Big Spunk Lake
Stearns County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 73011700
DNR records show 8 stocking entries at Big Spunk Lake since 2016, most recently walleye yearlings in 2024 (935 fish).
- Big Spunk Lake has 8 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2016-2024): walleye (8).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 10,388 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 38 ft, mean depth 16 ft; surface area 415 acres, 150 littoral acres, 4.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 9.7 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, channel catfish, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, and 7 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Stearns County, nearest town Avon; DNR lake number (DOW) 73011700.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Walleye | yearlings | 935 | 425.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fingerlings | 726 | 22.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 5,070 | 169.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye | yearlings | 2,250 | 150.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 804 | 201.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 74 | 74.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | yearlings | 414 | 278.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 115 | 9.5 |
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 | A state owned access is located on the northwest corner of lake off of Upper Spunk Lake Road. |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PGS | 15-ft beach seine | 172.00 | 172 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 15-ft beach seine | 70.00 | 70 | 0.00 |
| BCS | 15-ft beach seine | 47.00 | 47 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 15-ft beach seine | 34.00 | 34 | 0.00 |
| BKF | 15-ft beach seine | 19.00 | 19 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 10.00 | 10 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 15-ft beach seine | 8.00 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Blacknose shiner | 15-ft beach seine | 7.00 | 7 | 0.00 |
| BCS | 50-ft beach seine | 165.60 | 828 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 120.20 | 601 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 50-ft beach seine | 64.60 | 323 | 0.00 |
| PGS | 50-ft beach seine | 38.20 | 191 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 34.40 | 172 | 0.00 |
| Blacknose shiner | 50-ft beach seine | 28.40 | 142 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 24.80 | 124 | 0.00 |
| BKF | 50-ft beach seine | 19.60 | 98 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 149.45 | 148 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | Backpack electrofishing | 55.54 | 55 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 38.37 | 38 | 0.00 |
| BCS | Backpack electrofishing | 31.30 | 31 | 0.00 |
| PGS | Backpack electrofishing | 19.19 | 19 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 19.19 | 19 | 0.00 |
| Central mudminnow | Backpack electrofishing | 18.18 | 18 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | Backpack electrofishing | 15.15 | 15 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 9.56 | 86 | 0.06 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 3.00 | 27 | 0.68 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 1.33 | 12 | 0.12 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 1.22 | 11 | 0.19 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 6 | 0.25 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 0.05 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 1.59 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 3.44 |
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 survey of nearshore fish species in Big Spunk Lake was conducted on September 5-7, 2023, by Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) Program staff. Ten sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at ten sampling stations, but four stations were sampled from the boat due soft sediments and steep drop offs. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample five stations, a 15-foot seine was used at one station, and deep, soft sediments prevented the use of seines at four sampling stations. Nearshore sampling captured 22 species of fish including seven species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Banded Killifish, Blackchin Shiner, Blacknose Shiner, Iowa Darter, Least Darter, Rock Bass, and Pugnose Shiner) and two that are tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Fathead minnow, and Green Sunfish). A concurrent summer trap net survey was also conducted by IBI Program staff. Nine trap nets were set along the shoreline in locations that encompassed multiple habitat types. Trap net sampling captured ten species of fish, including one that is intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Rock Bass) and one tolerant species (i.e., Green Sunfish). Bluegill comprised a majority of the catch by number, whereas Yellow Bullhead, Bowfin, and Northern Pike comprised a majority by biomass. The nearshore and trap net data were combined with gill net data from a June 2023 survey to describe the fish community and provide a fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. In Minnesota lakes, certain fish species cannot survive without clean water and a healthy habitat (e.g., Blackchin Shiner, Least Darter, and Rock Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Black Bullhead and Green Sunfish). The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. Results from this survey indicate that the fish community in Big Spunk Lake is healthy as indicated by an FIBI score that exceeds the impairment threshold determined for similar lakes. These results are similar to the previous assessment which determined Big Spunk Lake…
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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