Drawdown for Sibley County’s Clear Lake set for spring

Sibley County’s Clear Lake will get a partial drawdown this spring.

  The temporary lowering of water levels on the 505-acre lake is intended to improve fish and wildlife habitat and water quality. 

State wildlife officials say Clear Lake has been overwhelmed by large populations of common carp, which have caused turbid water and have impeded aquatic plant growth.  The lake is also susceptible to wind and wave action that has eroded the shoreline. 

“Clear Lake has been hampered by impaired water quality for two decades,” said Scott Mackenthun, Hutchinson area fisheries supervisor. “Common carp have had a negative impact on this lake for a number of years, and the goal of the drawdown is to greatly reduce the number of common carp.”

Plans call for lowering the water levels by about four feet to create conditions for winterkill and reduce carp populations. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will stock walleye, northern pike, yellow perch, and bluegill in Clear Lake, which the DNR says will create recreational angling opportunities and a measure of population control on common carp