Lake Survey Information

Electrofishing at night

Gill netting
Setting a gill net

Throughout the current field season we will be posting preliminary results, or quick summaries of lake surveys we are conducting. Summaries from the previous year will remain until published on LakeFinder. Standard Lake Surveys are completed using both gill and trap nets. Catches of species from standard lake surveys are shown for the indicator gear. For example: northern pike, walleye, and yellow perch are best sampled with gill nets, while bluegill are best sampled with trap nets. Black and white crappie are generally best sampled with gill nets but in some lakes are better sampled with trap nets. Largemouth and smallmouth bass tend to be difficult to catch with nets, so we conduct spring night-time electrofishing to sample them. Please feel free to contact our office with any specific questions you may have. We will be glad to help you. E-mail Lake Survey Specialist.

Lake Survey Summary - 2015

Note: Data is preliminary and subject to change before being published on LakeFinder.

Lake (County) Date	Species	Number/net	Average length (in)	Largest (in)
Dora (Le Sueur) 6/8/15	Black Bullhead	11.4	9.3	13.9
	Black Crappie	4	5	6.7
	Northern Pike	7.4	14.9	20.6
	Walleye	0.2	14.4	14.4
	Yellow Perch	12	8.3	9.2
George (Blue Earth) 6/15/15	Black Bullhead	21.5	7.4	14
	Black Crappie	146.3	3.9	4.4
	Bluegill	34	3.7	7.6
	Northern Pike	19.5	18.5	23.7
	Yellow Perch	4.5	7.7	8.8
Albert Lea (Freeborn) 6/22/15	Black Bullhead	97.2	7.3	11.5
	Black Crappie	22.9	4.9	8.7
	Bluegill	5.3	3.9	7.7
	Northern Pike	1.7	21	26.7
	Walleye	12	12	17.1
	Yellow Perch	173	7.1	9.7
Elysian (Waseca) 6/29/15	Black Bullhead	12.5	8.8	11.1
	Black Crappie	35.7	9	12.5
	Bluegill	2.7	6.7	8.9
	Northern Pike	0.5	16.9	23.7
	Walleye	18.5	7.6	8.6
White (Freeborn) 7/6/15	Black Bullhead	70.9	6	11.1
	Yellow Perch	13	7.7	8.3
Rice (Rice) 7/13/15	Black Bullhead	81.3	6.9	14.2
	Black Crappie	14.5	5.4	9.3
	Bluegill	47.7	4.3	8.6
	Northern Pike	4	17.2	26.1
	Yellow Perch	25	6.9	10.6
Union (Rice) 7/20/15	Black Bullhead	67.2	6.5	10.7
	Bluegill	8.1	3.8	4.6
	Northern Pike	28	19.2	27
	Walleye	1.6	12.9	13.7
	Yellow Perch	43.2	7.1	9.8
Clear (Waseca) 7/27/15	Black Crappie	108.2	6.3	10.8
	Bluegill	12.9	7.1	9.1
	Northern Pike	0.4	24.4	32.7
	Walleye	10.4	16	26.8
	Yellow Bullhead	4.2	12.5	15.4
	Yellow Perch	33	7.1	10.5
Loon (Waseca) 7/27/15	Black Bullhead	122	6.2	11.3
	Bluegill	4.6	7.4	9.2
	Channel Catfish	1.7	18.5	19.3
	Northern Pike	1.3	15.8	16.6
	Walleye	1.3	16.7	17.3
Fountain (Freeborn) 8/3/15	Black Bullhead	9.9	9.6	13.4
	Black Crappie	29.5	7.5	11.8
	Bluegill	13.3	6.8	9.2
	Channel Catfish	4.3	20.1	30
	Northern Pike	7.3	20.5	33.3
	Walleye	6.2	15.7	25.5
	Yellow Perch	13.4	8.2	10.5
Cody (Rice) 8/10/15	Black Bullhead	135.5	7	11.1
	Bluegill	67.4	4.7	9.1
	Northern Pike	4.2	19.6	23.4
	Yellow Perch	61.8	8.6	11.9
Phelps (Rice) 8/17/15	Black Bullhead	132	7.8	12.5
	Bluegill	282.5	4.8	9.2
	Northern Pike	0.5	20.7	22.6
	Yellow Perch	13.7	8.3	11.7

Spring Bass Electrofishing Summary - 2015

Largemouth Bass (LMB) are best sampled during the spring by night-time electrofishing. With electrofishing, electricity is run through the water using an electrofishing boat to temporarily immobilize fish so they can be netted. Fish are then weighed, measured and released.

Lake (County) and date	Species	Number/hr	Average length (in)	Largest (in)
Tetonka (Le Sueur) 5/12/15	LMB	20.8	12.2	19.1
	SMB	1	15.5	15.5
George (Le Sueur) 5/20/15	LMB	0	NA	NA
Fountain (Freeborn) 5/27/15	LMB	57.7	7	14.2
Clear (Waseca) 6/1/15	LMB	40.5	11.6	17.4
Loon (Waseca) 6/1/15	LMB	23.2	10.7	11.8

Updated November 16, 2015