First Silver Lake
Otter Tail County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 56030201
DNR records show 15 stocking entries at First Silver Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (10,500 fish).
- First Silver Lake has 15 DNR stocking records across 10 years (2016-2025): walleye (15).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 63,472 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 43 ft; surface area 529 acres, 230 littoral acres, 4.1 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 10.6 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and 1 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) 56030201.
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 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 10,500 | 350.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | yearlings | 124 | 31.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fingerlings | 6,047 | 602.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 3,700 | 148.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 13,614 | 468.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | adults | 586 | 150.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye | yearlings | 1,457 | 475.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 2,800 | 112.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 5,000 | 200.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 9,598 | 456.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 84 | 21.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 6,250 | 250.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | adults | 696 | 322.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 2,456 | 172.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | yearlings | 560 | 140.0 |
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 | - A STATE OWNED PUBLIC ACCESS IS LOCATED OFF OF A TOWNSHIP ROAD ALONG THE NORTH SHORELINE OF THE LAKE. |
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR |
DNR fish survey, 2022
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 13.67 | 82 | 1.46 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 13.67 | 82 | 0.83 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 10.67 | 64 | 0.17 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 9.67 | 58 | 0.22 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 9.17 | 55 | 0.21 |
| Rock bass | Standard gill nets | 5.50 | 33 | 0.31 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 4.83 | 29 | 0.34 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 4.33 | 26 | 0.86 |
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.
Silver Lake is a 547-acre mesotrophic (moderately fertile) lake located in central Otter Tail County one mile north of Battle Lake, MN. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of grasslands interspersed with hardwood woodlots. The maximum depth is 43 feet; however, 42% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. The secchi disk reading during the 2022 lake survey was 13.1 feet. Previous secchi disk readings ranged from 6.0 to 12.2 feet. The majority of the shoreline is developed with homes and cottages. A DNR owned concrete public access is located along the north shoreline. Shoal water substrates consist primarily of sand and gravel. Several small stands of hardstem bulrush exist along the western and eastern portions of the lake. Emergent aquatic plants such as bulrush provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines and lake bottoms, and can actually absorb and break down polluting chemicals. Emergent plants provide spawning areas for fish species such as Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and panfish. They also serve as important nursery areas for all species of fish. To maintain the excellent water quality and angling that this lake has to offer, it is imperative to preserve the quality of the aquatic habitat. A special gillnetting survey was conducted to analyze the Walleye and Northern Pike populations. Walleye abundance has historically remained at a high level. The 2018 and 2019 year classes of Walleye are strong and should provide consistently good angling for several years. Walleyes ranged in length from 10.9 to 23.1 inches with an average length and weight of 15.8 inches and 1.5 pounds. Walleyes attain an average length of 15.0 inches at four years of age. Northern Pike abundance has historically been low due to a lack of suitable spawning habitat; however, Northern Pike size structure has consistently been of a high quality. Northern Pike ranged in length from 22.1 to 30.8 inches with an average length and weight of 24.0 inches and 4.0 pounds. Northern Pike exhibit fast growth with an average length of 24.0 inches at four years of age. Anglers can maintain the quality of fishing 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. Silver Lake is not…
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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