Colby Lake (Washington County)
Washington County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 82009400
DNR records show 6 stocking entries at Colby Lake (Washington County) since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2024 (500,000 fish).
- Colby Lake (Washington County) has 6 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2016-2024): walleye (5), channel catfish (1).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 3,820,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 11 ft, mean depth 7 ft; surface area 71 acres, 69 littoral acres, 2.3 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 2.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, channel catfish, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, pumpkinseed, yellow perch.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Washington County, nearest town Woodbury (Washington); DNR lake number (DOW) 82009400.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 500,000 | 4.5 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 500,000 | 4.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 400,000 | 3.3 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 2,000,000 | 16.2 |
| 2016 | Channel Catfish | - | 10,000 | 52.9 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 420,000 | 4.3 |
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.
DNR fish survey, 2015
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 43.00 | 43 | 0.36 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 38.00 | 38 | 0.13 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 10.00 | 10 | 0.16 |
| Channel catfish | Standard gill nets | 3.00 | 3 | 0.87 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 36.29 | 254 | 0.34 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 12.71 | 89 | 0.12 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 1.57 | 11 | 0.14 |
| Channel catfish | Standard trap nets | 0.86 | 6 | 1.29 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 0.71 | 5 | 0.02 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.43 | 3 | 0.07 |
| Green sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.14 | 1 | 0.20 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.14 | 1 | 0.04 |
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.
Colby Lake is a class 40, 70-acre located in Colby Lake Park in the city of Woodbury at the intersection of Lake Rd and County Rd 19. It has been managed by the FiN program since 2002 with the goal of providing shore fishing opportunities in the city of Woodbury. Some of the amenities to found at Colby Lake Park are an open-air shelter with 2 picnic tables plus access to a handicap accessible playground and walking trail and tennis courts and a fishing pier. Although Canada Waterweed, Coontail, Flat-stem Pondweed, Narrow-leaf Pondweed and Duckweed were encountered during the survey, Curly-leaf Pondweed and Eurasian watermilfoil were the dominant plant species. Colby Lake has experienced frequent winter kill during its inclusion in the FiN program. Although winter aeration has been practiced since the last survey and has provided better winter oxygen conditions most years, winter kill has occurred even with the aeration system operating in in 2010 and 2014. The fish community reflects the recent winter kill events and consists mostly of Black Bullhead, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Green, Pumpkinseed and Hybrid sunfish, Channel Catfish and Yellow Perch. According to the 2003 creel survey, Colby Lake had relatively low fishing pressure when compared to other East Metro FiN lakes. Black Bullheads dominated the catches in both gill (43.0/net) and trap (36.0/net) nets, Black Bullhead average size was over 8.0 inches. Recent stockings (2001-2014) of adult Bluegill and Black Crappies, Channel Catfish and Yellow Perch have contributed to Colby's present fish community. Of the 84 Bluegill captured in trap nets, approximately 71% of the fish sampled were below 6.0 inches, with only a few exceeding 6.0 inches. Only one of 18 Black Crappies sampled exceeded 8.0 inches. Yellow Perch (N=38) relative abundance (38.0/gill net) was significantly up from the 2007 assessment (0.50/gill net). Yellow Perch sampled averaged 6.8 inches with the longest fish being 9.61 inches. The increase in perch abundance may be due to the recent decline in the number and composition of the large predator populations that are currently found in Colby Lake. Additionally, nine Channel Catfish averaging 14.5 inches were sampled along with five Pumpkinseed, one Green, one Hybrid Sunfish and one Golden Shiner.
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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