Bear Lake (Freeborn County)
Freeborn County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 24002800
DNR records show 1 stocking entry at Bear Lake (Freeborn County) since 2016, most recently northern pike adults in 2016 (325 fish).
- Bear Lake (Freeborn County) has 1 DNR stocking record across 1 year (2016-2016): northern pike (1).
- The most-stocked species by count is northern pike: 325 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 6 ft, mean depth 3 ft; surface area 1,033 acres, 1,033 littoral acres, 6.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Freeborn County, nearest town Emmons; DNR lake number (DOW) 24002800.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Northern Pike | adults | 325 | 507.8 |
Field note · Minnesota stocks by year, not by truck day: walleye fry go in within weeks of ice-out, fingerlings and yearlings mostly in fall, and stream trout in spring and fall. A row here means the fish went in during that year; DNR adds the year's rows after the fact, so the current year can look empty until winter.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| earthen ramp | Minnesota DNR | - On north shore; access is often blocked by floating cattail bogs. DNR access provided through cooperation with local riparian. |
DNR fish survey, 2009
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 89.00 | 89 | 0.20 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 38.00 | 38 | 0.13 |
| Bigmouth buffalo | Standard gill nets | 26.00 | 26 | 0.63 |
| Common carp | Standard gill nets | 24.00 | 24 | 4.46 |
| White crappie | Standard gill nets | 9.00 | 9 | 0.13 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 7.00 | 7 | 1.49 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 7.00 | 7 | 1.20 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 4.00 | 4 | 0.09 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 37.75 | 151 | 0.08 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 9.25 | 37 | 0.21 |
| White crappie | Standard trap nets | 5.00 | 20 | 0.29 |
| Golden shiner | Standard trap nets | 4.50 | 18 | 0.04 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 3.25 | 13 | 0.16 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 2.50 | 10 | 5.25 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 1.50 | 6 | 3.23 |
| Orangespotted sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.50 | 2 | 0.02 |
Catch per net (CPUE) is the DNR survey's count per gill net or trap net set; higher means more of that species were sampled, not a fishing forecast. Top species per gear shown; where we have no verified common name for a DNR code, the code itself is shown.
Bear Lake in Freeborn County is a 1,536 acre lake north of the city of Emmons. Bear Lake is currently a wildlife management lake, one of 44 lakes statewide designated as such. A DNR-owned public access is located on northeast end of the lake. Bear Lake was surveyed the week of July 30th, 2009, to monitor the fish community. Black bullheads were the most abundant fish sampled at 89 per gill net and 38 per trap net lift. Bullhead in both gears were small, ranging between 4.5 and 10.5 inches and averaging five to a pound. Bear Lake's poor water quality is a good fit for the greatly tolerant black bullhead. Local interest in a recreational fishery stems from catches of northern pike. Two inlets on the north end of the lake are channelized and are the deepest points on the lake. Both sites are the best locations for darkhouse spearing and winter and summer angling. Northern pike averaged 7 fish per gill net, approaching the upper quartile for class 43 lakes. Average fish weight was 1.5 pounds. Trap netted pike were larger; average fish weight was 3.4 pounds. Local anglers report historical catches of larger fish. Bear Lake's wider connection to the Winnebago River and immediate connection to Lime Creek may be the source of the lake's crappie populations. Resident black and white crappie populations include a handful of year classes, implying not only survival in Bear Lake's shallow waters, but reproduction as well. Black crappie were not well sampled in gillnets; black crappie in trap nets were captured at a rate of 9 fish per lift. Trap netted black crappies ranged between 4.5 to 10.9 inches, with an average of 6.8 inches. White crappie also were not well sampled in gillnet. Trap netted white crappie averaged 5 fish per lift. White crappies in trapnets ranged between 5.7 and 11.4 inches, with an average of 7.6 inches. Common carp are prolific in Bear Lake; they may be underrepresented in this survey because of their ability to break mesh in the gill net and escape. Despite losing some fish, carp exceeded the upper quartile for abundance, averaging 24 fish per gill net lift. Carp were large, averaging 4.5 pounds per fish, again exceeding the upper quartile for average fish weight. While operating the boat on Bear Lake, carp were observed jumping in the outboard motor propeller wash. Young bigmouth buffalo were abundant at 26 fish per gill net lift. Buffalo ranged from 8 to 11 inches. No large buffalo were caught in the gill nets, but a 20 inch fish was caught in a trap net. Yellow perch averaged 38 fish per gill net lift. Gill net perch fit into a narrow…
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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Stocking rows, depths, accesses and survey figures are Minnesota DNR LakeFinder data as of 2026-09-02. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
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