Big Sand Lake (Hubbard County)
Hubbard County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 29018500
Big Sand Lake (Hubbard County) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Big Sand Lake (Hubbard County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 135 ft; surface area 1,639 acres, 465 littoral acres, 8.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 20.9 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, smallmouth bass, tullibee (cisco), and 4 more.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Hubbard County, nearest town Dorset; DNR lake number (DOW) 29018500.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 2/27/1941 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | county | A county owned public access with concrete ramp is located on the southeast shore next to the outlet. |
| earthen ramp | county | County owned access located on the south shore |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White sucker | Spawning trap | 274.80 | 1,374 | 0.45 |
| Walleye | Spawning trap | 27.00 | 135 | 3.17 |
| Black crappie | Spawning trap | 13.00 | 65 | 0.00 |
| Rock bass | Spawning trap | 11.80 | 59 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Spawning trap | 7.00 | 35 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Spawning trap | 4.40 | 22 | 0.00 |
| Smallmouth bass | Spawning trap | 1.00 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Northern pike | Spawning trap | 0.80 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Walleye | Special trap nets | 145.50 | 291 | 3.23 |
| Yellow perch | fine mesh forage gill net | 60.33 | 362 | 0.05 |
| Rock bass | fine mesh forage gill net | 12.17 | 73 | 0.10 |
| Common shiner | fine mesh forage gill net | 10.50 | 63 | 0.01 |
| Walleye | fine mesh forage gill net | 1.83 | 11 | 0.54 |
| Brassy minnow | fine mesh forage gill net | 1.67 | 10 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | fine mesh forage gill net | 1.33 | 8 | 0.01 |
| Blacknose shiner | fine mesh forage gill net | 1.17 | 7 | 0.00 |
| Spottail shiner | fine mesh forage gill net | 1.17 | 7 | 0.01 |
| Rock bass | Standard gill nets | 27.40 | 411 | 0.42 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 18.87 | 283 | 0.12 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 9.07 | 136 | 1.87 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 4.47 | 67 | 3.51 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 2.67 | 40 | 0.82 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 2.13 | 32 | 2.61 |
| Tullibee (cisco) | Standard gill nets | 1.40 | 21 | 1.66 |
| Smallmouth bass | Standard gill nets | 1.33 | 20 | 1.86 |
| Walleye | Fall electrofishing | 0.51 | 1 | 0.23 |
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.
Big Sand Lake is located seven miles northeast of Park Rapids in central Hubbard County. Big Sand has a surface area of 1,635 acres and a maximum depth of 135 feet. A state owned public access is located on the south shore of the lake off Grouse Road, next to the outlet of the Sand River. Access with small boats is also available from the inlet connecting to Lake Emma and from the outlet connecting to Lake Ida. Big Sand provides angling opportunities for Walleye, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, and panfish. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Big Sand Lake is in lake class 22. Class 22 lakes are generally very large, irregularly shaped lakes that are very deep, have clear and hard water. Other class 22 lakes in the Park Rapids area include: Lower Bottle, Kabekona, Long, and Potato. The unique protected slot limit for Walleye on Big Sand Lake was removed in 2024 and reverted to the statewide regulation. Walleye abundance has been good in recent years. Walleyes from 7.4 to 27 inches were sampled, showing a few good year classes for anglers and smaller fish for the future. The average length was close to 17 inches. Both Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass are found in Big Sand Lake. The average Largemouth Bass was 11 inches, while Smallmouth Bass averaged 14 inches. The largest Largemouth Bass was 17 inches, and the largest Smallmouth Bass was 20 inches. Rock Bass are abundant and increasing size in recent years. The average Rock Bass was 7.6 inches, with fish sampled over 11 inches. Currently no aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been identified in Big Sand. To avoid spreading AIS, lake users are required to remove all aquatic plants or animals from their watercraft and drain all water from their boat before leaving the access.
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.