West Metro Area Fisheries Office

Notices:

Area Trout Lakes Stocked For 2008 Open-Water Season

In accordance with management plans and practice, our Area's three trout lakes were stocked with yearling rainbow trout (average size 1/3-1/2 lb) for the open-water 2008 season. Courthouse Lake (Chaska) received 4,000 fish, and Christmas (Greenwood) and Little Long (Minnetrista) received 1,000 fish each.

Management plans for Courthouse Lake also include an October stocking of yearling rainbow trout. When available and when lake temperatures are cool, Courthouse Lake and Christmas Lake might receive larger trout of various species and sizes, with Christmas Lake getting only rainbow trout. Numbers and sizes of larger fish stocked vary yearly, depending what state trout hatcheries release as surplus.

Lakes Affected in Winter 2007-08 by Low Oxygen or "Winterkill"

The winter of 2007-08 season was longer and had more snow cover than most recent winters, which increased incidences of "winterkill," or oxygen depletion severe enough to cause fish die-offs.

A fuller explanation of winterkill causes and effects can be found on our Winterkills page.

Lakes (and [streams]) in our Area with witnessed or reported winterkills in 2007-08 include-- Carver County: Courthouse (partial), Goose, Long, Lucy, Rice Marsh, Rutz, Virginia; Hennepin County: Anderson #3, Diamond (Minneapolis), Duck, Edward, Grass, Holy Name, Indianhead, Loring, Mooney, Pike, Powderhorn, Rice, Ryan, Smetana, Snelling, Twin, Webber, Wirth (partial), [Minnehaha Creek]; Scott County: Cynthia, Crystal, Fish (partial), Pleasant, St. Catherine.

New Mississippi River Muskie Regulation Effective June 2, 2007
Muskellunge angling for the uppermost Mississippi River is now catch-and-release only, effective with the 2007 fishing season. For further details, see this news release.)