Fish Lake (Otter Tail County, DOW 56068400)
Otter Tail County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 56068400
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Fish Lake (Otter Tail County, DOW 56068400) since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2024 (1,776,000 fish).
- Fish Lake (Otter Tail County, DOW 56068400) has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2024): walleye (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 8,880,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 19 ft; surface area 1,078 acres, 888 littoral acres, 9.8 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 6.9 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, walleye, and 3 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Otter Tail County, nearest town Fergus Falls; DNR lake number (DOW) 56068400.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 1,776,000 | 15.5 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 1,776,000 | 14.9 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 1,776,000 | 15.6 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 1,776,000 | 15.1 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 1,776,000 | 15.2 |
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, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spottail shiner | 15-ft beach seine | 560.17 | 3,361 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 51.33 | 308 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | 15-ft beach seine | 6.83 | 41 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 15-ft beach seine | 3.50 | 21 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | 15-ft beach seine | 2.83 | 17 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 15-ft beach seine | 2.83 | 17 | 0.00 |
| Common carp | 15-ft beach seine | 0.50 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | 15-ft beach seine | 0.33 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 50-ft beach seine | 90.25 | 722 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | 50-ft beach seine | 47.00 | 376 | 0.00 |
| Spottail shiner | 50-ft beach seine | 22.75 | 182 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | 50-ft beach seine | 18.88 | 151 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 9.75 | 78 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 4.50 | 36 | 0.00 |
| White sucker | 50-ft beach seine | 2.88 | 23 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 0.50 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | Backpack electrofishing | 15.53 | 25 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 9.32 | 15 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 8.70 | 14 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | Backpack electrofishing | 4.35 | 7 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | Backpack electrofishing | 3.73 | 6 | 0.00 |
| Common carp | Backpack electrofishing | 3.11 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | Backpack electrofishing | 3.11 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Spottail shiner | Backpack electrofishing | 1.86 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 7.42 | 89 | 0.38 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.50 | 6 | 0.54 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.42 | 5 | 2.65 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 4 | 1.68 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.17 | 2 | 3.13 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.17 | 2 | 0.46 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.17 | 2 | 0.96 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.08 | 1 | 0.45 |
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 survey of nearshore fish species in Fish Lake was conducted on June 24-June 26, 2025, by Lake Biological Monitoring and Assessment Program (LBMA) staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at 14 sampling stations. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample eight stations, and a 15-foot seine was used at six stations. Nearshore sampling captured 17 species of fish including three species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Banded Killifish, Blacknose Shiner, and Iowa Darter) and three that are tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Common Carp, Fathead Minnow, and Green Sunfish). A concurrent summer trap net survey was also conducted by LBMA staff. 12 trap nets were set along the shoreline in locations that encompassed multiple habitat types. Trap net sampling captured 9 species of fish. Bluegill comprised a majority of the catch by number and comprised by biomass. The nearshore and trap net were combined with gill net data from a June 2023 survey to describe the fish community and provide a fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. In Minnesota lakes, certain fish species cannot survive without clean water and a healthy habitat (e.g., Blacknose Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Banded Killifish), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Green Sunfish and Common Carp). The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. The survey results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Otter Tail River watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. You can help protect the fish community in Fish Lake by reducing runoff, maintaining natural shorelines, and preventing the spread of invasive species.
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.
Hear when the states we cover post stockings
One email a week in season: which waters in the states we cover were stocked, straight from the state agencies' own postings. No spam, no fishing-gear ads in the mail.
Free · double opt-in · unsubscribe anytime · we store only your email.