Peter (Main Basin)

Hennepin County

Near Leighton

DOW: 27014701

Black CrappieGood · 65Green SunfishGood · 61Hybrid SunfishGood · 61

A 41-acre lake near Leighton in Hennepin County — best known for panfish and pike. Last surveyed 1988.

Fish Species (14)

Black Crappie

Good · 65

Above-normal numbers · average-size fish

Gill-net survey · surveyed Jul 1988

Last surveyed 1988 — treat with caution

Avg Weight

0.12 lbs

Catch rate: 28.5 per gill net · typical 1.9–18 for a lake like this

Survey History

Date	Catch Rate	Avg Length	Avg Weight	Gear
Jul 13, 1988	1.00	-	0.10 lbs	Standard trap nets
Jul 13, 1988	28.50	-	0.12 lbs	Standard gill nets
Jul 14, 1983	3.00	-	0.22 lbs	Standard trap nets

Green Sunfish

Good · 61

Typical numbers · large fish

Trap-net survey · surveyed Jul 1983

Last surveyed 1983 — treat with caution

Avg Weight

0.10 lbs

Catch rate: 0.6 per trap net · typical 0.3–2 for a lake like this

Survey History

Date	Catch Rate	Avg Length	Avg Weight	Gear
Jul 14, 1983	0.60	-	0.10 lbs	Standard trap nets

Hybrid Sunfish

Good · 61

Typical numbers

Trap-net survey · surveyed Jul 1988

Last surveyed 1988 — treat with caution

Avg Weight

0.15 lbs

Catch rate: 0.8 per trap net

Survey History

Date	Catch Rate	Avg Length	Avg Weight	Gear
Jul 13, 1988	0.80	-	0.15 lbs	Standard trap nets
Jul 14, 1983	1.40	-	0.09 lbs	Standard trap nets

Northern Pike

Good · 59

Above-normal numbers · average-size fish

Gill-net survey · surveyed Jul 1988

Last surveyed 1988 — treat with caution

Avg Weight

2.21 lbs

Catch rate: 8.5 per gill net · typical 2.5–7.9 for a lake like this

Survey History

Date	Catch Rate	Avg Length	Avg Weight	Gear
Jul 13, 1988	8.50	-	2.21 lbs	Standard gill nets
Jul 13, 1988	0.40	-	1.10 lbs	Standard trap nets
Jul 14, 1983	3.50	-	2.43 lbs	Standard gill nets

Bluegill

Good · 56

Typical numbers · average-size fish

Trap-net survey · surveyed Jul 1988

Last surveyed 1988 — treat with caution

Avg Weight

0.14 lbs

Catch rate: 32.8 per trap net · typical 6.5–59.6 for a lake like this

Survey History

Date	Catch Rate	Avg Length	Avg Weight	Gear
Jul 13, 1988	32.80	-	0.14 lbs	Standard trap nets
Jul 13, 1988	5.50	-	0.18 lbs	Standard gill nets
Jul 14, 1983	79.00	-	0.11 lbs	Standard trap nets

Largemouth Bass

Average · 44

Average-size fish

Trap-net survey · surveyed Jul 1988

Last surveyed 1988 — treat with caution

Avg Weight

0.30 lbs

Catch rate: 0.2 per trap net · typical 0.3–0.8 for a lake like this

Survey History

Date	Catch Rate	Avg Length	Avg Weight	Gear
Jul 13, 1988	0.20	-	0.30 lbs	Standard trap nets
Jul 14, 1983	0.40	-	0.20 lbs	Standard trap nets
Jul 19, 1978	0.50	-	1.50 lbs	Standard gill nets

Pumpkinseed

Average · 41

Typical numbers · small fish

Trap-net survey · surveyed Jul 1988

Last surveyed 1988 — treat with caution

Avg Weight

0.08 lbs

Catch rate: 2.0 per trap net · typical 0.8–5.3 for a lake like this

Survey History

Date	Catch Rate	Avg Length	Avg Weight	Gear
Jul 13, 1988	0.50	-	0.10 lbs	Standard gill nets
Jul 13, 1988	2.00	-	0.08 lbs	Standard trap nets
Jul 14, 1983	2.00	-	0.10 lbs	Standard trap nets

Rock Bass

Average · 40

Typical numbers · average-size fish

Trap-net survey · surveyed Jul 1978

Last surveyed 1978 — treat with caution

Avg Weight

0.50 lbs

Catch rate: 0.2 per trap net · typical 0.2–0.6 for a lake like this

Survey History

Date	Catch Rate	Avg Length	Avg Weight	Gear
Jul 19, 1978	0.20	-	0.50 lbs	Standard trap nets

