Caroline Lake
Wright County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 86028100
Caroline Lake has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Caroline Lake shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 45 ft, mean depth 15 ft; surface area 137 acres, 46 littoral acres, 3.1 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 4.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, channel catfish, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, and 5 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Wright County, nearest town Fairhaven; DNR lake number (DOW) 86028100.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 7/15/1981 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| C | Minnesota DNR |
DNR fish survey, 2019
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 16.02 | 20 | 2.04 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 9.22 | 83 | 0.10 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 3.78 | 34 | 0.40 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.44 | 13 | 0.80 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.89 | 8 | 0.07 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 3.99 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 0.11 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 0.44 | 4 | 0.20 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 3.19 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 6.83 | 41 | 2.19 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 4.50 | 27 | 0.07 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 3.83 | 23 | 2.40 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 1.83 | 11 | 1.71 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 1.83 | 11 | 0.41 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 1.33 | 8 | 0.14 |
| Channel catfish | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 2.02 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 1.43 |
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.
Lake Caroline is a 126 acre lake located along the Clearwater River in Wright County east of the city of Fairhaven. The lake has a surface area of 126 acres with a maximum depth of 45 feet and a mid-summer secchi depth of 5 feet. Lake Caroline has no public access; however it can be accessed from Lake Augusta via the Clearwater River when free from obstruction during high water conditions. The watershed is large and dominated by cultivated crops and pasture land; the lake is lightly developed. An emergent and floating leaf survey was conducted on July 17, 2019. The shoreline was made up of 19.5% emergent vegetation with Yellow Waterlily, White Waterlily, cattail, bulrush, and sedge species observed. Northern Pike and Largemouth Bass are the primary managed species. A standard survey of all the lakes along the Clearwater River was completed in 2014. These include: Louisa/Marie, Caroline, Augusta, Clearwater, and Grass lakes. Similarly, in 2019 with the exception of Grass Lake, these lakes were surveyed again. The survey included spring Largemouth Bass electrofishing; then gill netting and trap netting for all species. Largemouth Bass sampled ranged in length from 11 to 19 inches with an average length of 15 inches. Anglers should have opportunities to catch quality-sized Largemouth Bass as 90% percent of fish sampled were longer than 12 inches and 60% were longer than 15 inches. The Northern Pike catch rate increased from the previous survey, and was in the expected values for lakes similar to Lake Caroline. Anglers should have opportunities to catch quality-sized Northern Pike as fish in the survey ranged in length from 17 to 35 inches. The Bluegill catch rate was higher than the previous survey and was in the range of expected values for lakes similar to Lake Caroline. Bluegills up to eight (8) inches were sampled with an average length of five (5) inches. Hybrid Sunfish and Pumpkinseed were also observed in the survey. The 2019 catch rate of Black Crappie was similar to the previous survey. Black Crappie sampled ranged in length from 4 to 12 inches with an average length of 9 inches. Thirty percent of black crappie were longer than 10 inches. The Walleye catch rate was less than the previous survey, but was still within the expected values for lakes similar to Lake Caroline. Walleye ranged in length from 9 to 24 inches with an average length of 17 inches. Walleye populations occur either through natural reproduction or from stocked fish migrating via the Clearwater River from Clearwater Lake. Growth rates were relatively fast, which is probably due…
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.