Beaver Lake (Steele County)
Steele County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 74002300
DNR records show 8 stocking entries at Beaver Lake (Steele County) since 2016, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (1,886 fish).
- Beaver Lake (Steele County) has 8 DNR stocking records across 7 years (2016-2025): walleye (8).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 52,011 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 27 ft; surface area 98 acres, 42 littoral acres, 1.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 5.8 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and 1 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Steele County, nearest town Ellendale; DNR lake number (DOW) 74002300.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 6/14/1971 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,886 | 75.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,532 | 156.8 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 801 | 74.9 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,393 | 88.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fingerlings | 4,140 | 207.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 240 | 98.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | - | 21,000 | 22.8 |
| 2016 | Walleye | - | 21,019 | 24.3 |
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 | county | Features dock; swimming beach; and fishing pier |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 56.66 | 65 | 1.02 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 15.78 | 142 | 0.15 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 1.33 | 12 | 0.22 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 1.33 | 12 | 1.35 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 9 | 0.21 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 0.23 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.11 | 1 | 0.07 |
| White sucker | Standard trap nets | 0.11 | 1 | 1.70 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 10.33 | 31 | 0.88 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 7.67 | 23 | 0.23 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 4.33 | 13 | 0.28 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 3 | 0.29 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 3 | 0.10 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 2 | 2.34 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 2 | 1.50 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 2 | 1.80 |
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.
Beaver Lake is a 94-acre lake located approximately 5 miles northwest of the town of Ellendale in Steele County. Beaver Lake has a maximum depth of 27 feet with approximately 45% of the lake less than 15 feet deep. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency describes the overall condition of Beaver Lake as, "suitable for swimming and wading, with good clarity and low algae levels throughout the open water season." Much of the shoreline has been developed by private homeowners and the lake experiences heavy boat traffic during much of summer. A county park on the east side of the lake includes a concrete boat ramp as well as fishing pier and swimming beach. Beaver Lake is primarily managed for Black Crappie and Bluegill and secondarily for Largemouth Bass and Walleye. A standard survey was completed the week of 10 July 2023 as part of a regular monitoring program conducted by the Minnesota DNR. This survey was intended to assess the fish community by deploying 3 gill nets, 9 trap nets, and 68 minutes of boat electrofishing. Water quality parameters were also recorded. Only 12 Black Crappie were sampled with trap nets for a catch rate of 1.3/net. The Black Crappie catch rate in 2023 was the lowest since 1997 and continued a general declining trend. Black Crappie were also sampled in gill nets at a rate of 4.3/gill net. Black Crappie gill net catches mirror the decline seen in trap nets. Black Crappie lengths ranged from 7.1 to 8.6 inches with an average of 7.7 inches. Black Crappie were age 3-5. Growth was greater than statewide average for age 1 and 2 fish but slowed after age 3. Bluegills were the most abundant fish sampled in 2023 with a total of 142 sampled with trap nets for a catch rate of 15.8/net. Bluegill catch rates have been declining since a peak of 198.7/net in 2002. However, 15.8/net would still be considered "typical" and is not cause for concern. Bluegill lengths ranged from 2.7 to 8.9 inches with an average of 5.4 inches. The percentage of Bluegills greater than 8 inches was the second most since 1992. Bluegill were aged using scales and otoliths. Bluegills from 9 year classes (age 1-8 and 10) were sampled indicating consistent recruitment. A total of 65 Largemouth Bass were sampled with boat electrofishing for a catch rate of 56.7/hour which was a decrease from 2017 (153.0/hour) but was similar to the only other sample taken in 2007 of 49.4/hour. Largemouth Bass ranged from 5.1 to 20.6 inches with an average of 11.5 inches. The abundance of smaller Largemouth Bass in the past two surveys was seen as a positive influence on the Bluegill…
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.
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