Bush Lake

Bush Lake comes in at a B on the grading rubric — a respectable showing for a Minnesota lake of its size and depth.

A TSI value of 39 puts Bush Lake in the oligotrophic range, where biological productivity stays low and the water column remains clear. Bush Lake reaches 28 ft at its deepest point — typical for Minnesota mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. The lake's 171 acres and 3.6 miles of shoreline put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Among the 95 graded lakes in Hennepin County, Bush Lake ranks 4 — in the top quartile locally.

Eurasian watermilfoil has been documented at Bush Lake, requiring shoreline management to keep dense mats from crowding native vegetation. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 12, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. A documented public access point at Bush Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. Ice-out has been recorded 9 times at Bush Lake, with a median around Apr 8. Monitoring depth is thin here: the LakeGrade rubric is applied to a small number of sample years, and the grade will be revised as more data accumulates.