Duck Lake (Blue Earth County)
Blue Earth County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 07005300
DNR records show 9 stocking entries at Duck Lake (Blue Earth County) since 2016, most recently northern pike in 2025 (6,000 fish).
- Duck Lake (Blue Earth County) has 9 DNR stocking records across 9 years (2016-2025): northern pike (9).
- The most-stocked species by count is northern pike: 467,367 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 25 ft; surface area 290 acres, 231 littoral acres, 2.7 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 3.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), common carp, freshwater drum, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, smallmouth buffalo, and 5 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Blue Earth County, nearest town Madison Lake; DNR lake number (DOW) 07005300.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Northern Pike | - | 6,000 | 11.1 |
| 2024 | Northern Pike | fry | 57,770 | 1.9 |
| 2023 | Northern Pike | fry | 65,772 | 2.2 |
| 2022 | Northern Pike | fry | 62,136 | 2.1 |
| 2021 | Northern Pike | fry | 58,849 | 1.9 |
| 2019 | Northern Pike | fry | 60,000 | 2.2 |
| 2018 | Northern Pike | fry | 32,895 | 1.1 |
| 2017 | Northern Pike | fry | 60,000 | 1.6 |
| 2016 | Northern Pike | fry | 63,945 | 1.0 |
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 | county | at park on South shore - Access is in good condition. Features dock and ample parking. |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White crappie | Standard gill nets | 34.00 | 170 | 0.11 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 27.40 | 137 | 0.13 |
| Common carp | Standard gill nets | 21.40 | 107 | 1.49 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 20.40 | 102 | 0.12 |
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 10.80 | 54 | 0.44 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard gill nets | 5.20 | 26 | 0.75 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 2.20 | 11 | 4.50 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 0.60 | 3 | 2.25 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 25.04 | 23 | 1.66 |
| White crappie | Standard trap nets | 24.38 | 195 | 0.24 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 16.12 | 129 | 0.44 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 15.25 | 122 | 0.22 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 2.88 | 23 | 1.60 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 2.62 | 21 | 0.80 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 1.50 | 12 | 2.86 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 1.50 | 12 | 1.43 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard trap nets | 1.25 | 10 | 1.16 |
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.
Duck Lake is a 290-acre lake located on the north side of the city of Madison Lake in Blue Earth County. Duck Lake has a maximum depth of 25 feet. A county-maintained public access is located on the south end of the lake near the county park. Most of the shoreline has been altered by residential development and high-quality nearshore habitat and diverse aquatic vegetation are scarce. Duck Lake is primarily managed for Black Crappie, Bluegill, and Northern Pike and secondarily for Largemouth Bass. Duck Lake is designated as a Tier-1 lake and will be surveyed as part of a regularly scheduled monitoring program at a frequency of every 3 years. The 2025 survey was completed the week of June 9, 2025, using 5 gill nets, 9 trap nets, and electrofishing. Water quality parameters were also measured. A total of 137 Black Crappies were sampled with the gill nets for a catch rate of 27.4/net. Catch rates have varied from 3.0/net to 35.7/net with an average of 17.2/net since 1995. Black Crappie in 2025 ranged from 5.4 to 9.8 inches with an average of 6.3 inches. Black Crappie were also abundant in the trap nets with a total of 129 sampled for a catch rate of 16.1/net. Black Crappie size structure in trap nets was similar to the gill net sample except for the presence of fish that exceeded 12 inches with the largest measuring a trophy length of 16.5 inches. The presence of an equally abundant White Crappie population suggests that these outlier fish may have been the result of hybridization between the two species. Black Crappie from both gears ranged from age-2 to age-12 with 8 year-classes present. Age-2 to age-7 Black Crappie were well represented, indicating good consistent recruitment. Bluegills were sampled at a rate 0 15.3/trap net in 2025. Catch rates have varied from 15.3/net to 95.1/net with an average of 59.2/net since 1995. Bluegill ranged from 4.3 to 8.3 inches with an average of 7.0 inches. Bluegill ranged from age-3 to age-10 with 8 year-classes present. Approximately 88% of Bluegill sampled were age-3 or age-4. Bluegill growth was moderate with an average length of 6.9 inches at age-4. The Bluegill population in Duck Lake has a history of high abundance, poor size structure, and slow growth. Northern Pike were sampled in low numbers in 2025. A total of just 11 were sampled with the gill nets for a catch rate of 2.2/net. This was the second lowest catch rate on record since 1995 and continued a trend of declining Northern Pike catch rates since 2011. Northern Pike ranged from 15.3 to 36.5 inches with an average of 24.4 inches. Three additional…
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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