Dog

Dog Lake is a small 94-acre lake located four miles northeast of Winsted in Wright County. The lake has a maximum depth of 25 feet with an average water clarity of three feet. The lake is lightly developed and is classified as a recreational development lake. A public access is located on the north side of the lake maintained by the Winsted Sportsman's club. Immediately west of the access is a Wright County Park that provides a swimming beach and picnic area. A standard survey was conducted in 2022 to update fisheries data last collected in 2006. The highlight of Dog Lake is the chance to catch quality-sized Largemouth Bass. Numbers are limited, but anglers can encounter some larger fish up to 20 inches. Much of the lake's perimeter provides good bass fishing opportunities along the water lily fringe. Bluegill are abundant and can provide some constant fishing action, but don't expect many trophies. Bluegill up to seven inches were found in the survey, but most are six inches or less. Black Crappie are present in low numbers, but most are small (under 8 inches). Black Crappie sampled ranged in length from five to 10 inches and averaged seven inches. White Crappie have been sampled in previous surveys, but none were caught in 2022. There is a high population of small Northern Pike to take advantage of filling your limit of 10. Anglers are encouraged to harvest smaller pike (under 22 inches) and release the medium-sized pike (over 26 inches) to help shift the size structure to larger-sized fish over time. Other species sampled during the survey included Black Bullhead, Bowfin (Dogfish), Brown Bullhead, Common Carp, Golden Shiner, Hybrid Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, and Yellow Bullhead.

Dog Lake is a small 94-acre lake located four miles northeast of Winsted in Wright County. The lake has a maximum depth of 25 feet with an average water clarity of three feet. The lake is lightly developed and is classified as a recreational development lake. A public access is located on the north side of the lake maintained by the Winsted Sportsman's club. Immediately west of the access is a Wright County Park that provides a swimming beach and picnic area. A standard survey was conducted in 2022 to update fisheries data last collected in 2006. The highlight of Dog Lake is the chance to catch quality-sized Largemouth Bass. Numbers are limited, but anglers can encounter some larger fish up to 20 inches. Much of the lake's perimeter provides good bass fishing opportunities along the water lily fringe. Bluegill are abundant and can provide some constant fishing action, but don't expect many trophies. Bluegill up to seven inches were found in the survey, but most are six inches or less. Black Crappie are present in low numbers, but most are small (under 8 inches). Black Crappie sampled ranged in length from five to 10 inches and averaged seven inches. White Crappie have been sampled in previous surveys, but none were caught in 2022. There is a high population of small Northern Pike to take advantage of filling your limit of 10. Anglers are encouraged to harvest smaller pike (under 22 inches) and release the medium-sized pike (over 26 inches) to help shift the size structure to larger-sized fish over time. Other species sampled during the survey included Black Bullhead, Bowfin (Dogfish), Brown Bullhead, Common Carp, Golden Shiner, Hybrid Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, and Yellow Bullhead.

Dog Lake is a 94-acre lake located four miles northeast of Winsted in Wright County. Dog Lake is lightly developed and has moderate water quality. The lake has a maximum depth of 25 feet and water clarity of two feet. Seventy-eight percent of the lake area is considered littoral (>15 feet) with 1.7 miles of shoreline. There is no designated state owned public access, however, there is an access located on the north side of the lake that is maintained by the Winsted Rod and Gun Club. Immediately east of the access is a Wright County Park that provides a swimming beach and picnic area. Largemouth bass were sampled by electrofishing on April 24, 2006. The largemouth bass catch rate in 2006 (18.9/hr) was three times higher than 1990, but well below the average catch rate for Montrose Area lakes (59/hr). Largemouth bass ranged in length from 7 to 21 inches with an average length and weight of 14.4 inches and two pounds. Recruitment has been consistent with multiple year classes being sampled during the survey. Largemouth bass from Dog Lake reach 12 inches in five years. Anglers have reported good bass angling for fish greater than 15 inches. The catch rate of northern pike in 2006 (4.7/gill net) was similar to 1990 and was within the expected range for similar lakes. Northern pike ranged in length from 15 - 27 inches with an average length and weight of 22.1 inches and 2.3 pounds. Northern pike are not abundant in Dog Lake, however there are some nicer fish in the population. Northern pike in Dog Lake reach 24 inches in 5 - 6 years. The catch of bluegill (14.7/trap net) was half as much as in 1990 (29.3/trap net), but similar to other surveys. Most of the bluegill ranged in length from 3 - 8 inches with an average length of six inches. The largest bluegill sampled however was 8.4 inches. The catch rate of black crappie (4.2/trap net) was similar to 1990. Black crappie ranged in length from 4 - 16 inches with an average length of 6.5 inches. Reproduction has been consistent with multiple year classes being sampled during the survey. Dog Lake has a popular winter fishery for crappie and fish longer than 16 inches have been taken. White crappies are also present as well as hybrids of the two species. On average, black crappies reach eight inches in 4 - 5 years. The largest crappie sampled during this survey was a seven-year old black crappie that was 16.3 inches long and weighed 2.3 pounds. Other species sampled during the survey included: black bullhead, brown bullhead, channel catfish, pumpkinseed sunfish and yellow bullhead.

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

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

Dog has a maximum depth of 25 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 Dog is from 2022.

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