East Silent Lake
Otter Tail County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 56051700
DNR records show 13 stocking entries at East Silent Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (2,067 fish).
- East Silent Lake has 13 DNR stocking records across 10 years (2016-2025): walleye (13).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 306,018 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 48 ft; surface area 324 acres, 58 littoral acres, 3.8 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 15.7 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and 1 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Otter Tail County, nearest town Dent; DNR lake number (DOW) 56051700.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fingerlings | 2,067 | 136.0 |
| 2025 | Walleye | adults | 4 | 4.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,404 | 156.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,843 | 131.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 3,750 | 125.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 2,950 | 118.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 58,000 | 0.5 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 58,000 | 0.5 |
| 2020 | Walleye1 | yearlings | 2,000 | 100.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 58,000 | 0.5 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 58,000 | 0.5 |
| 2017 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 2,000 | 133.3 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 58,000 | 0.5 |
1 fish purchased and stocked by private citizens and sporting groups.
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 |
DNR fish survey, 2022
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 17.33 | 156 | 0.25 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 6.89 | 62 | 0.80 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 5.56 | 50 | 1.88 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 3.67 | 33 | 1.51 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard gill nets | 3.56 | 32 | 0.35 |
| Rock bass | Standard gill nets | 2.67 | 24 | 0.29 |
| Smallmouth bass | Standard gill nets | 1.78 | 16 | 1.26 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 1.67 | 15 | 0.61 |
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 Silent Lake is a 310-acre mesotrophic (moderately fertile) lake located in north-central Otter Tail County approximately six miles west of Dent, MN. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of agricultural land interspersed with hardwood woodlots. The maximum depth is 45 feet; however, 18% of the lake is less than 15 feet in depth. The secchi disk reading during the 2022 survey was 14.5 feet. Previous secchi disk readings have ranged from 12.5 to 22.0 feet. The east shoreline of East Silent Lake has been extensively developed. Development is also scattered along the north and south shorelines. Homes, cabins, and two resorts compose the majority of the development. A DNR owned public water access is located off of County Road 41 along the west shoreline of the lake. The shoal water substrates consist primarily of sand and gravel. Emergent aquatic macrophytes such as hardstem bulrush and common cattail are extremely rare. Walleye and Northern Pike are the dominant gamefish species in the fish community of East Silent Lake; however, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, and Black Crappie abundance has increased in recent surveys. A special gillnetting survey was conducted to analyze the Walleye and Northern Pike populations. Walleye abundance has declined over the most recent series of surveys. Walleyes ranged in length from 11.3 to 23.7 inches with an average length and weight of 17.5 inches and 1.9 pounds. Walleyes attain an average length of 15.5 inches at four years of age. Northern Pike abundance has increased slightly over the most recent series of surveys. Northern Pike ranged in length from 11.8 to 29.5 inches with an average length and weight of 19.0 inches and 1.5 pounds. Northern Pike attain an average length of 25.3 inches at four years of age. Smallmouth Bass ranged in length from 8.7 to 18.9 inches with an average length and weight of 12.3 inches and 1.3 pounds. Smallmouth Bass attain an average length of 13.8 inches at four years of age. Black Crappies ranged in length from 4.4 to 12.4 inches with an average length of 9.9 inches. Black Crappies attain an average length of 9.9 at five years of age. Anglers can maintain the quality fishing that this lake has to offer 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 opportunities to catch more large fish in the…
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. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
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