Fish Lake (Le Sueur County)
Le Sueur County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 40005100
Fish Lake (Le Sueur County) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Fish Lake (Le Sueur County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 55 ft; surface area 77 acres, 33 littoral acres, 1.8 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 13.8 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, white sucker, and 2 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Le Sueur County, nearest town Waterville; DNR lake number (DOW) 40005100.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 6/16/1961 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| gravel ramp | Minnesota DNR | Off Le Sueur County Road 14. |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 61.86 | 72 | 0.54 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 32.50 | 260 | 0.12 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 4.75 | 38 | 0.18 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.62 | 5 | 0.81 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.62 | 5 | 0.43 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.25 | 2 | 0.36 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.25 | 2 | 2.94 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.12 | 1 | 1.79 |
| Green sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.12 | 1 | 0.04 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 8.33 | 25 | 3.77 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 4.67 | 14 | 0.16 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 4.00 | 12 | 0.33 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 3.00 | 9 | 0.59 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 3 | 0.60 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 3 | 0.10 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 1 | 0.29 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 1 | 0.12 |
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.
Fish Lake is a 78-acre lake located in Le Sueur County north of the city of Elysian. A DNR-owned public access is located on the southeast corner of the lake off Le Sueur County Road 14. Fish Lake is a small, clear lake with a maximum depth of 55 feet. Minimal shoreline development, abundant and diverse vegetation, clear, deep water, and a nearly undisturbed watershed make Fish Lake an outlier among southern Minnesota lakes. No stocking plan exists for Fish Lake, so the fish community persists exclusively from natural recruitment. Fish Lake was surveyed the week of 2 June 2025 as part of a regular monitoring program conducted by Minnesota DNR. This survey was intended to assess the fish community by deploying two gill nets and eight trap nets, as well as recording water quality parameters. To assess the Largemouth Bass population, boat electrofishing was also conducted. The next standard survey is scheduled for 2031. Bluegill were the most abundant fish in the 2025 survey with a total of 260 fish collected in trap nets (32.5 fish/net. This catch rate is similar to the long-term average for Fish Lake (34.4 fish/net). Bluegill lengths ranged from 3.2 to 8.5 inches and averaged 6.2 inches. Three percent of Bluegill from trap nets measured 8.0 inches or larger, which did not meet the management goal for Fish Lake (10% greater than 8.0 inches). The catch rate of 32.5 fish/net exceeded the management plan goal of 30.0 fish/net. The Largemouth Bass population in Fish Lake was assessed by boat electrofishing along the entire shoreline. All Largemouth Bass (N = 72) were measured and released after scale samples were taken for aging. The catch rate of Largemouth Bass was 61.9 fish/hour, which was just below the lake average of 70.3 fish/hour. Largemouth Bass lengths ranged from 2.8 to 18.9 inches and averaged 8.0 inches. The Northern Pike catch rate in 2025 (8.3/net) rebounded above the long-term average for Fish Lake (5.9 /net). The lengths of Northern Pike ranged from 9.2 to 37.1 inches and averaged 23.7 inches. Forty eight percent of Northern Pike sampled were greater than the 24 in minimum harvest size limit. The catch rate in 2025 (8.3 fish/net) was above the management goal of 3.0 fish/net and the population size structure management goal (30% > 24 inches) was exceeded. Like all fish species in Fish Lake, Northern Pike are completely sustained through natural recruitment. Black Crappie catch rates in 2014 (1.5/trap net) and 2019 (4.1/trap net) were higher than historical catch rates. However, the 2025 catch rate was 0.6 fish per trap net, similar to…
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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