Parley Lake Fishing guide

Clean all aquatic plants, zebra mussels, and other invasive species from boats, trailers, and water-related equipment.

Drain water from your boat, ballast tanks, motor, live well and bait container. Remove drain plugs and keep drain plugs out while transporting equipment.

Dispose of unwanted bait in the trash. To keep live bait, drain the water and refill the bait container with bottled or tap water.

Moderate numbers of Bluegill were sampled with trap nets (28.4/net) near the expected catch rate of similar lakes. There were 256 Bluegill sampled in trap nets during the 2025 survey, with an average length of 6.0 inches and the largest measured at 8.7 inches. Size structure was balanced (an intermediate between high numbers of small fish and few numbers of large fish). Parley Lake is one of seven lakes in the West Metro Area (Hennepin, Carver, Scott Counties) included in the state-wide Quality Sunfish Initiative or QSI regulation (https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fish/sunfish/index.html). This special regulation was implemented in spring 2021 and reduced the daily bag limit from 20 fish to 5 for Bluegill in an effort to protect and improve the existing population. Early results show a positive impact from the reduced bag limit with noticeable increases to Bluegill size structure.

Low numbers of Black Crappie were sampled with trap nets (0.9/net) and gill nets (4.3/net) near the low end of the expected catch rate. There were 34 Black Crappie sampled during the 2025 survey, with an average length of 7.9 inches and the largest measured at 15.3 inches. Despite low catch rates, size structure remains balanced. Parley Lake is one of seven lakes in the West Metro Area (Hennepin, Carver, Scott Counties) included in the special regulation (implemented in spring 2021) that reduced the Black Crappie daily bag limit from 10 fish to 5 in an effort to protect and improve the existing population. While numbers were low during summer sampling, the presence of 15"+ fish is an encouraging sign for the Black Crappie fishery.

Largemouth Bass were historically present in Parley Lake, although targeted boat-electrofishing did not occur during the 2025 survey. Zero bass were Incidentally sampled with trap and gill nets.

High numbers of Northern Pike in Parley Lake were sampled with gill nets (17.0/net), well above the expected catch rate of similar lakes. The 2025 netting represents the highest catch rate of Northern Pike in Parley Lake in the previous 30 years. There were 102 Northern Pike sampled in gill nets, with an average size of 23.0 inches and the largest measured at 35.3 inches. Despite exceptionally high catch rates, Northern Pike size structure remains at desirable levels, providing excellent angling opportunity (high numbers of fish, large sizes).

Moderate numbers of Walleye were sampled with gill nets (1.3/net), near the expected catch rate of similar lakes. Average length of Walleye sampled in gill nets was 19.8 inches with the largest measured at 26.0 inches. Despite recent fry stocking (2023 and 2024) following the winterkill of 2022-2023, little return of Walleye was observed in sampling gear, with 8 total Walleye netted during 2025. Despite low numbers and inconsistent stocking, the size structure remains balanced. Much of the current Walleye population may be attributed to migrants from Minnetonka via 6-mile creek.

Other fish species sampled during the survey include Black Bullhead, Brown Bullhead, Bowfin, Common Carp, Pumpkinseed, White Crappie, Yellow Bullhead, and Yellow Perch.