Cottonwood Lake (Cottonwood County)
Cottonwood County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 17002200
DNR records show 13 stocking entries at Cottonwood Lake (Cottonwood County) since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (36,500 fish).
- Cottonwood Lake (Cottonwood County) has 13 DNR stocking records across 7 years (2016-2025): walleye (13).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 147,904 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 10 ft, mean depth 8 ft; surface area 155 acres, 155 littoral acres, 3.5 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 1.7 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, channel catfish, common carp, largemouth bass, northern pike, orangespotted sunfish, pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, walleye, and 3 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Cottonwood County, nearest town Windom; DNR lake number (DOW) 17002200.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 10/23/1974 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 36,500 | 0.3 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 36,500 | 0.3 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 36,500 | 0.3 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 36,500 | 0.3 |
| 2020 | Walleye | adults | 95 | 95.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye | adults | 209 | 118.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 513 | 39.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 30 | 10.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 793 | 142.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 5 | 2.5 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 10 | 1.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | yearlings | 199 | 107.1 |
| 2016 | Walleye | adults | 50 | 48.0 |
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 | city | - ONE PUBLIC BOAT ACCESS ON WEST SIDE OWNED BY CITY OF WINDOM |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 38.44 | 346 | 0.22 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 5.78 | 52 | 0.38 |
| White sucker | Standard trap nets | 4.44 | 40 | 1.87 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 3.33 | 30 | 0.85 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 2.33 | 21 | 0.22 |
| Channel catfish | Standard trap nets | 1.11 | 10 | 1.20 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 9 | 0.34 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 0.78 | 7 | 0.12 |
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 28.33 | 85 | 0.34 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 9.67 | 29 | 0.32 |
| Channel catfish | Standard gill nets | 5.67 | 17 | 1.22 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 5.67 | 17 | 0.42 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 3.67 | 11 | 1.32 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 1.67 | 5 | 2.66 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 1.33 | 4 | 2.05 |
| Common carp | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 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.
Cottonwood Lake is a small shallow lake, 155 acres and 11 feet max depth, located in the City of Windom in Cottonwood County. While there are many concerns about water quality and water quantity in Cottonwood Lake, the lake remains resilient and has some decent fishing at times. Cottonwood Lake is managed primarily for Walleye and secondarily for Black Crappie, Bluegill, Yellow Perch and Largemouth Bass. Cottonwood Lake was surveyed the week of August 19, 2024, to monitor fish populations using 3 gill nets and 9 trap nets. WALLEYE The 2024 Walleye gill net catch rate of 3.7 per net was within the expected range for similar lakes (2.3 to 18.0 per net) but a decrease from 4.7 per gill net in 2020 and below Cottonwood Lake's long-term average of 5.7 per gill net. Walleye in the gill net sample ranged in length from 12.9 to 22.9 inches and averaged 15.0 inches. Thirty Walleye were captured in the trap net sample and ranged in length from 13.3 to 24.5 inches with an average of 13.3 inches. The trap net catch was the greatest since 2002. Aging otoliths from gill net fish revealed only 2 different year classes of Walleye with nine 2-year-old fish and two 6-year-old fish. Weights relative to a typical population were fair indicating a population of fish that are finding enough prey to maintain a decent but sleek body shape. A recent management change from stocking any size Walleye when available to annual fry stocking has shown some good progress. The 2022 and 2023 year-classes were very well represented in gill nets (2022) and trap nets (2023) and should result in good numbers of harvestable size fish over the next several years. Anglers are starting to report some 14-to-15-inch Walleye becoming more abundant in their catch. Walleye angling could become more consistent in Cottonwood Lake with annual fry stocking and excellent productivity. BLACK CRAPPIE Black Crappie relative abundance is up in Cottonwood Lake with 5.7 per gill net and 38.4 per trap net in 2024. Gill net and trap net catch rates increased from 2020 to 2024 and the trap net catch rate is the greatest ever recorded. The expected catch rate range for Black Crappie in similar lakes is 1.2 to 20.5 per trap net with a long-term lake specific average of 18.1 per trap net indicating how unusually high the 2024 catch rate is. Size of Black Crappie in the gill net and trap net samples were also very good with a PSD-Q of 96 and a PSD-P of 1. Black Crappie ranged in length from 8.2 to 10.4 inches with an average of 8.4 inches in gill nets and 8.6 inches in trap nets. Overall, 17% of Black Crappie in the…
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.
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