Big

Big Lake is a 458 acre lake located three miles southwest of the City of Richmond. It has a maximum depth of 42 feet with an average depth of 15 feet. Big Lake has good water quality and excellent water clarity with a 10 year average summer Secchi reading of 10 feet. The Big Lake watershed is 20,371 acres with land use consisting of 65% agriculture, 17% pasture, 6% marsh/open water, 5% forest, 4% residential, and 3% grassland. Walleye fingerlings are stocked every other year. There is one public access and two private accesses (Joe's Last Resort and Twilight Acres Resort) located on the lake. A standard survey was conducted in 2017 to monitor changes in the fishery from the last survey completed in 2012. Big Lake has a diverse aquatic plant community. While no submerged plant survey was conducted in 2017, the last submerged plant survey conducted in 2012 found 13 species of aquatic plants growing to a depth of 9.5 feet. Muskgrass and sago pondweed were the most common. Emergent plants were mapped in 2017 and found to cover approximately 15% of the lake. Species found were bulrush spp. (2 acres), cattail spp. (36 acres), white waterlily (29 acres), and yellow water lily (2 acres). Historically, Northern Pike have not been abundant in Big Lake, however, since 1994 their abundance has steadily increased. The catch in 2017 was higher than 2012 and above the range of expected values for lakes with similar characteristics, and the highest on record. Northern Pike ranged in length from 15 to 34 inches with an average length and weight of 20 inches and about two pounds. Ten percent of the Northern Pike were longer than 24 inches and 3% were longer than 30 inches. Walleye fingerling stocking has been the stocking strategy for the past 50 years, although fry stocking was experimented with between 2003 and 2006. Due to poor survival, fry stocking was discontinued and management returned to biennial fingerling stocking in 2007. The catch in 2017 was the highest on record and above the range of expected values for the lake class. Walleye ranged in length from 10 to 25 inches with an average length and weight of 18 inches and two pounds. Seven year classes were present in the age sample with the 2014 year class making up 47% of the sample. Growth was fast with both males and females reaching 16 inches by age three. Yellow Perch abundance remains low, similar to past surveys. Only 15 Yellow Perch were sampled during the survey and ranged from five to 8.5 inches in length. Largemouth Bass were sampled during daytime electrofishing on May 11, 2017. A total of 302 Largemouth Bass were captured in 1.7 hours of effort for a catch rate of 179/hour. This was over four times higher than the average catch rate for daytime electrofishing in the Sauk Rapids area and almost twice the 2012 catch rate of 91/hr. Largemouth Bass ranged in length from 6 to 19 inches with an average length of ten inches. The Bluegill catch in 2017 was higher than 2012 but still within the expected range. Big Lake does not have a history of producing large sunfish, but some larger Bluegills were sampled in 2017. Bluegill sampled ranged in length from three to nine inches; however only 25% of the catch were longer than six inches and 5% were longer than eight inches. The catch of Black Crappie in 2017 was similar to past surveys and within the range of expected values for similar lakes; however, the gill net catch was above expected values for similar lakes. Seventy-six crappies were sampled during the survey and ranged in length from four to nearly 15 inches with an average length of eight inches. Of the catchable sized fish above five inches, 74% of the catch were longer than eight inches and 23% were longer than ten inches. In 2017, Smallmouth Bass were sampled in Big Lake for the first time. Four Smallmouth Bass ranging from 16 to 18 inches in length were sampled during the summer gill net survey. Channel Catfish were first sampled in Big Lake in 2002, and do not appear to be increasing in abundance as only one catfish has been sampled in each of the two surveys since. It is likely that Smallmouth Bass and Channel Catfish immigrated from the Sauk River Chain of Lakes during high water as Big Lake is connected to Becker Lake via Kolling Creek. Other species captured during the survey included: Black Bullhead, Bowfin (dogfish), Brown Bullhead, Green Sunfish, Hybrid Sunfish, and Pumpkinseed, White Sucker and Yellow Bullhead.

