Cody Lake
Rice County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 66006100
DNR records show 8 stocking entries at Cody Lake since 2018, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (1,405,000 fish).
- Cody Lake has 8 DNR stocking records across 7 years (2018-2025): walleye (8).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 11,100,733 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 14 ft; surface area 259 acres, 259 littoral acres, 5.1 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 0.6 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, common carp, green sunfish, walleye, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Rice County, nearest town Wheatland; DNR lake number (DOW) 66006100.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 1,405,000 | 13.2 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 1,195,429 | 11.2 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 1,085,467 | 9.4 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 500,000 | 4.3 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 1,405,000 | 7,837.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 1,404,673 | 13.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 2,810,000 | 22.7 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 1,295,164 | 12.4 |
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 | - SOUTH SHORE |
DNR fish survey, 2021
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 512.50 | 1,025 | 0.05 |
| Common carp | Standard gill nets | 278.50 | 557 | 0.08 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 44.00 | 88 | 0.23 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 3.50 | 7 | 0.26 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 0.50 | 1 | 0.35 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 167.33 | 502 | 0.18 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 44.67 | 134 | 0.15 |
| Green sunfish | Standard trap nets | 15.00 | 45 | 0.04 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 9.67 | 29 | 0.25 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 2.00 | 6 | 0.10 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 3 | 0.06 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 1 | 0.57 |
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.
Cody Lake is a 257-acre lake located in Rice County near the town of Wheatland. A DNR-owned public access is located on the south side of the lake off Rice County Highway 59. Cody Lake has a maximum depth of 14 feet. Walleye fry were stocked in 2018 and 2019 following a suspected winterkill. Cody Lake was surveyed the week of 16 August 2021 as part of a regular monitoring program conducted by the Minnesota DNR. This survey was intended to assess the fish community. Originally six gill nets and nine trap nets were planned to be used in 2021, but initial net catches were high and only two gill nets and 3 trap nets were used. Water quality parameters were also measured. A total of 88 Yellow Perch were sampled with gill nets for a catch rate of 44.0/net, indicating moderate numbers were present. Yellow Perch catch rates have varied from 0.2/net to 61.8/net with an average of 20.8/net since 1990. Yellow Perch ranged from 6.1 to 10.2 inches with an average of 8.3 inches in 2021. Fish from both gears were 2 to 4 years old with three year-classes present. Three year old fish accounted for approximately 66% of the sample. Black Bullheads were the most sampled fish with gillnets in 2021. A total of 1,025 ranging from 3.0 to 14.5 inches were sampled for a catch rate of 512.5/net, indicating extremely high numbers were present. Black Bullhead catch rates have varied from 15.0/net to 512.5/net with an average of 146.1/net since 1990. The Black Bullhead catch rate in 2021 was more than three times the previous historic high catch rate of 135.5 in 2015. Black Bullheads continue to thrive due to frequent, mild winterkills in Cody Lake. Common Carp were sampled at 278.5/gill net which is the highest rate on record. Common Carp gill catch rates have varied from 0.0/net to 278.5/net with an average of 56.1/net since 1990. If the high gill net catch from 2021 is removed, the historic average is 11.6/net. Walleye fry were stocked in Cody Lake in 2018 and 2019 after evidence of a winterkill in 2018. Anecdotally, the Walleye fishing was good during the fall and winter of 2020-2021. Unfortunately, a low number of Walleye were sampled in 2021. This could have been due to a partial winterkill as low, but not critically low, dissolved oxygen levels were found in the winter of 2021. An average of 3.5 Walleye were sampled per gill net in the 2021 survey. These fish ranged from 5.7 to 15.3 inches in length. Other species sampled in low numbers included Black Crappie, Bluegill, and Green Sunfish. Although Northern pike are a primary management species, no Northern Pike have been…
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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Stocking rows, depths, accesses and survey figures are Minnesota DNR LakeFinder data as of 2026-09-02. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
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