Fish Trap Lake
Morrison County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 49013700
DNR records show 11 stocking entries at Fish Trap Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (1,200,000 fish).
- Fish Trap Lake has 11 DNR stocking records across 9 years (2016-2025): walleye (11).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 9,614,693 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 42 ft, mean depth 20 ft; surface area 1,164 acres, 404 littoral acres, 13.1 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 11.5 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, and 6 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Morrison County, nearest town Lincoln; DNR lake number (DOW) 49013700.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 10/23/1956 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 1,200,000 | 11.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 1,200,000 | 10.7 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fingerlings | 3,381 | 483.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 1,200,000 | 10.7 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 1,200,000 | 10.9 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 1,200,000 | 10.8 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fingerlings | 11,312 | 404.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 1,200,000 | 10.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 600,000 | 5.3 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 1,200,000 | 10.8 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 600,000 | 5.3 |
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 | State owned access on NW side of lake. - Northwest side of the lake |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walleye | Fall electrofishing | 4.50 | 9 | 1.16 |
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 Trap Lake is a 1,164 acre lake located near Lincoln, Minnesota. The lake has 13.12 miles of shoreline, a maximum depth of 42 feet, and a littoral area of 404 acres. A state-owned public access is on the northwest portion of the lake. Primary management species include Northern Pike and Walleye. Secondary management species are Black Crappie, Bluegill, and Largemouth Bass. The lake was initially surveyed in 1957, and a total of 49 various surveys or assessments have been conducted on the lake with the most recent being a Targeted Survey assessing fall young of the year Walleye utilizing electrofishing in 2025. Walleye management on Fish Trap Lake involves spring fry stocking of 3,000/littoral acre or 1,200,000 fry on an annual basis. Flexibility within the management plan allows fall fingerling stocking if fry stocking fails to create a population within management goals as defined by summer gill net catches. Summer surveys are completed every three years with the next survey scheduled for 2027. A decision to stock fingerling Walleyes was made in the fall of 2024 due to consecutive poor fall electrofishing surveys. Fall nighttime electrofishing targeting young of year Walleye to document natural reproduction or survival from fry stocking was initiated in 2004 and is done annually on Fish Trap Lake. Fall sampling was conducted on September 27th, 2025, to document survival from a spring Walleye stocking of 1,200,000 fry. Six stations scattered throughout the lake were sampled, totaling 2 hours of on time. A total of 0 young of the year Walleye were captured during sampling. Catch rates in prior fall EF assessments ranged from 0/hour to 177/hour on time. Recent fall EF surveys have been ineffective in sampling young of the year Walleye, with catch rates since 2017 ranged from 0/hour (N=3) to 9.13/hour (2023). A total catch of 9 adults Walleye averaged 14.1 inches were captured in 2025 for a catch rate of 4.5/hour. Fall electrofishing catch rates show a fairly strong positive relationship with future year class strength identified in future gill net surveys. However, while fall electrofishing catch rates above 40/hour predict a good year class, significant year classes in gill net surveys were also identified in years with zero or low fall electrofishing catch rates. Low catch rates in Fish Trap Lake appear to be associated with the introduction of Zebra Mussels or the recent increased abundance of Wild Celery in shallow water areas throughout the lake. In local lakes that are fry stocked or have natural reproduction, young of the year Walleye are…
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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