Deer Lake (Wright County)
Wright County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 86010700
Deer Lake (Wright County) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Deer Lake (Wright County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 27 ft, mean depth 9 ft; surface area 171 acres, 126 littoral acres, 2.1 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 4.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, channel catfish, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, and 5 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Wright County, nearest town Buffalo; DNR lake number (DOW) 86010700.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 7/1/1960 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 94.44 | 850 | 0.11 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 20.89 | 188 | 0.09 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 7.67 | 69 | 0.11 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 6.33 | 57 | 0.64 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 6.00 | 54 | 0.34 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 2.78 | 25 | 0.28 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 0.07 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 5.07 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 50.21 | 89 | 1.80 |
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 16.00 | 96 | 0.73 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 16.00 | 96 | 0.07 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 12.67 | 76 | 2.32 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 12.67 | 76 | 0.40 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 7.17 | 43 | 0.19 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 5.67 | 34 | 1.71 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 3.83 | 23 | 0.68 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 3.00 | 18 | 0.12 |
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.
Deer Lake is located south of the city of Buffalo in Wright County. The lake is 163 acres and has a maximum depth of 27 feet. Deer Lake has a large watershed with land use dominated by agriculture, development, and pasture. A public access is located on the south end near the outlet. Mill Creek flows through Buffalo Lake into Deer Lake via a navigable channel and flows out of Deer Lake to the North Fork Crow River. Deer Lake was last surveyed in 2013. Walleye are not stocked, but likely immigrate from Buffalo Lake and the North Fork Crow River. Walleye net catches were within the expected range of values for lakes similar to Deer and have increased since the last survey to a record high for Deer Lake. Walleye ranged in length from 10.4 to 25.0 inches , with an average length and weight of 16.0 inches and 1.7 pounds. Growth was fast compared to the statewide average, taking two years to reach 15 inches. Fifty-three percent of Walleye were longer than 15 inches, and anglers may find themselves encountering more Walleye in Deer Lake for the next few years. Northern Pike numbers were also higher than 2013, but both catch rate and size were still within the range of expected values for similar lakes. Northern Pike ranged in length from 13.3 to 32.8 inches with an average length and weight of 21.8 inches and 2.4 pounds. Forty-five percent of Northern Pike were longer than 21 inches with nineteen percent longer than 26 inches. Largemouth bass were sampled by boat electrofishing in the spring and the catch rate was similar to the Sauk Rapid's area average . Largemouth bass lengths ranged from 6.8 to 20.5 inches with an average length and weight of 14.0 inches and 1.8 pounds. Forty-six percent of Largemouth Bass were longer than 15 inches. Black Crappie net catches were within the range of expected values for lakes similar to Deer, but were higher than 2013 and 1993. Black Crappie lengths ranged from 5.8 to 12.8 inches with an average length and weight of 8.5 inches and 0.4 pounds. Seventy-two percent of Black Crappie were longer than 8 inches and fourteen percent were longer than 10 inches. Anglers may find a higher abundance of Black Crappie in coming years, and larger fish with more opportunity for harvest than in the past. The Bluegill catch was the highest on record for Deer Lake, consisting of many, smaller fish. Bluegill lengths ranged from 3.1 to 9.1 inches with an average length and weight of 5.4 inches and 0.2 pounds. Yellow perch numbers have been highly variable, possibly due to the fluctuation in Northern Pike numbers, but were higher in 2023 than…
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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