Becker Lake
Stearns County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 73015600
Becker Lake has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Becker Lake shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 20 ft, mean depth 2 ft; surface area 221 acres, 170 littoral acres, 5.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 5.4 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), channel catfish, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, redhorse, and 6 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Stearns County, nearest town Richmond; DNR lake number (DOW) 73015600.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 7/9/1980 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| gravel ramp | Minnesota DNR | State owned access is present on the Sauk River, east of the lake, off MN Hwy 22. The lake is also navigable from Horseshoe Lake. |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 12.00 | 24 | 2.02 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 4.50 | 9 | 0.12 |
| Channel catfish | Standard gill nets | 2.50 | 5 | 4.83 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 2.00 | 4 | 1.37 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 1.50 | 3 | 0.28 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 1.50 | 3 | 0.92 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 2 | 0.08 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 2 | 0.60 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 10.63 | 10 | 1.45 |
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.
Becker Lake is a 176-acre lake located near the city of Richmond in south-central Stearns County. A public access is located on the Sauk River just east of the lake. Becker Lake formed when a dam was built in Cold Spring in the early 1900's and is now considered a part of the Sauk River Chain of Lakes (SRCL). Most of the lake is shallow and has a maximum depth of 20 feet. Becker Lake has historically been susceptible to winterkill events. To help reduce winterkill events, an aeration system was installed in 1989 but later removed in 2010 due to difficulties maintaining equipment. Due to the location of Becker Lake in relation to the rest of the other lakes on the SRCL, water quality is often better with a more diverse aquatic plant community. Zebra mussels were found within the SRCL in 2018, and Eurasian watermilfoil was found downstream Horseshoe in 2021. Anglers are encouraged to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) by cleaning, draining, and drying all equipment used in infested waters. A targeted survey was conducted in 2024 using boat electrofishing and gillnets to update data on popular game species last collected in 2021. Largemouth Bass were surveyed during the daytime using boat electrofishing on May 20, 2024. Bass catches continue to be low at 11/hr and were well below the Sauk Rapids management objective of 50/hr. Only 10 bass were sampled during the electrofishing event and ranged in size from and 4.0 to 17.0 inches. However, anglers should have good opportunities to catch quality-sized Largemouth Bass as 55% were longer than 12.0 inches and 46% were longer than 15.0 inches. Gillnet catches were moderate to low across all species collected during the survey. The Northern Pike catch increased from 8.0/net (2021) to 12.0/net and was above the expected range of values for lakes similar to Becker Lake. Northern Pike lengths ranged from 15.0 to 34.0 inches, with an average length and weight of 21.0 inches and 2.0 pounds. Nine percent of the Northern Pike sampled were longer than 26.0 inches and 5% were longer than 30.0 inches. Anglers are encouraged to harvest small pike (less than 22.0 inches) to help increase the size structure of the population. Walleye abundance in 2024 (2.0/net) was much lower than 2021 (10.0/net) but was within the range of expected values for the lake. Only four Walleye were sampled during the survey and ranged in length from 15.5 to 18.0 inches with an average length and weight of 16.0 inches and 1.4 pounds. Walleye stocking within the SRCL was discontinued after 2017 because natural reproduction was…
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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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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