Buffalo Lake (Becker County)
Becker County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 03035000
DNR records show 9 stocking entries at Buffalo Lake (Becker County) since 2016, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2024 (4,896 fish).
- Buffalo Lake (Becker County) has 9 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2016-2024): walleye (9).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 33,177 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 38 ft; surface area 418 acres, 192 littoral acres, 7.6 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 11.6 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, tullibee (cisco), walleye, white sucker, and 2 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Becker County, nearest town Richwood; DNR lake number (DOW) 03035000.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 9/18/1956 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Walleye | fingerlings | 4,896 | 279.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | yearlings | 1,029 | 170.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 8,484 | 386.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye | yearlings | 5,828 | 384.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 10,563 | 355.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | adults | 203 | 29.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | yearlings | 735 | 254.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | adults | 51 | 37.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,388 | 93.0 |
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | Located on east shore in section 5--just north of a private campground. - Parking available for approximately 4-5 rigs. |
DNR fish survey, 2022
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 59.89 | 539 | 0.16 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 8.56 | 77 | 0.86 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 4.67 | 42 | 0.31 |
| Rock bass | Standard trap nets | 3.89 | 35 | 0.48 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 2.11 | 19 | 0.43 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.78 | 7 | 1.67 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 1.08 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.44 | 4 | 1.01 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 35.78 | 322 | 0.35 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 20.67 | 186 | 1.74 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 8.89 | 80 | 0.08 |
| Rock bass | Standard gill nets | 7.22 | 65 | 0.38 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 5.00 | 45 | 0.74 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 4.67 | 42 | 1.88 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 3.22 | 29 | 0.28 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 9 | 1.44 |
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.
Buffalo Lake is a 376-acre, class 25 lake located in central Becker County near the community of Richwood. It is long and narrow with one bay extending north to the southern boundary of the White Earth Indian Reservation. Although it lies near the headwaters of the Buffalo River, it is the furthest downstream major lake basin through which this river flows on its course to the Red River. The bay on the west end of the lake near the low-head outlet dam has a dense stand of wild rice. Buffalo Lake has a special regulation for Bluegill limiting anglers to keep five fish per day. A standard fisheries survey was conducted in June 2022 to evaluate the fish population in Buffalo Lake. While Walleye abundance was near average for Buffalo Lake, Northern Pike abundance reached an all time high in 2022. Pike size was also smaller than previous surveys with fish averaging 20 inches long. Similar to Northern Pike, Bluegill abundance was also at an all time high. Anglers can expect Bluegill to average a little over seven inches long, with additional opportunities to catch larger fish. Bluegill required seven years of growth to reach seven inches long in Buffalo Lake. This survey also captured Black Crappie that had an average length of nine inches and Largemouth Bass with lengths up to 17 inches. Other fish species present were Brown Bullhead, Black Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead, White Sucker, Pumpkinseed, and Rock Bass.
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
All Minnesota stockings · every Minnesota lake with a page · state CSV · this lake on DNR LakeFinder
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.