First

Long, First and Mud Lakes are small, interconnected basins located two miles southeast of Monticello in Wright County. There is no public access and little development has occurred on these natural environment lakes. The property surrounding the lakes is owned by the YMCA and local units of government are considering ways to purchase it for a regional park. The lakes have no public access and no stocking has occurred. Management has been limited to oxygen testing during the 1980s and counts of winter fish houses, with the last survey being conducted in 1984. This survey was prompted due to the inclusion of Long Lake in a 2007 national water quality study by the USEPA. To increase sample size for age and growth analysis catches for Long, First, and Mud Lakes were combined. Individual catch rates were reported separately for the three lakes, except for largemouth bass, which were combined. Water quality has been an issue on these lakes in the past, however no winterkill has been documented. Curled pondweed, a problem on other area lakes grew to the surface over less than 1% of the entire basin on May 29, 2007. No species of submersed aquatic vegetation was abundant and only emergent species were found on 100% of plant transects. Notable among these was bulrush. At the time the survey was conducted in mid-August oxygen was available to fish down to 12-14 feet. Largemouth bass were sampled by day-time electrofishing on May 23 and 25, 2007. Prior to this survey, no electrofishing survey had ever been conducted. A total of 49 largemouth bass were captured in two hours of effort for a catch rate of 25 fish/hr. Largemouth bass ranged in length from seven to 20 inches with an average length of 13.5 inches. Anglers should have a good opportunity to catch largemouth bass. Additionally, two smallmouth bass (9.9 and 17.6 inches) were caught in Mud Lake. For some reason catches of all species were low and much lower than the two previous surveys. Anglers can expect to catch an occasional small northern pike, bluegill (up to eight inches) or black crappie (up to eleven inches). Because of the connection to the Mississippi River such species as carp, redhorse, even an occasional walleye and smallmouth bass will be seen. Surrounding land use practices can have a detrimental effect on the water and recreational value of the lake. Improving the water quality in First, Mud and Long Lakes should be a high priority for the county and landowners within the watershed. Some effort may be needed to identify any sources of excess phosphorus and plans developed to reduce these sources. Buffer strips are encouraged along inlets and lakeshore property to reduce the amount of nutrients entering the lake.

Long, First and Mud Lakes are small, interconnected basins located two miles southeast of Monticello in Wright County. There is no public access and little development has occurred on these natural environment lakes. The property surrounding the lakes is owned by the YMCA and local units of government are considering ways to purchase it for a regional park. The lakes have no public access and no stocking has occurred. Management has been limited to oxygen testing during the 1980s and counts of winter fish houses, with the last survey being conducted in 1984. This survey was prompted due to the inclusion of Long Lake in a 2007 national water quality study by the USEPA. To increase sample size for age and growth analysis catches for Long, First, and Mud Lakes were combined. Individual catch rates were reported separately for the three lakes, except for largemouth bass, which were combined. Water quality has been an issue on these lakes in the past, however no winterkill has been documented. Curled pondweed, a problem on other area lakes grew to the surface over less than 1% of the entire basin on May 29, 2007. No species of submersed aquatic vegetation was abundant and only emergent species were found on 100% of plant transects. Notable among these was bulrush. At the time the survey was conducted in mid-August oxygen was available to fish down to 12-14 feet. Largemouth bass were sampled by day-time electrofishing on May 23 and 25, 2007. Prior to this survey, no electrofishing survey had ever been conducted. A total of 49 largemouth bass were captured in two hours of effort for a catch rate of 25 fish/hr. Largemouth bass ranged in length from seven to 20 inches with an average length of 13.5 inches. Anglers should have a good opportunity to catch largemouth bass. Additionally, two smallmouth bass (9.9 and 17.6 inches) were caught in Mud Lake. For some reason catches of all species were low and much lower than the two previous surveys. Anglers can expect to catch an occasional small northern pike, bluegill (up to eight inches) or black crappie (up to eleven inches). Because of the connection to the Mississippi River such species as carp, redhorse, even an occasional walleye and smallmouth bass will be seen. Surrounding land use practices can have a detrimental effect on the water and recreational value of the lake. Improving the water quality in First, Mud and Long Lakes should be a high priority for the county and landowners within the watershed. Some effort may be needed to identify any sources of excess phosphorus and plans developed to reduce these sources. Buffer strips are encouraged along inlets and lakeshore property to reduce the amount of nutrients entering the lake.

Predator populations are on the low side in this small lake. One Northern Pike was sampled; it showed average growth. One Walleye was caught; it showed above average growth. Largemouth Bass numbers (1/trap net) are above the local average but only ages 0-2 are present. Ages 1 and 2 dominated the sample and showed near normal growth. Older age classes show slow growth. Black Crappie numbers (4.3/trap net) are average for this area. Ages 1-5 were sampled and ages 1 and 4 were most abundant. Growth is slow. Forage and roughfish species all show low to average abundance. Since 1978, there was an increase of 2.5 times in the Bluegill catch. This change is probably transitory based on the age profile of Bluegill taken in 1984 and variability of spawning success.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Hybrid Sunfish, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, and Bluegill in First. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

We don't have a confirmed public access point on record for First. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

First has a maximum depth of 37 feet and a mean depth of 10.9 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in First is from 2007. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

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