Freeborn Lake (Douglas County)
Douglas County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 21016200
DNR records show 12 stocking entries at Freeborn Lake (Douglas County) since 2017, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (2,400 fish).
- Freeborn Lake (Douglas County) has 12 DNR stocking records across 9 years (2017-2025): walleye (12).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 701,727 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 18 ft, mean depth 12 ft; surface area 248 acres, 172 littoral acres, 3.5 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 3.3 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Douglas County, nearest town Farwell; DNR lake number (DOW) 21016200.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 7/2/1964 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 2,400 | 120.0 |
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 86,000 | 0.8 |
| 2024 | Walleye1 | yearlings | 960 | 120.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 86,000 | 0.7 |
| 2023 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 2,400 | 120.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 2,400 | 120.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 172,000 | 1.6 |
| 2020 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 2,400 | 120.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 172,000 | 1.4 |
| 2019 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 2,825 | 113.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye1 | yearlings | 342 | 114.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 172,000 | 1.6 |
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 |
DNR fish survey, 2020
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 22.83 | 137 | 1.13 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 19.33 | 116 | 2.13 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 18.33 | 110 | 0.08 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 14.33 | 86 | 0.29 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 14.00 | 84 | 0.22 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 10.50 | 63 | 1.80 |
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 5.00 | 30 | 1.10 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 2.33 | 14 | 1.09 |
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.
Freeborn Lake (247 acres) is a shallow, highly productive basin located north of Farwell. A concrete public access is found on the western shoreline off County Road 96. Average and maximum depths are 12 and 18 feet, respectively. Due to high productivity, water clarity was moderate (2.5 feet) at the time of the survey. High productivity allows for abundant, fast growing gamefish populations. A standard fisheries survey was completed during summer 2020 to provide updated information on the fish community of Freeborn Lake. Standard survey components typically include spring electrofishing, gill nets, and trap nets. However, due to safety concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic, gill nets were the only component used in 2020. Walleye catch rates (10.5/gill net) are the second highest reported in the past three decades. Most Walleye (70%) are a desirable size (15-20 inches), with the largest individual approaching 25 inches. High catch rates are due to strong 2017 and 2015 year classes. Growth rates were good. On average, it takes Walleye four years to reach 16 inches. Walleye fry are stocked on alternate years to maintain fishing opportunities. Fry stocking efforts appear highly successful in Freeborn Lake. Fry-stocked year classes account for over 80% of the current Walleye population. In addition, Walleye fingerlings have been stocked under private permit. Catch rates of Northern Pike (19.3/gill net) have doubled from the previous survey. Seventy percent of pike sampled ranged from 15 to 22 inches in length. Maximum length was 34.5 inches. Freeborn Lake falls in the North-central Zone where all pike 22-26 inches must be immediately released. Anglers can keep up to 10 pike but no more than two can be longer than 26 inches. Harvesting smaller pike will help shift the population back towards larger individuals and reduce the number of predators for young Walleye and other gamefish. Largemouth Bass are common. Fourteen bass, ranging in length from 7.8 to 15.7 inches, were sampled in gill nets. Gill net catch rates of Bluegill were high (14.0/gill net). Bluegill averaged 6.8 inches, but the largest individual measured 8.5 inches. Growth rates were rapid. Individuals approached 7.5 inches in length at age 5. Black Crappie were also abundant in 2020. Average and maximum lengths for crappie were 7.6 and 10.8 inches, respectively. Average length will likely increase in the near future as a strong 2018 year class continues to grow. Yellow Perch are abundant (18.5/gill net), but few perch exceed 7 inches. Other species recorded in the 2020 lake survey included…
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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