Rice Lake (Crow Wing County)
Crow Wing County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 18014500
Rice Lake (Crow Wing County) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Rice Lake (Crow Wing County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 25 ft; surface area 418 acres, 202 littoral acres, 8.7 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 6.5 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), channel catfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, shorthead redhorse, silver redhorse, and 5 more.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Crow Wing County, nearest town Brainerd; DNR lake number (DOW) 18014500.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 9/7/1967 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | city | South end of lake in Lum Park. |
| concrete ramp | county | - French Rapids. |
DNR fish survey, 2021
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 36.70 | 40 | 1.48 |
| Black crappie | Standard electrofishing | 16.51 | 18 | 0.40 |
| Smallmouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 0.92 | 1 | 1.46 |
| Channel catfish | Standard gill nets | 32.67 | 294 | 1.72 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 11.33 | 102 | 0.34 |
| Shorthead redhorse | Standard gill nets | 8.78 | 79 | 1.11 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 3.56 | 32 | 0.11 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 3.22 | 29 | 0.33 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 2.56 | 23 | 0.75 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 2.11 | 19 | 0.27 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 1.33 | 12 | 3.07 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 4.67 | 42 | 0.14 |
| Silver redhorse | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 4.74 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 1.74 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 0.10 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.08 |
| Channel catfish | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 5.31 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 6.73 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.32 |
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.
Rice Lake is a 322 acre impoundment of the Mississippi River created by a dam owned by the City of Brainerd. Because of this, not only will anglers find typical lake species, but there are also riverine species present as well. One of those species that has really taken off is Channel Catfish. The catch rate in 2021 of 32.7/net was up considerably from the previous survey in 2014 (1.1/gill net). Average size was 16.8", with fish ranging from 9.5" to 24.5". Another fish species that you won't find a lot of places in the Brainerd Area is Smallmouth Bass. They were caught in above average numbers (1.3/gill net) for this type of lake. Average length was 12.9" and 58% were 12" or larger. Fish up to 17.8" were caught. Night electrofishing was done for both Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass. While only one Smallmouth Bass was captured, Largemouth were captured at the rate of 36.4/hour. This was up from the previous survey in 2014 (15.5/hour). Average length was 13.6" and 85% were 12" or larger. Panfish are popular on Rice in both the winter and open water seasons. In 2021, new regulations were adopted for the Mississippi River from the Brainerd Dam upstream to Highway 6, including Rice Reservoir, that reduces the daily possession limit to 5 for crappie and sunfish. This new regulation is intended to protect and improve panfish sizes on this stretch of water. The average size of Black Crappies in this survey was 8.2", with 59% measuring 8" or larger. Bluegill average size was 7.5", with 28% of the fish 7" or larger. Walleye were caught in average numbers (2.6/gill net) for this type of lake. Average length was 13.0" and 64% of the fish were 12" or larger. Northern Pike numbers were low at 1.3/gill net. Average size was 23.4", with 33% of the fish within the 22-26" protected slot and 33% over 26". Muskellunge offer another unique fish that anglers may try for. Although none were sampled during the survey, there are angler reports of fisherman catching them in Rice Lake as well as the Mississippi River. Seven fish were caught in a special Muskellunge assessment in the spring of 2017 on this stretch of the reservoir.
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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