Amelia Lake
Pope County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 61006400
DNR records show 6 stocking entries at Amelia Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2024 (188,500 fish).
- Amelia Lake has 6 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2016-2024): walleye (6).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 395,410 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 69 ft, mean depth 21 ft; surface area 934 acres, 377 littoral acres, 7.4 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 7.6 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, walleye, white sucker, and 2 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Pope County, nearest town Villard; DNR lake number (DOW) 61006400.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/13/1984 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 188,500 | 1.6 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 188,500 | 1.7 |
| 2020 | Walleye | yearlings | 142 | 102.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye | yearlings | 1,392 | 300.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 10,536 | 377.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 6,340 | 388.0 |
Field note · Minnesota stocks by year, not by truck day: walleye fry go in within weeks of ice-out, fingerlings and yearlings mostly in fall, and stream trout in spring and fall. A row here means the fish went in during that year; DNR adds the year's rows after the fact, so the current year can look empty until winter.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | - An aquatic invasive species (AIS) decontamination unit is located across from DNR public access. |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 31.00 | 31 | 1.82 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 18.91 | 208 | 0.33 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 1.64 | 18 | 0.32 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 1.36 | 15 | 1.07 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 1.18 | 13 | 0.62 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 14.25 | 171 | 0.91 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 9.83 | 118 | 0.23 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 5.58 | 67 | 1.77 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 2.58 | 31 | 0.81 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 1.83 | 22 | 0.06 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 1.67 | 20 | 2.51 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.83 | 10 | 1.54 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 4 | 0.24 |
Catch per net (CPUE) is the DNR survey's count per gill net or trap net set; higher means more of that species were sampled, not a fishing forecast. Top species per gear shown; where we have no verified common name for a DNR code, the code itself is shown.
Lake Amelia is a 934-acre natural basin located approximately one mile southwest of the City of Villard in Pope County. It is the lowermost basin in a chain of three lakes comprised of Leven, Villard, and Amelia Lakes. Lake Amelia is larger and much deeper than connected basins. Maximum depth is 69 feet and average depth is 21 feet. Upstream Leven and Villard lakes remove and assimilate nutrients and sediments delivered from a large watershed before discharging to Lake Amelia. Water clarity typically averages over 10 feet but was only 7 feet during the mid-summer portion of this survey. Bottom soils are primarily sand and gravel. The mid-lake portion of Lake Amelia features many underwater humps and points, creating diverse habitat for fish and features for anglers to target. Dense stands of emergent aquatic vegetation remain along the northwest shoreline. The lake supports a diverse submergent plant community. In response to very good water clarity, submergent plants grow to a depth of 19 feet. A standard lake survey was completed during 2025 to assess the fish community of Lake Amelia. The major components of the survey included a spring panfish survey, a Largemouth Bass electrofishing survey, and a mid-summer gill net survey. Lake Amelia supports a healthy, robust fish community. The mid-summer portion of this survey was used to assess the Walleye, Northern Pike and Yellow Perch populations. Primary fish management is focused on the Walleye fishery. Currently, Walleye are abundant in Lake Amelia. Higher levels of natural reproduction have been observed in Lake Amelia's Walleye population in recent years. Walleye fry are now stocked in even-numbered years, however most of the fish observed in the survey were from non-stocked years. A gill net catch rate of 14.3 Walleye/net during the 2025 survey is above average. Multiple year classes are well represented in the population, but the 2023 year class was particularly strong. Many of the Walleye were between 11.0 and 14.0 inches at the time of the survey, which should support good fishing opportunities over the next few years. Northern Pike abundance is moderate. Smaller fish typically dominate the Northern Pike population in Lake Amelia. Though larger pike have been observed in past surveys, only one fish over 26.0 inches was caught during the 2025 survey. Anglers are encouraged to harvest small "hammerhandle" pike in this system. Catch rates of Yellow Perch continue to be low. Yellow Perch abundance is cause for concern as they are typically an important prey species in many lakes. Catch rates have…
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
All Minnesota stockings · every Minnesota lake with a page · state CSV · this lake on DNR LakeFinder
Stocking rows, depths, accesses and survey figures are Minnesota DNR LakeFinder data as of 2026-09-02; contours are the DNR bathymetric survey. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
Hear when the states we cover post stockings
One email a week in season: which waters in the states we cover were stocked, straight from the state agencies' own postings. No spam, no fishing-gear ads in the mail.
Free · double opt-in · unsubscribe anytime · we store only your email.