A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Big Lake was conducted on June 19, 2017 by Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) Program Staff. Sampling sites 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 ten sampling stations, but three stations were sampled from the boat due to site conditions. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample seven stations and site conditions prevented the use of seines at three stations. Nearshore sampling captured 22 species of fish including six species that are intolerant of disturbance (Banded Killifish, Blackchin Shiner, Blacknose Shiner, Iowa Darter, Least Darter, and Pugnose Shiner) and one that is tolerant of disturbance (Green Sunfish). The nearshore data were combined with trap net and gill net data from an August 2017 survey to describe the fish community and provide a Fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. 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. In Minnesota lakes, certain fish species cannot survive without clean water and a healthy habitat (e.g. Blacknose Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Rock Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g. Black Bullhead, Common Carp, and Green Sunfish). 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. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. Data from this survey indicates Big Lake is in exceptional health as indicated by an FIBI score well above 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.

Big Lake is a 458 acre recreational development lake located three miles southwest of the City of Richmond. It has a maximum depth of 42 feet and good water quality. Twenty one species of aquatic plants were identified with submersed plants growing to a maximum depth of 9.5 feet. Curly leaf pondweed was sparse and grew at or near the surface on less than 1% of the lake surface area. Big Lake is primarily managed for northern pike and walleye. Walleye fingerlings are stocked every other year. There is one public access and two private accesses (Joe's Last Resort and Twilight Acres Resort) located on the lake. Since the 1984 survey, catch rates of northern pike have been below average; however, the average weight has been above average. The catch rate of northern pike in 2012 was the second highest on record, but within expected values for similar lakes. Average size was lower than 2002, but also within the range of expected values. Northern pike collected ranged in length from 14 to 33 inches with an average length and weight of 22 inches and 2.4 pounds. Growth of northern pike was fast for females and average for males. Females grew to 23 inches in 4 years, whereas males grew to 21 inches in 4 years. Walleye fingerlings have been stocked in alternating years for the past 40 years although fry stocking was experimented with in 2003, 2005, and 2006. Due to poor survival, fry stocking was discontinued and management returned to fingerling stocking in 2007. The catch rate of walleye in 2012 was similar to 2002 and above expected values. This is the third consecutive survey that the walleye catch has been above average. Walleye collected ranged in length from 7 to 27 inches with an average length and weight of 17 inches and 1.8 pounds. Growth was fast with both males and females reaching 15 inches in 3 years. Yellow perch abundance remains low similar to past surveys. Only five yellow perch were sampled during the survey and three of those were young of the year (YOY). Largemouth bass were sampled during daytime electrofishing on May 10, 2012. A total of 85 largemouth bass were captured in 0.9 hours of effort for a catch rate of 91/hour. Largemouth bass ranged in length from 6 to 17 inches with an average length and weight of 11 inches and 0.9 pounds. Largemouth bass growth was average, reaching 11.5 inches in 4 years. The catch of black crappie in 2012 was similar to past surveys and within the range of expected values for similar lakes; however, the gill net catch was above expected values for similar lakes. Black crappies collected during the survey ranged from 4 to 11 inches with an average length of 7.5 inches. Growth was average with black crappie reaching 8.6 inches in 4 years. The bluegill population appeared normal, but average size was low; 76% of the bluegills sampled were less than 6 inches long. Bluegill collected ranged in length from 3 to 8.5 inches with an average length of 5 inches. Growth was slow with bluegill reaching 6.8 inches in 6 years. Other species captured during the survey including banded killifish, blackchin shiner, blacknose shiner, bluntnose minnow, bowfin (dogfish), brook silverside, brook stickleback, central mudminnow, fathead minnow, green, hybrid, and pumpkinseed sunfish, Iowa darter, Johnny darter, pugnose shiner, tadpole madtom, white sucker and yellow bullhead.

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

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

Big has a maximum depth of 42 feet and a mean depth of 14.6 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Big is from 2017. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

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