Yellow Perch

Average · 33

Below-normal numbers · average-size fish

Gill-net survey · surveyed Jul 1983

Last surveyed 1983 — treat with caution

Avg Weight

0.10 lbs

Catch rate: 1.0 per gill net · typical 1.5–12.8 for a lake like this

Survey History

Date	Catch Rate	Avg Length	Avg Weight	Gear
Jul 14, 1983	1.00	-	0.10 lbs	Standard gill nets
Jul 14, 1983	0.20	-	0.10 lbs	Standard trap nets

Other species in this lake (5)

Rough fish, bullheads, and baitfish recorded in DNR surveys — present in the lake, but not typical angling targets.

Common Carp

Good · 69

Above-normal numbers · average-size fish

Gill-net survey · surveyed Jul 1983

Last surveyed 1983 — treat with caution

Avg Weight

2.25 lbs

Catch rate: 4.0 per gill net · typical 0.5–4 for a lake like this

Survey History

Date	Catch Rate	Avg Length	Avg Weight	Gear
Jul 14, 1983	4.00	-	2.25 lbs	Standard gill nets
Jul 14, 1983	0.60	-	2.13 lbs	Standard trap nets
Jul 19, 1978	1.40	-	0.56 lbs	Standard trap nets

Yellow Bullhead

Good · 51

Typical numbers · average-size fish

Trap-net survey · surveyed Jul 1988

Last surveyed 1988 — treat with caution

Avg Weight

0.41 lbs

Catch rate: 3.0 per trap net · typical 0.8–5 for a lake like this

Survey History

Date	Catch Rate	Avg Length	Avg Weight	Gear
Jul 13, 1988	3.00	-	0.41 lbs	Standard trap nets
Jul 13, 1988	2.50	-	0.44 lbs	Standard gill nets
Jul 14, 1983	1.50	-	0.40 lbs	Standard gill nets

Golden Shiner

Good · 50

Large fish

Trap-net survey · surveyed Jul 1983

Last surveyed 1983 — treat with caution

Avg Weight

0.10 lbs

Catch rate: 0.2 per trap net · typical 0.2–1.4 for a lake like this

Survey History

Date	Catch Rate	Avg Length	Avg Weight	Gear
Jul 14, 1983	0.20	-	0.10 lbs	Standard trap nets

Brown Bullhead

Average · 49

Below-normal numbers · large fish

Trap-net survey · surveyed Jul 1988

Last surveyed 1988 — treat with caution

Avg Weight

0.70 lbs

Catch rate: 0.4 per trap net · typical 0.5–5.4 for a lake like this

Survey History

Date	Catch Rate	Avg Length	Avg Weight	Gear
Jul 13, 1988	0.40	-	0.70 lbs	Standard trap nets
Jul 14, 1983	1.00	-	0.55 lbs	Standard gill nets
Jul 14, 1983	0.60	-	0.42 lbs	Standard trap nets

Black Bullhead

Average · 34

Below-normal numbers · large fish

Trap-net survey · surveyed Jul 1988

Last surveyed 1988 — treat with caution

Avg Weight

0.50 lbs

Catch rate: 0.2 per trap net · typical 1.3–26 for a lake like this

Survey History

Date	Catch Rate	Avg Length	Avg Weight	Gear
Jul 13, 1988	1.00	-	0.60 lbs	Standard gill nets
Jul 13, 1988	0.20	-	0.50 lbs	Standard trap nets
Jul 14, 1983	11.50	-	0.43 lbs	Standard gill nets

See the best black crappie lakes in Minnesota

Fishing Regulations

Statewide limits

Standard statewide Minnesota limits for the species in this lake.

Northern Pike

Season: May 9, 2026 – Feb 28, 2027

North-central zone

Angling: 10 (not more than 2 over 26". All from 22-26" must be immediatley released).

Largemouth Bass

Season: Mar 1, 2026 – May 22, 2026

Largemouth bass in the Southern and North-central zones

Catch-and-release only

Largemouth Bass

Season: May 23, 2026 – Feb 28, 2027

Largemouth bass in the Southern and North-central zones

6 combined total largemouth or smallmouth (when smallmouth season is open)

Crappie

10 combined total

Sunfish

20 combined total

Perch

20 daily and 40 in possession

More statewide rules (spearing, rough fish)

Northern Pike

Season: Nov 15, 2026 – Feb 28, 2027

North-central zone

Darkhouse spearing: 10 (only 1 between 22-26" and 1 over 26"; or, only 2 over 26").

