Dean

Dean Lake is located 3.5 miles southeast of the city of Buffalo in southeastern Wright County. A public access with limited parking is located on the east side of the lake, adjacent to County Road 14. The lake is 173 acres with an average depth of 10 feet and a maximum depth of 20 feet. The lake has poor water clarity and experiences heavy summer algal blooms. Dean Lake has experienced winterkills in the past, the most recent occurring in 1997. Aeration equipment has been available since 2002 and has been used fairly regularly since 2009 to prevent winterkill. Walleye numbers have improved since the last survey in 2011 and were good compared to other lakes similar to Dean Lake. Fingerlings have been stocked every other year since 2011. Walleye averaged 20 inches and 3 pounds and the largest fish caught was 25 inches. The Northern Pike catch rate increased from the previous survey and was in the expected values for lakes similar to Dean Lake. Anglers should have opportunities to catch quality-sized Northern Pike as fish in the survey averaged 28 inches. The largest fish caught in the survey was 37 inches. Sixty percent of Northern Pike were longer than 26 inches and 30% were longer than 30 inches. The catch rate of Largemouth Bass was above average for the Sauk Rapids Management Area. Anglers should have opportunities to catch quality-sized Largemouth Bass as fish in the survey averaged 15 inches and the largest caught was 21 inches. Black Crappie abundance was in the range of expected values for lakes similar to Dean Lake. The average length was nearly 8 inches and the largest crappie captured was 11 inches. Bluegill abundance was in the range of expected values for lakes similar to Dean Lake. The average length of Bluegill were 6 inches. Sportfish have benefitted from the successful winter aeration in past years. Land and lakeshore owners within the watershed can help improve water quality by using best management practices to reduce run-off and nutrient input to the lake.

Dean Lake is located 3.5 miles southeast of the city of Buffalo in southeastern Wright County. A public access with limited parking is located on the east side of the lake, adjacent to County Road 14. The lake is 173 acres, has an average depth of 10.4 feet and a maximum depth of 20 feet. The lake has poor water clarity and experiences heavy summer algal blooms. Dean Lake has experienced winterkills in the past, but not since 1997. Since 2002 aeration equipment has been available. It was used in 2009 and 2010 to prevent winterkill. Walleye abundance was below average in 2011. This was a reflection of poor walleye fry survival from 2002 to 2004. The stocking of larger fingerlings and yearlings between 2005 and 2007 did not contribute appreciably to the fishery. Nonetheless, signs of an improving walleye fishery exist in Dean Lake. The 2009 fingerling stocking was successful. A large number of small walleye between 7 and 9 inches were sampled during spring electrofishing. However, these fish were too small to be effectively sampled by gill nets during the July netting. The average length and weight of walleye sampled was 15 inches and 1.5 pounds and growth was fast. The largest individual sampled was nearly 24 inches. Few northern pike were captured, but the average size (25 inches, 3.5 pounds) was good and growth rates were high. Yellow perch were more abundant than expected for this lake type, likely resulting in the high growth rates observed for walleye and northern pike. The catch rate of largemouth bass was over 1.5 times higher than the day-time electrofishing average for Montrose Area lakes. The average size was 11.5 inches and growth was faster than average. The largest individual was 19.5 inches. Black crappie abundance was above average with over 1,300 crappies sampled. The average length was nearly 8 inches and the largest crappie captured was 11 inches. Bluegill abundance was above average. The average length of bluegill was 7 inches and growth was above average. Smallmouth and white bass were sampled in low numbers. This is the second record of a white bass in Wright County. The first record was an angler-reported white bass in 2003, also from Dean Lake. Sportfish have benefitted from the successful winter aeration in recent years and fishing should be good for walleye and panfish in the near future. Land and lakeshore owners within the watershed can help improve water quality by using best management practices to reduce run-off and nutrient input to the lake.

Dean Lake is located 3.5 miles southeast of the city of Buffalo in Wright County. A public access with limited parking is located on the east side of the lake, adjacent to County Road 14. The lake is 173 acres in size, has a mean depth of 10.4 feet and a maximum depth of 20 feet. The lake has low water clarity and experiences heavy summer algal blooms. Dean Lake has experienced winterkills in the past and is recovering from the most recent partial kill in 1997. Beginning in 2002, an aeration system will be used when needed to prevent future winterkills. The lake is managed primarily for walleye and fry are stocked every third year.Walleye numbers were above average in the 2001 survey and the population was composed mostly of young fish, stocked after the last winterkill. Mean length and weight of walleye were 14.3 inches and 1.2 pounds and walleye growth was fast. The largest individual captured was 22.9 inches. Few northern pike were captured, but the average size (27.3 inches, 4.8 pounds) and growth rate were high. Largemouth bass are still recovering from the winterkill and were captured in low numbers. All bass caught were less than 15 inches long.Black crappie growth and abundance were above average. The average length was 7.2 inches and the largest crappie captured was 11 inches. Bluegill abundance was very high, but average length (6.3 inches) was normal and growth was above average. Yellow perch were larger and more abundant than expected for this lake type, likely resulting in the high growth rates observed for walleye and northern pike. Most species are recovering well from the 1997 winterkill and fishing should be good for walleye and panfish in the near future. Land owners in the watershed and on the lakeshore can help improve water quality by using best management practices to reduce run-off and nutrient input to the lake.

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

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

Dean has a maximum depth of 20 feet and a mean depth of 10.4 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

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

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