Pickerel Lake (Dakota County)
Dakota County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 19007900
Pickerel Lake (Dakota County) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Pickerel Lake (Dakota County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 11 ft; surface area 114 acres, 114 littoral acres, 2.5 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 4.8 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), channel catfish, common carp, freshwater drum, gizzard shad, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, and 3 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Dakota County, nearest town Lilydale; DNR lake number (DOW) 19007900.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey (get source); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| O | city | - Entire lake within Lilydale-Harriet Island Regional Park. |
DNR fish survey, 2015
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GIS | Standard gill nets | 32.00 | 32 | 0.18 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 16.00 | 16 | 0.10 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 7.00 | 7 | 0.12 |
| Golden shiner | Standard gill nets | 6.00 | 6 | 0.11 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 5.00 | 5 | 0.04 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 3.00 | 3 | 4.91 |
| White crappie | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 1 | 1.09 |
| Channel catfish | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 1 | 2.60 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 4.80 | 24 | 0.13 |
| Green sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.60 | 3 | 0.21 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.60 | 3 | 2.41 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.40 | 2 | 0.22 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 0.40 | 2 | 0.13 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.40 | 2 | 6.01 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.40 | 2 | 0.22 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard trap nets | 0.20 | 1 | 2.82 |
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.
Pickerel Lake is a 90-acre, class 37 lake located in the Mississippi River floodplain in Lilydale. The lake lies entirely within the Lilydale/Harriet Island Regional Park. During flood events the Mississippi River inundates this shallow, heavily-vegetated basin. Flooding has occurred as recently as the summer of 2010. Maximum depth is 11 feet, but most of the lake is five to six feet deep. The majority of the shoreline is undeveloped and The City of St. Paul has operated a winter aeration system (since 2005) near the carry-in boat access. Shore fishing is available along the northwest side of the lake and at some locations along the railroad tracks to north and east sides of the lake, the carry-in access is also available (electric motor only). Summertime vegetation often becomes very thick and may interfere with angling. The most abundant fish seen in 2015 were Gizzard Shad these fish are most likely the result of river flooding events that allowed Gizzard Shad to colonize Pickerel Lake. Panfish such as Black Crappie, Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Green and Hybrid Sunfish were not found in great abundance during this survey. All these species were observed in below average numbers for lakes similar to Pickerel. Northern Pike were also seen in below average numbers. One bright spot for Pickerel Lake was the above average occurrence of Yellow Perch which was the most ever recorded for Pickerel Lake. One 19.7 inch long Channel Catfish was caught in the gill net. Other fish sampled in low abundance in 2015 were, Golden Shiner (N=6), Bowfin (N=3), Common Carp (N=1), Largemouth Bass (N=1), Freshwater Drum (N=1), and Silver Redhorse (N=1).
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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