Donalds Lake
Otter Tail County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 56020000
DNR records show 6 stocking entries at Donalds Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (84,000 fish).
- Donalds Lake has 6 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2025): walleye (6).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 170,463 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 43 ft; surface area 166 acres, 84 littoral acres, 2.1 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 13.4 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Otter Tail County, nearest town Ottertail; DNR lake number (DOW) 56020000.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/25/1963 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 84,000 | 0.8 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 84,000 | 0.7 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fingerlings | 683 | 93.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,491 | 86.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | yearlings | 189 | 63.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | adults | 100 | 100.0 |
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 | - Parking space is limited. |
DNR fish survey, 2022
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 27.89 | 251 | 0.26 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 5.67 | 51 | 0.33 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 4.22 | 38 | 0.49 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 2.89 | 26 | 0.54 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 2.22 | 20 | 0.51 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 0.97 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 1.28 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 1.57 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 13.83 | 83 | 0.61 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 4.83 | 29 | 0.90 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 0.83 | 5 | 1.99 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.50 | 3 | 0.87 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.50 | 3 | 1.31 |
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.
Donalds Lake is a 168-acre mesotrophic (moderately fertile) lake located in central Otter Tail County and within the city limits of Ottertail City, Minnesota. The surrounding watershed is primarily municipal. The maximum depth of Donalds Lake is 43 feet; however, 50% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. The secchi disk reading during the 2022 survey was 15.6 feet. Previous secchi disk reading have ranged from 6.0 to 15.0 feet. Moderate development exists around Donalds Lake. A city owned concrete public access is located on the west shoreline. Parking space is limited and access is gained by navigating off of a city street. The shoal water substrates consist primarily of sand and gravel. Emergent vegetation (hardstem bulrush, common cattail, and wild rice) is located in various areas throughout the lake. Emergent aquatic plants such as bulrush and cattail provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat, and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines and lake bottoms, and can actually absorb and break down polluting chemicals. Emergent plants provide spawning areas for fish such as northern pike, largemouth bass, and panfish. They also serve as important nursery areas for all species of fish. Because of their ecological value, emergent plants may not be removed without a DNR permit. A moderate density Northern Pike population exists; however, the size structure is poor. Northern Pike ranged in length from 12.8 to 33.1 inches with an average length and weight of 16.3 inches and 0.9 pounds. The Bluegill population is extremely abundant and has a high quality size structure. Eighty-five percent of the Bluegill sample was 7.0 inches or greater in length, while 44% was 8.0 inches or greater in length. Bluegills attain an average length of 8.1 inches at eight years of age. The Black Crappie population is moderately abundant with a quality size structure. Black Crappies ranged in length from 8.5 to 12.2 inches with an average length of 9.9 inches. Fifty percent of the crappies were 10.0 inches or greater in length. Black Crappies attain an average length of 10.2 inches at five years of age. Anglers can maintain or improve the quality of fishing by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of medium to large-size fish while allowing the harvest of the more abundant smaller fish for table fare. Releasing the medium to large fish will ensure that the lake will have enough spawning age fish on an annual basis and will provide anglers with opportunities to catch more large fish in the future. Donalds Lake is…
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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