Elk Lake (Grant County)
Grant County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 26004000
DNR records show 8 stocking entries at Elk Lake (Grant County) since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2024 (54,500 fish).
- Elk Lake (Grant County) has 8 DNR stocking records across 6 years (2016-2024): walleye (8).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 65,476 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 29 ft, mean depth 15 ft; surface area 207 acres, 109 littoral acres, 3.3 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 6.8 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Grant County, nearest town Hoffman; DNR lake number (DOW) 26004000.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/10/1956 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 54,500 | 0.5 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 3,762 | 218.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | adults | 160 | 80.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye | yearlings | 219 | 219.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | adults | 80 | 80.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 2,880 | 240.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 1,025 | 225.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 2,850 | 234.0 |
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 |
DNR fish survey, 2021
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 106.11 | 955 | 0.11 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 7.44 | 67 | 0.29 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 3.67 | 33 | 1.46 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 1.78 | 16 | 2.26 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 1.24 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 1.80 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.48 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.11 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 96.70 | 166 | 2.14 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 31.67 | 190 | 0.21 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 14.67 | 88 | 1.75 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 5.83 | 35 | 0.13 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 1.83 | 11 | 1.85 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 1.33 | 8 | 1.29 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 3.48 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 0.11 |
| Green sunfish | Standard gill nets | 0.17 | 1 | 0.07 |
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.
Elk Lake is a 207-acre lake located two miles north of Hoffman in Grant County. Average and maximum depth are 15 and 29 feet, respectively. Water clarity was 7.5 feet during the survey. City-owned beach and campground facilities are located on the south shore next to the public access. Because of this it is a popular recreational lake that can become busy during the summer. Elk is primarily managed for its Walleye fishery and the Walleye abundance is high (14.7/gill net) when compared to similar lakes, or recent surveys. Analysis has shown that the Walleye population is primarily driven by natural reproduction. Most of the Walleye sampled were young, with lengths under 15 inches. However, growth is fast, with fish reaching 16.2 inches by age 3. Most fish should be harvestable size with one more year of growth. Average and maximum length were 16.0 and 27.5 inches, respectively. Bluegill are currently very abundant (106.1/trap net), significantly higher than recent surveys, but so far this has not negatively affected growth. Even though most Bluegill were young, over 39% of fish sampled in trap nets exceeded 7 inches. Average and maximum length were 6.4 and 8.5 inches, respectively. If growth continues at this rate, Elk Lake should provide excellent fishing opportunity for Bluegills over the next several years Elk Lake supports a healthy Largemouth Bass population in terms of both size and numbers. The bass catch rate (96.7/ hour) increased from the 2015 survey. In addition, the size structure continues to be impressive, with 75% of bass exceeding 15 inches. Average length was 15.3 inches and the largest bass sampled was 19.9 inches. Yellow Perch abundance (5.8/gill net) was below the long term average (32.8/gill net), but this has not affected growth of predators that consume perch. Perch were not sampled at lengths that would be of interest to anglers, ranging from 5.7 to 8.1 inches. Few Black Crappie or Northern Pike were sampled, but neither species has been abundant in any recent survey. Other species sampled were Green Sunfish, Hybrid Sunfish, White Sucker and Yellow Bullhead.
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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