Big Kandiyohi Lake
Kandiyohi County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 34008600
DNR records show 19 stocking entries at Big Kandiyohi Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (666,800 fish).
- Big Kandiyohi Lake has 19 DNR stocking records across 9 years (2016-2025): northern pike (9), walleye (7), yellow perch (3).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 5,948,797 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 18 ft; surface area 2,730 acres, 1,445 littoral acres, 14.3 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 3.5 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, channel catfish, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, orangespotted sunfish, smallmouth bass, and 4 more.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Kandiyohi County, nearest town Lake Lillian; DNR lake number (DOW) 34008600.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 6/2/1953 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 666,800 | 6.5 |
| 2024 | Northern Pike | adults | 209 | 303.5 |
| 2024 | Northern Pike2 | fingerlings | 1,833 | 20.2 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 399,896 | 4.1 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 499,942 | 4.7 |
| 2022 | Northern Pike | fingerlings | 2,030 | 2.5 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 846,507 | 7.7 |
| 2021 | Northern Pike | fingerlings | 595 | 1.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 1,088,357 | 10.5 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 1,001,072 | 8.9 |
| 2018 | Northern Pike | fry | 23,357 | 0.8 |
| 2018 | Northern Pike | fingerlings | 217 | 1.9 |
| 2018 | Yellow Perch | yearlings | 6,000 | 240.0 |
| 2017 | Northern Pike | fingerlings | 5,500 | 9.2 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 1,446,223 | 15.9 |
| 2017 | Yellow Perch | adults | 7,084 | 1,012.0 |
| 2016 | Northern Pike | fingerlings | 1,981 | 2.9 |
| 2016 | Northern Pike | adults | 32 | 106.7 |
| 2016 | Yellow Perch | adults | 9,840 | 820.0 |
2 fish purchased by the DNR for stocking.
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 | SW public access. - Two ramps, dock, large gravel parking lot. |
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | NE state public access. - Two ramps, dock, and large asphalt parking lot. |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walleye | Fall electrofishing | 128.00 | 64 | 0.05 |
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.
A targeted fall night electrofishing survey of young of year "YOY" (fingerling sized) Walleye was conducted on Big Kandiyohi Lake during September 11, 2024. A targeted survey is generally used for sampling a specific kind of fish or time of year (i.e., spawning season, fall season, etc.) unlike a standard survey which samples a wider range of fish species during the summer months using standard methodology (i.e., standard time of year, set sampling stations, taking water clarity readings and oxygen/temperature profiles, etc.) and gears (i.e., lake survey gillnets, trapnets and possibly spring electrofishing for Largemouth Bass). Big Kandiyohi is a large (2,683 acres), shallow (18 feet maximum depth), and productive lake located in Kandiyohi County. Winterkill is not an issue for Big Kandiyohi due to its greater depth unlike other nearby shallow (10 feet or less) lakes like Elizabeth and Lake Lillian. Water clarity varies seasonally with generally good clarity during mid-May through June (secchi=3-10 feet), poor by late July through mid-August ( 3 feet). Water levels were generally low in 2020-2023, but normal in 2024. Intense blue-green algae blooms are often present during the summers. Submergent vegetation densities are usually relatively low consisting mostly of sago pondweed, coontail, curly-leaf pondweed and water moss. Curly-leaf pondweed has been a nuisance in recent years. Filamentous algae densities were at nuisance levels for 2021. Shoalwater substrates are varied, but consist mostly of sand, gravel, boulder, silt, and rubble. Walleye natural reproduction in Big Kandiyohi is frequent, but generally insignificant based on previous surveys. The Walleye population is due primarily to fry stocking. Big Kandiyohi was stocked with approximately 2-3 million Walleye fry per year in the springs of 2011, 2013, and 2015. Approximately 1.5 million Spicer Strain fry were stocked on April 28, 2017. There were about 1.0 million Spicer Strain Walleye fry stocked in 2019 and 2021. Approximately 846,000 Walleye fry were stocked in 2022. About 500,000 Walleye fry were stocked in 2023. There were about 400,000 Walleye fry stocked in 2024. YOY Walleye abundance was high in 2024 (114.00 YOY/hour, 5.84 inches). Abundant YOY Walleye numbers (539.99 YOY/hour, 5.31 inches) were caught in the 2022 fall night electrofishing survey. Low YOY Walleye numbers were captured in 2019 fall electrofishing survey (19.50 YOY/hour, 6.77 inches). However, abundant YOY Walleye numbers were captured in Big Kandiyohi during the 2017 fall electrofishing survey (80.69 YOY/hour, 6.02…
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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