Frances Lake
Le Sueur County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 40005700
DNR records show 11 stocking entries at Frances Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2024 (2,072 fish).
- Frances Lake has 11 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2024): walleye (11).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 531,061 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 60 ft; surface area 927 acres, 502 littoral acres, 8.8 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 7.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, freshwater drum, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, and 4 more.
- 3 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Le Sueur County, nearest town Greenland; DNR lake number (DOW) 40005700.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 6/11/1969 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Walleye | fingerlings | 2,072 | 243.3 |
| 2024 | Walleye | yearlings | 518 | 259.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | adults | 82 | 163.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 11,050 | 442.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fingerlings | 11,688 | 487.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | adults | 453 | 459.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 74 | 10.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | adults | 224 | 372.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | adults | 536 | 410.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 504,338 | 4.6 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fingerlings | 26 | 51.0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O | city | - EAST END; OFF HWY 11 |
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | East end of lake off CR 11. - Features double ramps-dock-portable restroom and a large parking area. |
| concrete ramp | county | West end of lake - Good access with a single ramp - dock and portable restroom. Parking is limited. |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 95.07 | 104 | 1.26 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 27.67 | 249 | 0.95 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 22.44 | 202 | 0.15 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 10.33 | 93 | 1.55 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 4.33 | 39 | 0.20 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 3.78 | 34 | 0.25 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 3.33 | 30 | 1.99 |
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 3.22 | 29 | 0.76 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 1.33 | 12 | 1.13 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 12.18 | 134 | 0.12 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.64 | 18 | 1.16 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 1.36 | 15 | 1.59 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 1.09 | 12 | 0.22 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 11 | 0.26 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard trap nets | 0.73 | 8 | 3.90 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.73 | 8 | 2.21 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.55 | 6 | 0.82 |
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.
Lake Frances is an 870-acre lake located in LeSueur County near the Town of Elysian. Lake Frances has good water quality and a diverse plant community. Residential development has disturbed and altered the majority of Lake Frances's shoreline. In areas with residential development, lawns are typically maintained to the water's edge and shorelines are altered with rock riprap or sand blankets, thereby disrupting the natural riparian buffer. Despite substantial residential development, Lake Frances has very good water quality and a diverse, abundant aquatic vegetation community. Emergent and floating leaf vegetation are relatively common, providing valuable fish habitat. A DNR owned ramp is located at the east end of the lake, and a county access is located at the west end of the lake. The sport fish community consists of Black Crappie, Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, and Walleye. Walleye have been stocked extensively in Lake Frances to maintain the population. Other sport fish populations maintain their populations through natural reproduction. A standard survey was conducted the week 7 July 2025 to monitor the sport fish populations in Lake Frances using 8 gill nets and 11 trap nets. The next standard survey is scheduled for 2028. The Largemouth Bass catch rate decreased from 111.6/hour in 2022, to 95.1/hour in 2025. However, size structure of the Largemouth Bass population increased. Largemouth Bass in 2025 ranged from 4.7 to 18.7 inches in length and averaged 12.7 inches. Approximately 68% of Largemouth Bass sampled were greater than 12.0 inches long. The catch rate of 95.1/hour surpassed the goal of 45/hour. Past catches of Bluegill have consistently been between 15.0/trap net and 30.0/trap net. The 2025 catch rate (12.2/trap net) was the lowest on record and was below the median catch rate (23.1/trap net) for class 24 lakes. Age estimates obtained from scales and otoliths showed 9 year-classes of Bluegills were sampled (2013& 2015-2023), indicating that Bluegills have consistent recruitment and live to old ages in Lake Frances. Bluegills average 5.5 inches. Bluegills were also sampled in gill nets at a rate of 22.4/net and averaged 6.3 inches. Age estimates indicated slow growth of Bluegill in Lake Frances, with fish averaging 4.8 inches at age 4 and reaching 8 inches around 7 years of age. Walleye have historically occurred in low abundance at Lake Frances, as catch rates have ranged from 2.7/gill net in 1996 to 6.8/gill net in 1986. The 2025 catch rate fell within this range at 3.3/gill net. Scales and otoliths were used to estimate age…
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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