Blackwell Lake

Douglas County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 21015100

Blackwell Lake has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.

• Blackwell Lake shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of September 2, 2026.
• Maximum depth 42 ft, mean depth 10 ft; surface area 307 acres, 203 littoral acres, 5.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 11.6 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: July 11, 2022 (targeted survey).
• Douglas County, nearest town Holmes City; DNR lake number (DOW) 21015100.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 7/27/1955 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2022

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 trap net survey was conducted on Blackwell Lake on July 11-12, 2022 by Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) Program Staff. Nine trap nets were set along the shoreline in locations that encompassed multiple habitat types. Bluegill comprised a majority of the trap net catch by number. The number of Bluegill sampled per net was above the 25% quartile and below the 50% quartile for similar Lake Class 34 lakes and the average length was 5.3 inches, with 14% over seven inches. Bluegill, Northern Pike, and Yellow Bullhead comprised a majority of the trap net catch by biomass. The fish data collected in this trap net survey were combined with data from an August 2020 gill net survey and July 2020 survey of nearshore fishes 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. Blacknose Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Smallmouth Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g. Black Bullhead 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 website. Results from this survey provide evidence that the fish community in Blackwell Lake is in good health as indicated by an FIBI score above the impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. Data from this survey will contribute biological information about the health of the fish community to the Long Prairie River Watershed assessment process in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, July 11, 2022.

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