Foot Lake
Kandiyohi County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 34018100
DNR records show 13 stocking entries at Foot Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (149,314 fish).
- Foot Lake has 13 DNR stocking records across 9 years (2016-2025): walleye (13).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 2,734,891 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 24 ft; surface area 503 acres, 663 littoral acres, 6.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 2.3 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, channel catfish, common carp, freshwater drum, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, and 3 more.
- 4 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Kandiyohi County, nearest town Willmar; DNR lake number (DOW) 34018100.
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 | Walleye | fry | 149,314 | 1.5 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 150,941 | 1.5 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 152,525 | 1.4 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 330,059 | 3.2 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 61,320 | 0.5 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,590 | 106.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 316,575 | 3.1 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 300,000 | 2.5 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fingerlings | 6,019 | 521.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 357,952 | 3.5 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 150,000 | 1.5 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 254,208 | 2.4 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 504,388 | 4.3 |
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 | city | Southeast side of northwest basin. Located adjacent to Kandiyohi County Fairgrounds entrance. - Parking and turn around located adjacent to County Fairgrounds' entrance. Dock present. |
| C | Minnesota DNR | Boat channel between Foot and Willmar Lakes. - Open water channel under city park bridge. |
| gravel ramp | county | Old Kandiyohi County Fairgrounds Access Site located on the west side of the fairgrounds. - No dock. Ample parking and turn around. |
| PU | city | Several fishing piers located along the N side of the SE basin. Piers located parallel to two road culverts on the S side of the road, and a pier perpendicular from a N shore point about 200 feet NE of the other piers. |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walleye | Fall electrofishing | 198.00 | 66 | 0.03 |
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 18.33 | 55 | 0.56 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 12.67 | 38 | 0.16 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 11.00 | 33 | 2.23 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard gill nets | 7.33 | 22 | 1.42 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 3.67 | 11 | 1.09 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 1.67 | 5 | 0.33 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 1.67 | 5 | 0.19 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 1.33 | 4 | 0.07 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 14.50 | 87 | 0.04 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 6.33 | 38 | 0.42 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 1.83 | 11 | 0.04 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 1.67 | 10 | 0.05 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 1.50 | 9 | 4.49 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard trap nets | 1.33 | 8 | 1.12 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 6 | 2.12 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.83 | 5 | 0.18 |
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 standard survey was conducted on Foot Lake during late July of 2025. A fall night electrofishing survey was conducted for young of year "YOY" (fingerling sized) Walleye during early September of 2025. 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). Foot is a moderate size (692 acres), multi basin, aerated, shallow (663 littoral acres) and productive lake located in Kandiyohi County. Foot is part of the Hawk Creek Watershed. Foot Lake is located within the city limits of Willmar. There are two distinct basins (northwest and southeast) bisected by a county road and connected via several large culverts. MNDNR Fisheries has considered the southeast basin as part of Foot Lake (34-0181-00) for management purposes since the 1980's. MNDNR Ecological Waters Resources identifies the southeast basin as part of Willmar Lake (34-0180-02). A large city park "Robbin's Island" is located along the east side of the southeast basin. The Kandiyohi County Fairgrounds is located along the south shore of the northwest basin. Ridgewater College is located on the north shore of the northwest basin. There are 86 homes and several nearby apartment buildings (2020 survey) on Foot Lake. There are two public boat access sites with one site on each basin. A new shore fishing area with concrete platforms has been developed along the jetty on the southeast basin of Foot Lake in Robbins Island Park. Another shore fishing area is located on the north shore near the two large culverts of the southeast basin. The fishing piers/areas are popular spots for catching Walleye, Northern Pike and Channel Catfish in the lake. Foot is also connected to Willmar Lake via an upstream navigable channel. Fish movement between the Foot Lake basins and Willmar Lake occurs frequently. The Foot Lake outlet is considered the headwaters of Hawk Creek, although Eagle Lake and several shallow lakes are located upstream of Foot and Willmar. These lakes are connected via ditches and inlets that eventually flow to Willmar Lake. The outlet dam is located along the southwest shore of the northwest basin. There are 27 inlets/tiles that enter Foot Lake. Nutrient inputs into Foot Lake are from…
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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