Black Oak Lake
Stearns County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 73024100
DNR records show 3 stocking entries at Black Oak Lake since 2024, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (600 fish).
- Black Oak Lake has 3 DNR stocking records across 2 years (2024-2025): walleye (1), black crappie (1), bluegill sunfish (1).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 600 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 19 ft, mean depth 11 ft; surface area 95 acres, 98 littoral acres, 3.4 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 6.8 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, common carp, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Stearns County, nearest town New Munich; DNR lake number (DOW) 73024100.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 600 | 75.0 |
| 2024 | Black Crappie | yearlings | 512 | 64.0 |
| 2024 | Bluegill Sunfish | yearlings | 480 | 32.0 |
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 | - Parking available for several boat trailers. |
DNR fish survey, 2019
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 16.25 | 65 | 2.50 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 9.25 | 37 | 0.16 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 0.75 | 3 | 0.08 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 0.50 | 2 | 1.65 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 0.50 | 2 | 0.11 |
| Common carp | Standard gill nets | 0.25 | 1 | 4.74 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 0.25 | 1 | 0.04 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 10.44 | 94 | 0.16 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 1.89 | 17 | 2.79 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.03 |
| Golden shiner | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.07 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.11 | 1 | 0.07 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.11 | 1 | 0.95 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 0.11 | 1 | 0.09 |
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.
Black Oak Lake is a 119 acre lake located 3 miles south of Melrose in northwestern Stearns County. It has a maximum depth of 19 feet and is classified as Lake Class 42. The watershed (960 acres) is small and mostly row crops (39%) with some forest (28%) and pasture (14%). The DNR owns a public access on the southeast side of the lake near county road 30. Water clarity was 10.0 feet in early June and MPCA data shows an average summer water clarity of 5.1 feet over the last ten years. Dissolved oxygen was adequate to support fish to 12 feet during the survey. Black Oak Lake is managed for Northern Pike and Largemouth Bass and was last surveyed in 2009. Anglers can expect good fishing for Northern Pike and Black Crappie. Prior to 2004, the lake was a low priority for management because of its small size and history of winterkill. An aeration agreement with the Green Grove Rod and Gun Club led to the re stocking of Bluegill, Black Crappies and Largemouth Bass by the DNR from 2004 2006. Aeration equipment has been successful at preventing winterkill in 13 of the last 16 winters. Northern Pike numbers were above the expected range of values for similar lakes and nearly double, what was sampled in 2009. Lengths ranged from 11 to 31 inches with an average length and weight of 23 inches and 2.5 pounds. Twenty percent of the pike were longer than 26 inches. Two Walleye yearlings (6 and 8 inches) were sampled by gill nets. Since 2008, the Freeport Family Fishing group has been annually stocking fingerling and/or yearling Walleye. Only three Yellow Perch were sampled in 2019. Yellow Perch are an important food item for Northern Pike and Walleye. Daytime electrofishing in late May failed to sample any Largemouth Bass. Even though no dead fish were reported, the complete absence of bass in the survey indicates that a partial winterkill occurred most likely in the winter of 2014 when one of the aerators was flooded and stopped running. Largemouth Bass will be re stocked in the spring of 2020 in order to restore the bass fishery. The Bluegill population also appears to have been affected by the previous partial winterkill, as only three small Bluegill around four inches were sampled in the survey. Bluegill will also be stocked in the spring of 2020 in order to supplement the existing population. The catch rate of Black Crappie decreased from the recorded high in 2009 but remained within the normal range for the lake class. Black Crappie lengths ranged from 4 to 10 inches, with an average length of 6.4 inches. Considering the winter kill history of Black Oak 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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