Sheldon

Sheldon Lake is a small basin (43 acres) located three miles southeast of Clearwater in northern Wright County. There is no public access and little development on this natural environment lake. No stocking by the DNR has been done. Management has been limited to oxygen testing during the 1980s and counts of winter fish houses. The last survey was in 1979. Water clarity was good with a secchi reading of 10.5 feet compared to 5.5 feet observed in 1979. Because of its small size and lack of public access Sheldon Lake has received low management priority. However, it appears to be a delightful little lake, which should provide many hours of recreational angling to riparian owners. Water quality has been something of an issue but no winterkill has been known for many years. Curled pondweed, a problem on other area lakes grew to the surface over just 1.2% of the entire basin on June 4, 2007. Coontail and Sago Pondweed were the most common aquatic plants in the lake. Coontail was the most abundant submerged aquatic plant and grew out to a depth of 12 feet. Vegetation will typically grow out to a depth of 12 to 15 feet in most area lakes. At the time the survey was conducted in early July oxygen was available to fish only to 12 feet. A few notes or changes from the last survey in 1979 were the presence of walleye. Just two were taken in gill nets but it is unusual since the lake is not stocked. Northern pike catches were low compared to most lakes in the area where catches are almost too high. Anglers have a good opportunity to catch a nice size northern pike, as the average size in the survey was four pounds. No perch were taken during the survey. The primary management species for Sheldon Lake is largemouth bass. The population is excellent with a wide range of sizes available to anglers including fish up to 20 inches. Little is known about the former condition of the largemouth population as 2007 was the first opportunity to sample with day-time electrofishing. From the netting it appears that crappies are more abundant than bluegill in Sheldon Lake which is unusual. The average size of the crappies was about seven inches; and for bluegill it was four inches. Crappies up to 12 inches were captured but the largest bluegill was only a little over five inches. Other species in the fish community include black and brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, bowfin and smallmouth buffalo. Lake water quality in Wright County is a major concern. Surrounding land use practices can have a detrimental effect on the water and recreational value of the lake. Improving the water quality in Sheldon Lake should be high priority for the county and landowners around the lake. Some effort may be needed to identify any sources of excess phosphorus and plans developed to reduce these sources. Buffer strips along inlets and lakeshore property are encouraged to reduce nutrients entering the lake. Maintaining adequate septics, keeping grass clippings and raked leaves out the lake, and the use of zero phosphorus lawn fertilizers will also help reduce nutrients entering the lake, thus slowing algae and excess weed growth.

Sheldon Lake is a small basin (43 acres) located three miles southeast of Clearwater in northern Wright County. There is no public access and little development on this natural environment lake. No stocking by the DNR has been done. Management has been limited to oxygen testing during the 1980s and counts of winter fish houses. The last survey was in 1979. Water clarity was good with a secchi reading of 10.5 feet compared to 5.5 feet observed in 1979. Because of its small size and lack of public access Sheldon Lake has received low management priority. However, it appears to be a delightful little lake, which should provide many hours of recreational angling to riparian owners. Water quality has been something of an issue but no winterkill has been known for many years. Curled pondweed, a problem on other area lakes grew to the surface over just 1.2% of the entire basin on June 4, 2007. Coontail and Sago Pondweed were the most common aquatic plants in the lake. Coontail was the most abundant submerged aquatic plant and grew out to a depth of 12 feet. Vegetation will typically grow out to a depth of 12 to 15 feet in most area lakes. At the time the survey was conducted in early July oxygen was available to fish only to 12 feet. A few notes or changes from the last survey in 1979 were the presence of walleye. Just two were taken in gill nets but it is unusual since the lake is not stocked. Northern pike catches were low compared to most lakes in the area where catches are almost too high. Anglers have a good opportunity to catch a nice size northern pike, as the average size in the survey was four pounds. No perch were taken during the survey. The primary management species for Sheldon Lake is largemouth bass. The population is excellent with a wide range of sizes available to anglers including fish up to 20 inches. Little is known about the former condition of the largemouth population as 2007 was the first opportunity to sample with day-time electrofishing. From the netting it appears that crappies are more abundant than bluegill in Sheldon Lake which is unusual. The average size of the crappies was about seven inches; and for bluegill it was four inches. Crappies up to 12 inches were captured but the largest bluegill was only a little over five inches. Other species in the fish community include black and brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, bowfin and smallmouth buffalo. Lake water quality in Wright County is a major concern. Surrounding land use practices can have a detrimental effect on the water and recreational value of the lake. Improving the water quality in Sheldon Lake should be high priority for the county and landowners around the lake. Some effort may be needed to identify any sources of excess phosphorus and plans developed to reduce these sources. Buffer strips along inlets and lakeshore property are encouraged to reduce nutrients entering the lake. Maintaining adequate septics, keeping grass clippings and raked leaves out the lake, and the use of zero phosphorus lawn fertilizers will also help reduce nutrients entering the lake, thus slowing algae and excess weed growth.

Largemouth Bass in trap nets were above the statewide average in numbers per net but not in weight. Bluegill were slightly over the average in number per net, but twice as much in weight per net. Both Yellow and Black Bullhead numbers were below state averages.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye, Pumpkinseed, and Black Crappie in Sheldon. 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 Sheldon. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

Sheldon has a maximum depth of 43 feet and a mean depth of 17.3 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

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

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