kimball in southeastern Stearns County. The lake is 150 acres and has a maximum depth of 24 feet. It has a watershed that is primarily agricultural and this is reflected in the lower water clarity (4.2 foot average in summer). The lake has a fringe of cattails that surrounds over 60 percent of the shoreline. It also has large beds of yellow water lilies and scattered patches of bulrush and wild rice. Curly-leaf pondweed can grow to nuisance levels in the spring in some near shore areas; however a survey in June, 2015 found less than one percent of the lakes surface area covered with curly-leaf pondweed beds. A point intercept plant survey was conducted in mid summer and found 15 species of aquatic plants that grew to maximum depth of 14 feet with coontail, star duckweed, yellow waterlily, and chara being the most common. Although Bluegill and Black Crappie are the main draw for anglers, the lake also supports other fish species that may attract anglers. Such as Largemouth Bass and Northern Pike which are the primary managed species for Goodners Lake. Although few Largemouth Bass were captured during the spring electrofishing survey, most of the bass observed were greater than 12 inches and anglers have a chance at catching quality size fish as bass up to 18 inches have been observed in previous surveys. The Northern Pike population is dominated by smaller fish as few fish over 30 inches have been documented in any of the surveys done on the lake. The 2015 gill net catch was above management goals, and also above the normal range when compared to similar lakes. Anglers are encouraged to harvest the surplus of fish under 22 inches and release the larger pike. This would help maintain a healthy predator/prey balance within the fish community. Black Crappie provide a popular spring and winter fishery and high numbers of crappie were sampled in the summer assessment, but few over eight inches were sampled. Anglers looking for Bluegill have a chance to find some "keepers" as fish over seven inches were common in the summer assessment. Walleye were last stocked in Goodners Lake by the DNR in 1987. Goodners Lake has few Yellow Perch present and an abundance of Northern Pike making it difficult to establish a Walleye population. Stocking was discontinued due to poor returns and no Walleye have been sampled since 1994. All three species of bullhead, yellow, brown, and black, can be found in Goodners Lake. Yellow Bullhead are the most abundant of the three species. Quality size fish over eleven inches were caught of all three species with some individuals up to 14 inches being measured. Other fish sampled in the survey included Bowfin, Hybrid Sunfish, Pumpkinseed Sunfish and Golden Shiner. Proper land use practices are encouraged within the watershed and by the lakeshore owners to improve the water quality and fish habitat in Goodners Lake. Protecting the fish habitat is important to help sustain the quality and balance of the fish community.

Goodners Lake is located five miles northwest of Kimball in southeast Stearns County. The lake is 150 acres and has a maximum depth of 24 feet. It has a large watershed that is primarily agricultural and this is reflected in the lower water clarity (4.5 foot average in summer). The lake has a fringe of cattails that surrounds 70 percent of the shoreline. It also has large beds of water lilies and scattered patches of bulrush and wild rice. Curled pondweed can grow to nuisance levels in the spring in some near shore areas. The lake is well-suited for northern pike and largemouth bass. The northern pike catch in 2003 decreased from the 1994 survey but still remained above average for lakes similar to Goodners. The average size of pike caught did not change from 1994 (2.0 pounds). A few large pike were sampled, but most fish caught were between 19 and 22 inches. Northern pike in the lake grow relatively slowly, taking 10 years to reach 34 inches in length. Large northern pike play a critical role in controlling the population of smaller pike, which have been over-abundant in the past. Releasing these large, older fish while harvesting the smaller pike could shift the fishery back to being dominated by larger pike, so it is important to practice catch and release on these larger fish.Forty-two largemouth bass were sampled by electrofishing in May. The catch rate was 25 bass per hour of sampling, below the Montrose average of 56 bass per hour. Most bass caught were between 12 and 15 inches though some fish greater than 15 inches were sampled. Bluegills are common in Goodners Lake. Historically, the catch rate of bluegill in trap net has remained near the lake class average. The average size of bluegills is small (5.8 inches), with only 9% of fish sampled being larger than 7 inches. Black crappie were abundant in gill and trap nets on Goodners Lake. Most fish sampled came from the 1998 and 1999 year classes and ranged in size from 6.5 to 8.5 inches. Crappie as large as 12.5 inches were sampled.Walleye were last stocked in Goodners Lake in 1987 by the DNR Goodners Lake has few yellow perch present and abundant northern pike and this makes it difficult to establish a walleye population. Few walleyes have been sampled in Goodners Lake even when stocking occurred. Other fish sampled in the survey included yellow perch, bowfin, black bullhead, brown bullhead, yellow bullhead, hybrid sunfish, pumpkinseed sunfish and golden shiner.

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

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

Goodners has a maximum depth of 24 feet and a mean depth of 7.4 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

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

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