Birch Lake (Wright County)
Wright County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 86006600
Birch Lake (Wright County) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Birch Lake (Wright County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 52 ft, mean depth 16 ft; surface area 100 acres, 37 littoral acres, 2.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 11.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, yellow bullhead, and 1 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Wright County, nearest town Monticello; DNR lake number (DOW) 86006600.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR |
DNR fish survey, 2009
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 82.38 | 80 | 0.58 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 10.75 | 43 | 1.28 |
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 6.25 | 25 | 0.79 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 5.75 | 23 | 0.81 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 4.75 | 19 | 0.12 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 2.50 | 10 | 0.63 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 1.75 | 7 | 0.17 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 0.25 | 1 | 0.03 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 10.67 | 64 | 0.12 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.50 | 9 | 0.59 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.50 | 3 | 0.75 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 0.50 | 3 | 4.15 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 2 | 2.81 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.17 | 1 | 0.55 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.17 | 1 | 0.68 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 0.17 | 1 | 0.03 |
| Blacknose shiner | Survey seining | 8.00 | 24 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Survey seining | 7.67 | 23 | 0.05 |
| BKF | Survey seining | 3.33 | 10 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Survey seining | 0.67 | 2 | 0.02 |
| Pumpkinseed | Survey seining | 0.33 | 1 | 0.02 |
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.
Birch Lake is a 76 acre lake located in north central Wright County with a maximum depth of 52 feet. Dissolved oxygen was present to 17 feet in mid-July. The secchi depth was 11.0 feet. The aquatic plant community was diverse with 17 submersed species, some of which grew to a depth of 18 feet. Northern milfoil, flatstem pondweed, Elodea and coontail were common or abundant. The lake is managed for naturally occurring species. This was the first survey since 1989. Eighty largemouth bass were taken in slightly less than one hour of electrofishing during the evening of 5/4/09. The catch rate of 82.4 fish per hour was greater than average for Wright County lakes. Anglers can expect good fishing for smaller sized largemouth. Largemouth bass grew slowly so it is important to release a portion of the catch. Northern pike were abundant and the catch was above the normal range for lakes like Birch Lake. Birch Lake fits a recognizable pattern, i.e. a clear-water lake with abundant vegetation where small northern pike, largemouth bass and sunfish are abundant and perch and crappies are not. Anglers can expect good fishing for small northern pike which will average 18 inches and about one and a half pounds. Northern pike growth was similar to statewide averages. Female northern pike reached 23 inches in four years, whereas males reached 21.5 inches in the same length of time. Two percent of northern pike were longer than 24 inches. The trap net catch of bluegill was similar to 1989 and within the range of expected values. Bluegill ranged from 4 to 7 inches and averaged 0.12 pounds. Growth was slower than statewide averages. Bluegill grew to length of six inches in seven years. No black crappies were taken in trap nets. Gill net catches were low continuing a pattern since 1983. Black crappie grew at a rate close to the statewide average and grew to a length of eight inches in four years. No yellow perch were collected by any gear. Blacknose shiners and banded killifish, sensitive species, were sampled by shoreline seining. Other fish collected in 2009 were black, brown and yellow bullheads, common carp, and pumpkinseed sunfish.
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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