East Jefferson Lake
Le Sueur County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 40009201
DNR records show 2 stocking entries at East Jefferson Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2019 (338,000 fish).
- East Jefferson Lake has 2 DNR stocking records across 2 years (2017-2019): walleye (2).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 676,408 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 37 ft; surface area 685 acres, 343 littoral acres, 5.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 2.2 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), common carp, freshwater drum, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, longnose gar, northern pike, and 6 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Le Sueur County, nearest town Marysburg; DNR lake number (DOW) 40009201.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 6/12/1968 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 338,000 | 2.7 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 338,408 | 3.1 |
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 | Minnesota DNR | - East side of lake |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 30.50 | 305 | 0.19 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 22.20 | 222 | 0.30 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard trap nets | 6.60 | 66 | 2.17 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 5.40 | 54 | 1.54 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 3.20 | 32 | 0.27 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 2.70 | 27 | 5.30 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 2.00 | 20 | 1.53 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 10 | 4.57 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 22.89 | 206 | 0.23 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 18.89 | 170 | 0.25 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 6.78 | 61 | 2.00 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 5.67 | 51 | 0.21 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 5.56 | 50 | 1.31 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard gill nets | 4.22 | 38 | 1.92 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 0.78 | 7 | 4.67 |
| Common carp | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 6 | 3.94 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 14.14 | 20 | 0.98 |
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.
East Jefferson Lake is a 700-acre lake located approximately 4.5 miles southeast of the town of Cleveland in Le Sueur County. A DNR-maintained public access is located on the east side of the lake off Beaver Dam Road. The maximum depth is 37 feet with 48% of the lake less than 15 feet deep. East Jefferson Lake has generally poor water clarity and frequent algae blooms caused by elevated nutrient levels. East Jefferson Lake is designated as an infested water body due to the establishment of Eurasian Watermilfoil. East Jefferson Lake is primarily managed for Black Crappie and Bluegill and secondarily for Northern Pike and Largemouth Bass. Northern Pike fry are stocked periodically in West Jefferson Lake and Middle Jefferson Lake - most recently in 2023. Walleye are stocked in West Jefferson Lake and German Lake as a chain wide stocking strategy, most recently in 2024. East Jefferson Lake is managed along with Middle Jefferson Lake, West Jefferson Lake, and German Lake as part of a chain of lakes known collectively as the Jefferson Chain. Since these lakes are openly connected to one another, fish migration must be considered, and management is coordinated as such. East Jefferson Lake was surveyed the week of 29 July 2024 as part of a regularly scheduled monitoring program conducted by the Minnesota DNR. The survey was completed to assess the fish community using 9 gill nets, 10 trap nets, and 85 minutes of boat electrofishing. Water quality parameters were also measured. Black Crappies were the most abundant species in 2024 in gill nets with a catch rate of 22.9/net and a trap net catch rate of 22.2/net. Since 1994, trap net catch rates have increased in each subsequent survey, most recently from 6.6/net in 2013 to 18.1/net in 2018, to 30.9/net in 2021, before a slight drop in 2024. Lengths of Black Crappies sampled with gill nets varied from 4.5 to 10.9 inches with an average of 7.1 inches. Lengths from the trap net sample ranged from 6.9 to 12.4 inches with an average of 9.4 inches. Black Crappies from both gears ranged from age-1 to age-7 with 7 year classes present. On average, Black Crappies exceeded 8 inches by age-4. The increasing abundance, good growth and consistent natural reproduction should lead to excellent angling opportunities for Black Crappies in East Jefferson Lake for years to come. Bluegill was the most abundant species sampled with trap nets in 2024. A total of 305 Bluegill were sampled for a catch rate of 30.5/net. Catch rates have ranged from 3.9/net in 1997 to 44.8/net in 2002 with an average of 24.1/net since 1994. The three…
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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