Darling Lake
Douglas County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 21008000
DNR records show 18 stocking entries at Darling Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (1,002 fish).
- Darling Lake has 18 DNR stocking records across 10 years (2016-2025): walleye (18).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 114,564 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 62 ft; surface area 1,050 acres, 554 littoral acres, 6.8 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 13.4 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, and 7 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Douglas County, nearest town Alexandria; DNR lake number (DOW) 21008000.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 7/19/1961 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,002 | 72.0 |
| 2025 | Walleye | adults | 53 | 53.0 |
| 2025 | Walleye | yearlings | 3,444 | 665.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | yearlings | 11,545 | 554.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fingerlings | 9,837 | 554.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 3,000 | 200.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 9,362 | 556.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,927 | 327.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 3,000 | 200.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 12,188 | 554.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fingerlings | 2,214 | 54.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 12,000 | 500.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 4,000 | 200.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye1 | yearlings | 1,600 | 400.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,383 | 48.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 11,445 | 506.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 16,978 | 554.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 9,586 | 581.5 |
1 fish purchased and stocked by private citizens and sporting groups. 2 fish purchased by the DNR for stocking.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| C | - | - Access must be made through Lake Carlos |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 79.00 | 79 | 1.22 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 20.50 | 246 | 2.21 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 9.83 | 118 | 0.18 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 9.67 | 116 | 0.79 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard gill nets | 5.58 | 67 | 0.37 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 3.83 | 46 | 0.23 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 2.25 | 27 | 1.62 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 2.08 | 25 | 1.39 |
| Rock bass | Standard gill nets | 1.83 | 22 | 0.50 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 19.00 | 209 | 0.09 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 5.64 | 62 | 0.19 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 2.64 | 29 | 0.79 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 1.18 | 13 | 2.75 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 1.18 | 13 | 0.25 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 0.73 | 8 | 10.28 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.73 | 8 | 1.16 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.55 | 6 | 4.33 |
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 Darling is a 1,050-acre basin located on the northwest edge of the city of Alexandria and is part of the Alexandria Chain of Lakes. There is no public access on Lake Darling. However, boaters can gain access via a navigable channel from Lake Carlos. Additionally, Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center is located along the west shore. The lake is popular for both angling and other water-based recreation. Most of the shoreline is heavily developed with residential housing. Water quality and clarity are good with mid-summer water transparency reaching 20 feet in recent surveys. The lake supports an abundant and diverse aquatic plant community. Aquatic plants help maintain water quality and clarity by competing with algae for available nutrients in the lake. Aquatic plants also provide spawning habitat and cover for many fish species, especially bass and panfishes. Turtle Bay on the west end of the lake is posted as a no-wake zone to protect aquatic vegetation. Largemouth Bass (79.0/hour ) are lower than past surveys, but still abundant. However, changes in sampling methods only allow a comparison to the 2016 survey (50.2/hour). Average and maximum length were 12.6 and 17.3 inches, respectively. Size structure appears to be improving, especially for bass 15 inches and greater. Northern Pike relative abundance (20.5/gill net) was the second highest on record, only slightly lower than the 2020 survey (21.2/gill net). Most pike were small, being below the protected slot. However, large pike were sampled, with the largest being 32.4 inches. Anglers are encouraged to harvest small Northern Pike. New Northern Pike regulations were implemented in 2018 to increase size structure. Lake Darling is in the North-Central Zone, where all pike from 22 to 26 inches must be released. Anglers can keep 10 pike, but not more than two can be longer than 26 inches. Northern Pike taken by spearing follow the same rules, except one pike may be between 22 and 26 inches, or two larger than 26 inches. For more information see: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/pike/index.html. Walleye abundance (2.3/gill net) is low, similar to past surveys. Of the few Walleye that were sampled, most were young, being dominated by the 2022 year class (56%). Mean length in gill nets was 15.0 inches, while the largest Walleye sampled was 27.2 inches. No Walleye were sampled from the 2012 to 2017 year classes, corresponding to peak water clarity as a result of zebra mussels. A recent decreasing trend in water clarity may benefit future stockings, although Walleye have never been abundant in Lake…
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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