Clear Lake (Washington County)

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

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 82016300

DNR records show 26 stocking entries at Clear Lake (Washington County) since 2016, most recently tiger muskellunge fingerlings in 2025 (401 fish).

• Clear Lake (Washington County) has 26 DNR stocking records across 10 years (2016-2025): walleye (20), tiger muskellunge (6).
• The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 49,676 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 28 ft; surface area 429 acres, 267 littoral acres, 4.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 5.8 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), common carp, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, tiger muskellunge, walleye, white sucker, and 2 more.
• 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: June 20, 2024 (targeted survey).
• Washington County, nearest town Forest Lake; DNR lake number (DOW) 82016300.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 9/23/1988 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Stocking history

² fish purchased by the DNR for stocking.

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2024

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.

Clear Lake is a eutrophic, class 24 lake located in northern Washington County. The Lake is 424 acres in surface area, with 267 acres being littoral (63%). The lake's maximum depth is 28 feet. Primary management species are Walleye and Hybrid (Tiger) Muskellunge, and the secondary management species is Northern Pike. The lake is located south of the City of Forest Lake, and much of the lakeshore is developed as single-family homes. Walleye fingerlings are stocked annually at a rate of 1.0 pound per littoral acre (267 pounds), and Tiger Muskellunge are stocked in odd-number years at a rate of 1.5 fish per littoral acre (401 fish). This report details the most recent gill net survey conducted in June of 2024. The previous gill net survey occurred in June of 2021. Walleye were sampled using gill nets at a rate of 9.0 fish per net. This catch rate exceeds the 75th percentile for the lake class and is the highest catch rate since 1990. Although the catch rate was relatively high, average size was below the 25th percentile for the lake class. Average length was just 14.9 inches, and Walleyes ranged from 7.6 to 20.7 inches in length. Walleye ages ranged from 2 to 6 years old, with 48% being age 2. Northern Pike were sampled at a rate of 7.8 fish per gill net. This catch rate exceeds the 75th percentile for the lake class and is slightly lower than the previous gill net survey (9.3 fish per net). Average size was below the 25th percentile for the lake class at just 18.5 inches in length. Northern Pike ranged from 12.9 to 27 inches in length, and only 29% of fish were at least 20 inches in length. Yellow Perch were sampled at a rate of 78.6 fish per gill net. This catch rate greatly exceeds the 75th percentile for the lake class and is the highest Yellow Perch catch rate ever recorded for Clear Lake. Catch rates have been variable among survey years but have consistently been above average for the lake class. Fish size was also above average for the weight class, with an average length of 6.9 inches. The largest fish was 9.3 inches in length. Sportfish including Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, and Black Crappie were also sampled in gill nets; however, summer gill nets are not the optimal sampling gear to reliably estimate abundance or size structure for these species. Other fish species were sampled including Black Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead, Common Carp, Bowfin, Hybrid Sunfish, and White Sucker. No Tiger Muskellunge were captured in this survey but they are better sampled using other survey methods.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, June 20, 2024.

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