Ella Lake
Kandiyohi County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 34003300
DNR records show 7 stocking entries at Ella Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (75,680 fish).
- Ella Lake has 7 DNR stocking records across 7 years (2017-2025): walleye (7).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 652,075 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 12 ft; surface area 153 acres, 153 littoral acres, 2.3 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 2.8 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, channel catfish, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid crappie, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, and 8 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Kandiyohi County, nearest town Atwater; DNR lake number (DOW) 34003300.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 7/9/1974 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 75,680 | 0.7 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 74,490 | 0.8 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 76,262 | 0.7 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 105,525 | 1.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 101,232 | 0.9 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 115,064 | 1.1 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 103,822 | 1.1 |
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 | South side of lake off of township road. - Parking along the side of township road. No turn around. Back in access off of road right away. |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walleye | Fall electrofishing | 6.00 | 2 | 0.00 |
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.
A targeted fall daytime electrofishing survey was conducted on Ella during September 7, 2023 to evaluate young of year "YOY" (fingerling sized) Walleye numbers due to a fry stocking. Two stations were sampled for a total of 20 minutes. The water temperature was 73 F. Water clarity was poor (6"). Light densities of sago pondweed were present during the 2023 electrofishing survey. A targeted survey is generally used for sampling a specific kind of fish or time of year (i.e., spawning season, fall season, etc.) unlike a standard survey which samples a wider range of fish species during the summer months using standard methodology (i.e., standard time of year, set sampling stations, taking water clarity readings and oxygen/temperature profiles, etc.) and gears (i.e. lake survey gillnets, trapnets and possibly spring electrofishing for Largemouth Bass). Lake Ella experienced a significant winterkill of Walleye and Common Carp during the 2022-23 winter. Lake Elizabeth also had a significant winterkill of Walleye and Common Carp near the Lake Ella outlet area. The Ella standard lake survey trapnet catch (3 single frame sets during early June of 2023) consisted of numerous adult Northern Pike, White Crappie and Black Bullhead in addition to low numbers of Bluegill, White Sucker and Yellow Bullhead. Poor conditions such as high snowfall, long winter duration, low water and high aquatic vegetation contributed to the winterkill severity in many local lakes for 2022-23 winter. A partial winterkill of mostly Common Carp and Walleye occurred near the outlet area during February of 2019. Ella is a small (153 acres), shallow (12 feet maximum depth), and productive lake located in Kandiyohi County. Walleye natural reproduction in Ella is generally insignificant or rare based on previous surveys. Walleye movement out of or into Ella via Lake Elizabeth can also occur during high water events. Walleye fry were generally stocked in Ella every other odd year from 1983-2007. Ella was stocked with 33,403 and 35,051 Walleye frylings (1-2 inch average length) in late/mid-June of 2008 and 2010 respectively. YOY Walleye catch rates were low to moderate in 2008 (25.26 YOY/hour, 7.01 inches length) and 2010 (42.00 YOY/hour, 6.55 inches) fall electrofishing surveys, but better than fall electrofishing surveys of 2003-2007 fry stocked years (3-20 YOY/hour). Walleye fry were stocked into Ella due to no/minimal fryling availability during 2015 (152,385 fry), 2017 (103,822 fry), 2018 (115,064 fry), 2019 (101,232 fry), 2021 (105,525 fry) and 2023 (76,262 fry). The fryling program has…
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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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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