The Sauk Rapids Area fisheries office will be monitoring the dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in many area lakes during the winter months, but particularly in lakes that have aeration systems or have a history of winterkill. By monitoring the DO levels in these lakes we are able to inform lake associations as to the status of the oxygen level in their lake and able to give them recommendations about when to turn on their aeration system. Generally speaking, when the DO level is between 3 ppm and 4 ppm at the surface it is time to start the aeration system, providing that all public notifications have been made and that proper permits and signage are in place around the lake and aeration area.
We will be testing lakes weekly and the most current results will be posted as soon as they come in.
2014/2015 Dissolved Oxygen Testing Results
| Lake (DOW#) | D | E | P | T | H | |||
| 1' | 3' | 5' | 10' | 15' | 20' | 25' | 30' | |
| Crawford (86-046) | ||||||||
| 12/4/14 | 11.4 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 9.9 | 5.5 | |||
| 12/22/14 | 12.9 | 9.7 | 8.1 | 1.6 | ||||
| 12/30/14 | 12.1 | 8.7 | 6.6 | 1.2 | ||||
| 1/14/15 | 8.1 | 7.5 | 3.0 | 0.5 | ||||
| Dean (86-041) | ||||||||
| 12/4/14 | 17.9 | 15.9 | 15.1 | 1.3 | 1.8 | |||
| 12/30/14 | 19.7 | 6.2 | 4.8 | 0.6 | 0.7 | |||
| 1/14/15 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 1.0 | 0.4 | |||
| Little Waverly (86-106) | ||||||||
| 12/4/14 | 17.2 | 16.2 | 12.9 | 2.5 | ||||
| 12/22/14 | >20 | 17.7 | 7.7 | 2.7 | ||||
| 12/30/14 | >20 | 14.7 | 5.0 | 3.0 | ||||
| 1/12/15 | 14.7 | 11.9 | 9.6 | 2.2 | ||||
| Lake (DOW#) | D | E | P | T | H | |||
| 1' | 3' | 5' | 10' | 15' | 20' | 25' | 30' | |
| Mink (86-229) | ||||||||
| 12/30/14 | 15.7 | 11.9 | 8.6 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 4.2 | |
| 1/14/15 | 8.3 | 8.6 | 8.5 | 8.8 | 4.9 | 3.8 | 3.4 | |
| Somers (86-230) | ||||||||
| 12/30/14 | 13.7 | 13.3 | 13.1 | 9.5 | 3.1 | |||
| 1/14/15 | 12.0 | 12.1 | 12.0 | 6.6 | 2.0 | |||
| Black Oak (73-241) | ||||||||
| 12/11/14 | 19.5 | 15.4 | 11.2 | 1.7 | ||||
| 1/12/15 | 6.8 | 5.8 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 3.4 | |||
| Lake (DOW#) | D | E | P | T | H | |||
| 1' | 3' | 5' | 10' | 15' | 20' | 25' | 30' | |
| Ann (71-069) | ||||||||
| 12/30/14 | 16.5 | 13.5 | 12.2 | 5.4 | 3.4 | 1.6 | ||
| 1/12/15 | 11.5 | 11.3 | 11.1 | 5.4 | 2.5 | 1.5 | ||
| Birch (71-057) | ||||||||
| 12/30/14 | 17.3 | 14.0 | 7.7 | 5.8 | 3.4 | |||
| 1/12/15 | 8.5 | 7.8 | 7.7 |
* all DO measurements are in ppm.
* most game species can survive DO levels down to 2 ppm.
* Lakes with aeration systems running: Dean (1/16/15), Crawford (1/21/15)
Lakes open to Liberalized fishing: none
Other Lakes open to liberalized fishing can be found at the following website:
Liberalized Fishing Opportunities
Updated March 18, 2015