Big Watab Lake
Stearns County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 73010200
DNR records show 28 stocking entries at Big Watab Lake since 2016, most recently brown trout yearlings in 2025 (2,000 fish).
- Big Watab Lake has 28 DNR stocking records across 10 years (2016-2025): brown trout (13), rainbow trout (13), walleye (2).
- The most-stocked species by count is rainbow trout: 104,540 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 123 ft, mean depth 44 ft; surface area 246 acres, 46 littoral acres, 4.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 16.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, brown trout, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rainbow trout, rock bass, and 3 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Stearns County, nearest town Avon; DNR lake number (DOW) 73010200.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/20/1957 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Brown Trout | yearlings | 2,000 | 1,538.5 |
| 2025 | Rainbow Trout | yearlings | 11,500 | 5,972.2 |
| 2024 | Brown Trout | adults | 2,000 | 1,333.3 |
| 2024 | Rainbow Trout1 | fingerlings | 250 | 12.5 |
| 2024 | Rainbow Trout | yearlings | 10,000 | 4,731.5 |
| 2023 | Brown Trout | yearlings | 2,000 | 1,538.5 |
| 2023 | Brown Trout | adults | 75 | 187.5 |
| 2023 | Rainbow Trout | yearlings | 10,000 | 5,138.9 |
| 2023 | Rainbow Trout | adults | 50 | 250.0 |
| 2023 | Rainbow Trout1 | fingerlings | 240 | 8.0 |
| 2022 | Brown Trout | adults | 75 | 150.0 |
| 2022 | Brown Trout | yearlings | 2,000 | 1,538.5 |
| 2022 | Rainbow Trout | yearlings | 10,000 | 5,277.8 |
| 2021 | Brown Trout | yearlings | 2,000 | 1,818.2 |
| 2021 | Rainbow Trout | yearlings | 10,000 | 5,625.0 |
| 2020 | Brown Trout | adults | 2,400 | 2,695.9 |
| 2020 | Rainbow Trout | yearlings | 10,000 | 5,000.0 |
| 2019 | Brown Trout | adults | 2,000 | 1,428.6 |
| 2019 | Rainbow Trout | yearlings | 12,500 | 6,107.9 |
| 2018 | Brown Trout | adults | 1,700 | 1,574.1 |
| 2018 | Brown Trout | yearlings | 198 | 41.2 |
| 2018 | Rainbow Trout | yearlings | 10,000 | 4,222.7 |
| 2017 | Brown Trout | adults | 2,000 | 1,538.5 |
| 2017 | Rainbow Trout | yearlings | 10,000 | 3,703.7 |
| 2016 | Brown Trout | adults | 2,000 | 1,666.7 |
| 2016 | Rainbow Trout | yearlings | 10,000 | 4,545.4 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,127 | 57.5 |
| 2016 | Walleye | yearlings | 45 | 38.5 |
1 fish purchased and stocked by private citizens and sporting groups.
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 | State owned access in Section 9 on NE end of lake. Limited number of parking spaces available (12). |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brassy minnow | Backpack electrofishing | 139.35 | 180 | 0.00 |
| BKF | Backpack electrofishing | 34.84 | 45 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 6.97 | 9 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 5.42 | 7 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | Backpack electrofishing | 3.10 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | Backpack electrofishing | 2.32 | 3 | 0.00 |
| BCS | Backpack electrofishing | 1.55 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Blacknose shiner | Backpack electrofishing | 1.55 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 50-ft beach seine | 93.83 | 563 | 0.00 |
| BKF | 50-ft beach seine | 34.17 | 205 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 12.33 | 74 | 0.00 |
| BCS | 50-ft beach seine | 8.17 | 49 | 0.00 |
| LED | 50-ft beach seine | 3.17 | 19 | 0.00 |
| Blacknose shiner | 50-ft beach seine | 3.17 | 19 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 1.17 | 7 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | 50-ft beach seine | 1.17 | 7 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 15-ft beach seine | 77.00 | 308 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 15-ft beach seine | 42.00 | 168 | 0.00 |
| BKF | 15-ft beach seine | 6.50 | 26 | 0.00 |
| BCS | 15-ft beach seine | 2.50 | 10 | 0.00 |
| Blacknose shiner | 15-ft beach seine | 1.50 | 6 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | 15-ft beach seine | 1.00 | 4 | 0.00 |
| LED | 15-ft beach seine | 1.00 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 0.75 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 36.22 | 326 | 0.28 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 9.11 | 82 | 0.29 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 1.78 | 16 | 0.22 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 6 | 0.46 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 6 | 0.38 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 6 | 0.24 |
| Rock bass | Standard trap nets | 0.44 | 4 | 0.36 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.54 |
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 Watab Lake was conducted on June 23 - 25, 2025, by Lake Biological Monitoring and Assessment Program (LBMA) staff. 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 10 sampling stations. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample six stations, and a 15-foot seine was used at four stations. Nearshore sampling captured 14 species of fish including seven species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Banded Killifish, Blackchin Shiner, Blacknose Shiner, Iowa Darter, Least Darter, Pugnose Shiner, and Rock Bass) and one that is tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Green Sunfish). A concurrent summer trap net survey was also conducted by LBMA staff. Nine trap nets were set along the shoreline in locations that encompassed multiple habitat types. Trap net sampling captured seven species of fish including one that is intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Rock Bass). Bluegill comprised a majority of the catch by number and biomass. The nearshore and trap net were combined with gill net data from a July 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, Iowa Darter, and Rock Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Green Sunfish and Common Carp). 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 web site. Results from this survey provide evidence that the fish community in Big Watab Lake is healthy as indicated by an FIBI score that exceeds the exceptional use threshold determined for similar lakes. These results are similar to the FIBI from 2023. The survey results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Mississippi River Sartell watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. You can help protect the fish community in Big Watab Lake by reducing runoff, maintaining natural…
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.