Rock Bass

Bowfin, buffalo, carp, carpsuckers, freshwater drum, goldeneye, redhorse, and suckers

no limit

Bullhead

100

Biologist Notes

July 13, 1988NORTHERN PIKE AND BLUEGILLS ARE THE PREDOMINANT GAMEFISH SPECIES PRESENT IN THIS LAKE. THE CATCH 3X THEIR LOCAL MEDIAN CATCH RATES. THE NOP SAMPLE CON…

NORTHERN PIKE AND BLUEGILLS ARE THE PREDOMINANT GAMEFISH SPECIES PRESENT IN THIS LAKE. THE CATCH 3X THEIR LOCAL MEDIAN CATCH RATES. THE NOP SAMPLE CONSISTED OF AGES III-VI AND THEY RANGED IN SIZE FROM 15 TO 28 INCHES AND SHOWED AVERAGE GROWTH RATES. THE SIZE OF BLUEGILLS RANGED FROM 3.0 TO 7.4 INCHES. THE BLACK CRAPPIE POPULATION APPEARS HIGH BASED ON THE GILL NET CATCH BUT THIS IS NOT REFLECTED IN THE TRAP NET CATCH RATE. THEY RANGED FROM 4.0 TO 9.0 INCHES IN SIZE. BLACK, YELLOW, AND BROWN BULLHEADS ARE PRESENT. OF THESE, YELLOW BULLHEADS ARE MOST ABUNDANT. OTHER SPECIES SAMPLED WERE BOWFIN, PUMPKINSEED, HYBRID SUNFISH, AND LARGEMOUTH BASS, ALL IN NUMBERS AT OR NEAR THEIR RESPECTIVE LOCAL MEDIAN CATCH RATES.

July 14, 1983NORTHERN PIKE, GREEN SUNFISH, BLUEGILL AND HYBRID SUNFISH WERE FOUND AT LEVELS ABOVE LOCAL MEDIAN NUMBERS. BOWFIN, CARP, GOLDEN SHINER, BLACK BULLHEAD…

NORTHERN PIKE, GREEN SUNFISH, BLUEGILL AND HYBRID SUNFISH WERE FOUND AT LEVELS ABOVE LOCAL MEDIAN NUMBERS. BOWFIN, CARP, GOLDEN SHINER, BLACK BULLHEAD, BROWN BULLHEAD, YELLOW PERCH AND BLACK CARPPIE WERE FOUND AT LOW LEVELS. PUMPKINSEED WERE FOUND AT THE LOCAL MEDIAN LEVEL. LARGEMOUTH BASS WERE FOUND AND NATURAL REPRODUCTION APPEARS TO BE ADEQUATE. MOST PANFISH SAMPLED WERE OF A VERY SMALL SIZE.

July 19, 1978N Pike and Bluegill are present in numbers and pounds per set above the statewide median catches. The following other species found in Peter Lake were…

N Pike and Bluegill are present in numbers and pounds per set above the statewide median catches. The following other species found in Peter Lake were not: Bowfin, Carp, Blk Bullhead, Yel Blhd, LM Bass, Pumpkinseed, Rock Bass and Blk Crappie.

Frequently Asked Questions

What fish can you catch in Peter (Main Basin)?

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Black Crappie, Green Sunfish, Hybrid Sunfish, Northern Pike, and Bluegill in Peter (Main Basin). See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

Is there public access at Peter (Main Basin)?

We don't have a confirmed public access point on record for Peter (Main Basin). Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

How deep is Peter (Main Basin)?

Peter (Main Basin) has a maximum depth of 68 feet and a mean depth of 21 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

When were the main sport fish in Peter (Main Basin) last surveyed?

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Peter (Main Basin) is from 1988. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

Does Peter (Main Basin) have any invasive species?

No invasive species are on record for Peter (Main Basin) in Minnesota DNR data. Always clean, drain, and dry your equipment to help keep it that way.

Are there special fishing regulations on Peter (Main Basin)?

No — Peter (Main Basin) has no lake-specific regulations in the 2026 Minnesota DNR regulations, so statewide Minnesota limits apply. The statewide crappie limit is: 10 combined total. Verify current rules with the Minnesota DNR before keeping fish.