Fishing Lake Minnewanna

Lake Minnewanna offers an excellent largemouth bass fishery with above-average catch rates and fish up to 19 inches, though only 16% reach the 14-inch minimum. Bass grow slowly (-1.8 growth index) but live up to 13 years, allowing many to reach 13+ inches. The thermocline develops between 13-16 feet in summer with dissolved oxygen becoming fish-limiting below 15 feet, concentrating fish in the upper water column. Bluegill dominate the catch at 45% but have improved from poor to acceptable size structure with 54% now reaching 6+ inches. Despite slow growth (-1.3 index), the Schneider Index of 3.5 ranks the bluegill population as acceptable to satisfactory. Pumpkinseed provide additional panfish opportunities with 73% at 6+ inches and better growth (-0.4 index) than bluegill. Black crappie offer limited fishing with 51% reaching 7+ inches but very slow growth (-1.9 index). The lake's dense aquatic vegetation includes milfoils, pondweeds, coontail, and chara, creating excellent fish habitat but limiting predator effectiveness on panfish recruitment. At 60 acres and maximum 23 feet deep, 82% of the lake is less than 10 feet, making it classic shallow, weedy warmwater habitat. Northern pike were notably absent in 2013 despite historical presence and DNR recommends restocking. The mesotrophic water quality with 11.5-foot secchi depth supports diverse fish communities, though the short growing season and heavy vegetation limit growth rates across all species. Most fish live only 6-8 years, preventing larger sizes despite adequate forage.