Pickerel Lake (Sherburne County)
Sherburne County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 71015800
Pickerel Lake (Sherburne County) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Pickerel Lake (Sherburne County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 21 ft, mean depth 5 ft; surface area 108 acres, 105 littoral acres, 3.1 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 11.8 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Sherburne County, nearest town Cable; DNR lake number (DOW) 71015800.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey (get source); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
DNR fish survey, 2007
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 83.15 | 44 | 1.20 |
| Bluegill | Survey seining | 43.33 | 130 | 0.00 |
| BCS | Survey seining | 6.00 | 18 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Survey seining | 4.67 | 14 | 0.03 |
| Pumpkinseed | Survey seining | 3.00 | 9 | 0.00 |
| Blacknose shiner | Survey seining | 0.67 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | Survey seining | 0.33 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 20.67 | 124 | 2.09 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 20.33 | 122 | 0.64 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 19.83 | 119 | 0.09 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 8.83 | 53 | 0.12 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 2.00 | 12 | 0.19 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard gill nets | 1.17 | 7 | 0.68 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 4 | 1.59 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 0.50 | 3 | 1.89 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 9.33 | 84 | 0.07 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 4.67 | 42 | 0.10 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.67 | 15 | 0.83 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 1.22 | 11 | 2.52 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 0.12 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.07 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 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.
Pickerel Lake is a 121-acre lake connected to Long and Round Lakes. The three lakes are located three miles west of Clear Lake in western Sherburne County. Water quality was good with a secchi reading of 11.7 feet and oxygen levels to 14 feet. The lake is heavily developed along the west side but the remainder of the shore was natural. There is no public access on Pickerel Lake. Because of this, the DNR has not stocked the lake and has limited management to periodic test netting. The last survey was conducted in 1975. Emergent and submergent vegetation along with curled pondweed were observed during times of peak abundance. Twenty-five species of aquatic plants were found in Pickerel Lake and grew to a maximum depth of 13 feet. Muskgrass, Illinois pondweed, northern milfoil, sago pondweed and coontail were the most abundant species. Curled pondweed, an exotic, was sparse and grew at or near the surface on less than 0.1 acres. Very little appeared to have changed in the fisheries from 1975 to 2007. Northern pike, largemouth bass and bluegill would be expected to thrive in this type of lake with clear water and abundant aquatic plants. Catches of northern pike were above the range of expected values and fish were relatively small. Of the forage species only a few yellow perch were observed. A primary management species for Pickerel Lake is largemouth bass. Pickerel Lake had an excellent bass population with a wide range of sizes available to anglers including fish up to 20 inches. Little is known about the former condition of the largemouth bass population because 2007 was the first opportunity to survey with electrofishing. Growth of largemouth was similar to the statewide average. Largemouth bass grew to 12 inches in five years. Pickerel Lake had a moderate population of bluegill, which was similar to the last survey. Catch rates and average lengths were similar. Growth of bluegill was slow. A six-year-old bluegill was six inches in length. The black crappie catch was below the range of expected values for similar lake classes. Fourteen black crappie were captured and the average length was 7.5 inches. Other species sampled during the survey were: blackchin shiner, blacknose shiner, pumpkinseed sunfish and brown and yellow bullhead. Maintaining the water quality in Pickerel and Round Lakes should be a high priority of the county and the landowners around the lake. Some effort may be needed to identify any sources of phosphorus and plans developed to reduce the sources. Buffer strips on inlets and lakeshore property are encouraged to help reduce the…
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; 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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