Birch Lake (Sherburne County)
Sherburne County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 71005700
Birch Lake (Sherburne County) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Birch Lake (Sherburne County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 18 ft, mean depth 10 ft; surface area 160 acres, 117 littoral acres, 3.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 7.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and 1 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Sherburne County, nearest town Big Lake; DNR lake number (DOW) 71005700.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 5/30/1984 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | TOW | Township owned access located on the west side of the lake. |
DNR fish survey, 2019
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 69.89 | 629 | 0.10 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 5.89 | 53 | 0.24 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 3.78 | 34 | 0.61 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 3.33 | 30 | 0.11 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 0.44 | 4 | 10.64 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 0.20 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.12 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.08 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 57.50 | 79 | 1.54 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 11.83 | 71 | 3.13 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 11.33 | 68 | 0.07 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 6.17 | 37 | 0.09 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 1.83 | 11 | 0.11 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.83 | 5 | 0.66 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 4 | 2.40 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 0.17 | 1 | 3.63 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.17 | 1 | 0.22 |
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.
Birch Lake is a 151 acre lake located four miles northeast of the City of Big Lake in Sherburne County. It has a maximum depth of 18 feet and a small watershed. Land use in the watershed is primarily forest and wetlands. Birch has a history of winterkills, but winter aeration has been used in recent years to prevent winterkill. A public access is located on the west side of the lake. Anglers can expect good fishing for Northern Pike and Largemouth Bass. The last survey was in 2004. Emergent and floating-leaf vegetation were widespread, primarily cattail and waterlilies. Submerged vegetation was not surveyed in 2019 but was abundant. Water clarity was moderate; Secchi depth was 7.0 feet on June 10. Dissolved oxygen was adequate to support fish to 16 feet. Northern Pike numbers were the highest recorded and just above the expected range of values for lakes similar to Birch. Northern Pike ranged in length from 15.8 to 32.1 inches with an average length and weight of 23.9 inches and 3.1 pounds. Nineteen percent of pike were 26 inches or longer and seven percent were 30 inches or more. Largemouth Bass were sampled by day-time electrofishing on May 23. The catch rate (58/hour) was well above 2004 results (21/hour), and above the Sauk Rapids average of 43/hour. Lengths ranged from 5.4 to 21.7 inches with an average length of 12.5 inches. Forty-four percent of Largemouth Bass were 15 inches or longer. Only one Walleye was sampled during the survey. Walleye stocking was discontinued after 2004 due to poor fry survival and low net catches after fingerling stocking. Bluegill numbers were above the expected range of values for similar lakes, but well below 2004 results. Bluegill were small; lengths ranged from 2.7 to 7.5 inches with an average length of 5.3 inches. Black Crappie numbers were within the expected range of values, but lower than 2004 results and the long term average. Black Crappie were small; lengths ranged from 4.5 to 10.2 inches with an average length of 6.9 inches. Only two percent of crappies were 10 inches or longer. Other species captured included: Common Carp, Hybrid Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, White Sucker, and Yellow Bullhead.
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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