Bush Lake
Hennepin County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 27004700
Bush Lake has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Bush Lake shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 28 ft; surface area 171 acres, 110 littoral acres, 3.6 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 11.5 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, white sucker, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Hennepin County, nearest town Bloomington; DNR lake number (DOW) 27004700.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 5/24/1983 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | city | - City of Bloomington access on south end of lake; open sunrise-10 pm. Several surface use restrictions, most notably 6 hp engine use limit (others motors may remain attached), & speed limits of 8 mph sunrise-sunset and 5 mph sunset-sunrise. Contact City if further details needed. |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 69.75 | 558 | 0.07 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 68.38 | 547 | 0.07 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 54.38 | 435 | 0.06 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 8.62 | 69 | 0.50 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 7.00 | 56 | 0.91 |
| Green sunfish | Standard trap nets | 1.62 | 13 | 0.03 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.88 | 7 | 0.35 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.38 | 3 | 0.11 |
| Pumpkinseed | 50-ft beach seine | 35.00 | 70 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 7.50 | 15 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | 50-ft beach seine | 5.00 | 10 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | 50-ft beach seine | 2.50 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 1.00 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 1.00 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 27.84 | 30 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 25.05 | 27 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | Backpack electrofishing | 12.06 | 13 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 11.13 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 2.78 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Brown bullhead | Backpack electrofishing | 0.93 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 15-ft beach seine | 20.00 | 100 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 15-ft beach seine | 8.60 | 43 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | 15-ft beach seine | 8.40 | 42 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | 15-ft beach seine | 2.40 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 15-ft beach seine | 0.20 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 15-ft beach seine | 0.20 | 1 | 0.00 |
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.
A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Bush Lake was conducted on June 17th, 2024, by Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) Program staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at 10 sampling stations. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample 2 stations, and a 15-foot seine was used at 5 stations. Three stations were not seined due to deep muck and dense waterlilies. Nearshore sampling captured 8 species of fish; one that is tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Green Sunfish) but none that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Blackchin Shiner). A concurrent summer trap net survey was also conducted by IBI Program staff. Nine trap nets were set along the shoreline in locations that encompassed multiple habitat types, however one was not included in assessment as it was removed/vandalized . Trap net sampling captured 8 species of fish, including one considered tolerant of disturbance (Green Sunfish). Hybrid Sunfish and Pumpkinseed comprised a majority of the catch by number, whereas Brown Bullhead and Hybrid Sunfish comprised a majority by biomass. The trap net catch was largely dominated by Hybrid Sunfish, Pumpkinseed and Bluegill. The nearshore and trap net data were combined with gill net data from a June 2023 survey to describe the fish community and provide a fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. In Minnesota lakes, certain fish species cannot survive without clean water and a healthy habitat (e.g., Blackchin Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Rock Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Green Sunfish and Common Carp). The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. Results from this survey provide evidence that the fish community in Bush Lake is adversely impacted by stressors, as indicated by an FIBI score below the general use impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. These results are similar to previous findings. The survey results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Lower…
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
All Minnesota stockings · every Minnesota lake with a page · state CSV · this lake on DNR LakeFinder
Stocking rows, depths, accesses and survey figures are Minnesota DNR LakeFinder data as of 2026-09-02; contours are the DNR bathymetric survey. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
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