Fox Lake (Martin County)
Martin County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 46010900
DNR records show 24 stocking entries at Fox Lake (Martin County) since 2016, most recently bluegill sunfish adults in 2025 (2,500 fish).
- Fox Lake (Martin County) has 24 DNR stocking records across 8 years (2016-2025): walleye (15), muskellunge (5), yellow perch (2), bluegill sunfish (1), and 1 more species.
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 1,776,070 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 20 ft; surface area 951 acres, 780 littoral acres, 11.3 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 1.7 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, channel catfish, common carp, freshwater drum, green sunfish, hybrid crappie, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, muskellunge, and 5 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Martin County, nearest town Sherburn; DNR lake number (DOW) 46010900.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/6/1951 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Bluegill Sunfish1 | adults | 2,500 | 250.0 |
| 2025 | Walleye | - | 78,659 | 48.7 |
| 2024 | Muskellunge | fingerlings | 496 | 124.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 390,000 | 3.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | - | 76,235 | 68.5 |
| 2024 | Yellow Perch | adults | 280 | 70.0 |
| 2023 | Largemouth Bass | adults | 30 | 50.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fingerlings | 15,640 | 340.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye | - | 15,000 | 12.5 |
| 2022 | Muskellunge | fingerlings | 476 | 81.3 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 6,778 | 714.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 390,000 | 3.2 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 356 | 4.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | yearlings | 18 | 12.0 |
| 2022 | Yellow Perch | adults | 6,100 | 350.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | adults | 1,422 | 1,394.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 395,428 | 3.1 |
| 2019 | Muskellunge | fingerlings | 475 | 110.5 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 390,000 | 3.1 |
| 2018 | Muskellunge | fingerlings | 476 | 57.5 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 10,143 | 699.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 436 | 268.0 |
| 2016 | Muskellunge | fingerlings | 476 | 108.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 5,955 | 953.0 |
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 | State access on the NE end of lake. 103N 32W S34 - State access on the NE end of lake. 103N; 32W; S34 |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White crappie | Standard gill nets | 67.80 | 339 | 0.05 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard gill nets | 40.00 | 200 | 0.34 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 26.40 | 132 | 0.13 |
| Bigmouth buffalo | Standard gill nets | 15.20 | 76 | 1.94 |
| Common carp | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 5 | 6.83 |
| Channel catfish | Standard gill nets | 0.40 | 2 | 0.89 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.20 | 1 | 0.62 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 0.20 | 1 | 0.09 |
| White crappie | Standard trap nets | 61.91 | 681 | 0.07 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 22.09 | 243 | 0.12 |
| Bigmouth buffalo | Standard trap nets | 10.36 | 114 | 2.27 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard trap nets | 3.27 | 36 | 0.38 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 2.18 | 24 | 0.17 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.45 | 5 | 2.54 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.27 | 3 | 0.12 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 0.27 | 3 | 10.14 |
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.
Fox Lake is a 1,041-acre, class 24 lake located in Martin County near the Town of Sherburn. Fox Lake has a maximum depth of 20 feet and has never been aerated. Fox Lake has a small watershed-to-lake ratio of 4 to 1. Watershed improvements and the closing of a diversion structure have facilitated the return of submerged aquatic vegetation in some years; however, in recent years water quality has been poor, as indicated by a Secchi depth of 0.8 ft. in 2025. Occasionally, Curly-leaf Pondweed becomes abundant in the southeast area of Fox Lake when conditions are favorable. Curly-leaf Pondweed was first documented during a survey in 2006. Fox Lake provides a unique fishery because it is managed primarily for Muskie and Walleye and secondarily for crappie, Yellow Perch, Bluegill, and Largemouth Bass, making it one of two systems in the Windom fisheries management area that are stocked with Muskie. A standard survey was conducted on Fox Lake (starting September 2, 2025) to monitor fish populations using 5 gill nets and 11 trap nets. Surveys have been conducted annually since 1991 resulting in an excellent dataset to observe changes. Five Walleye were caught in the trap net sample, and no Walleye were caught in the gill nets. From 2015 to 2017 the Fox Lake Walleye catch rate was on a 3-year increasing trend (5.7 in 2015, 9.8 in 2016, and 14.5 in 2017). However, the past 7 years the gill net catch rate has been less than 1.7 per gill net, and 0.0 per gill net in the previous 5 surveys since 2021. Interestingly, the trap net catch rates (# per net) during the past 8 years have been within the expected range (0.3 to 1.2 per trap net). In 2025 the trap net catch rate was 0.5 per net. Walleye ranged in length from 9.3 to 25.9 inches. It is surprising to continue to see the Walleye population struggle in Fox Lake as Walleye adults (1,422 individuals, 1,394 total pounds) were stocked in September and October of 2021 and fingerlings were stocked in 2022 (7,134 individuals, 718 total pounds), 2023 (15,640 individuals, 353 total pounds), 2024 390,000 fry and 76,235 frylings, and 2025 78,659 frylings. With that many Walleye stocked, we would expect more to be sampled, indicating survival of stocked Walleye may be very low. The Walleye population will continue to be monitored annually to assess the effectiveness of Walleye stocking in Fox Lake and determine the correct stocking strategy moving forward. Walleye fryling (fry raised until larger size and stocked in June) have been stocked in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Fryling survived well when they were stocked from 2011 to…
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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