East Lost Lake
Otter Tail County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 56037800
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at East Lost Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (327,000 fish).
- East Lost Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2025): walleye (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 1,635,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 36 ft; surface area 483 acres, 327 littoral acres, 6.4 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 10.1 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, lake sturgeon, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, and 5 more.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Otter Tail County, nearest town Battle Lake; DNR lake number (DOW) 56037800.
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 | Walleye | fry | 327,000 | 2.9 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 327,000 | 2.7 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 327,000 | 2.9 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 327,000 | 2.8 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 327,000 | 2.8 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| CA | Minnesota DNR | |
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Special trap nets | 30.50 | 183 | 0.13 |
| Pumpkinseed | Special trap nets | 5.33 | 32 | 0.24 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Special trap nets | 2.17 | 13 | 0.35 |
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 Lost Lake is a 501-acre mesotrophic (moderately fertile) lake located in central Otter Tail County approximately five miles north of Battle Lake, MN. The Otter Tail River flows through East Lost Lake, which is connected upstream to Deer Lake and approximately three river miles downstream from Otter Tail Lake. The immediate watershed is composed of agricultural land interspersed with hardwood woodlots. East Lost Lake has a maximum depth of 36 feet; however, 65% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. Historical secchi disk readings have ranged from 6.2 to 11.5 feet. A majority of the shoreline is developed with homes and cabins. An unimproved, carry-in DNR public access is located on the west shoreline. Boat access can be obtained through the DNR public access located on adjacent Deer Lake. Stands of hardstem bulrush, wild rice, and common cattail are located at various locations around the lake. These emergent plants provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat and are critical in maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines and lake bottoms from wave erosion and help absorb excess nutrients. Emergent plants also provide critical spawning habitat for several fish species including Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and panfish. They also serve as important nursery areas for many species of fish. Because of their ecological value, emergent plants cannot be removed without a DNR permit. A reduced daily bag limit regulation for sunfish (10 per day) was implemented in 2021. The objective of the regulation is to improve and maintain the quality of the Bluegill size structure. A special spring trapnetting survey was conducted to collect data on the Bluegill population, which will be used for regulation evaluation purposes in future surveys. The Bluegill population is extremely abundant and has a moderate quality size structure. Thirty-two percent of the Bluegill sample was 7.0 inches or greater in length, while three percent was 8.0 inches or greater in length. Age data indicate that Bluegill reproduction is consistently good. Bluegills attain an average length of 7.9 inches at seven years of age. Anglers can also maintain or improve the quality of angling by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of medium to large size fish while allowing the harvest of 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 more opportunities to catch large fish in the future. East Lost Lake was…
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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