Gorman Lake
Le Sueur County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 40003200
DNR records show 16 stocking entries at Gorman Lake since 2016, most recently northern pike fry in 2025 (42,383 fish).
- Gorman Lake has 16 DNR stocking records across 9 years (2016-2025): walleye (12), northern pike (4).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 2,130,910 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 14 ft; surface area 521 acres, 521 littoral acres, 4.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 3.3 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), common carp, freshwater drum, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, quillback, walleye, and 4 more.
- 3 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Le Sueur County, nearest town Le Center; DNR lake number (DOW) 40003200.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 9/17/1963 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Northern Pike | fry | 42,383 | 0.7 |
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 124,750 | 1.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 124,750 | 1.0 |
| 2023 | Northern Pike | fry | 91,913 | 3.1 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 124,750 | 1.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 124,750 | 1.2 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 124,750 | 1.0 |
| 2021 | Northern Pike | fry | 40,964 | 1.3 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 124,750 | 1.1 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 124,750 | 1.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 124,750 | 1.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 124,750 | 1.1 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 124,750 | 1.1 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 124,750 | 1.2 |
| 2017 | Northern Pike | fry | 87,325 | 2.4 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 758,660 | 7.0 |
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 | county | - County park at outlet on southeast shore. No ramp. |
| gravel ramp | county | - WEST SHORE - COUNTY OWNED |
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | - SOUTH SHORE- STATE OWNED |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 48.44 | 436 | 0.36 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard gill nets | 20.33 | 183 | 0.76 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 12.11 | 109 | 0.38 |
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 10.33 | 93 | 0.64 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 9.22 | 83 | 0.43 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 6.89 | 62 | 1.45 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 4.11 | 37 | 3.43 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard gill nets | 2.56 | 23 | 4.87 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 3.22 | 29 | 4.29 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 3.00 | 27 | 0.33 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 2.11 | 19 | 9.11 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.78 | 16 | 1.46 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 1.22 | 11 | 3.88 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.89 | 8 | 0.23 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.78 | 7 | 1.00 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 6 | 1.04 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 0.98 | 1 | 0.62 |
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.
Gorman Lake is a 521-acre lake located approximately 4 miles southeast of Le Center in Le Sueur County. The lake has a maximum depth of 14. Gorman Lake is considered eutrophic with generally poor water clarity and frequent algae blooms caused by elevated nutrient levels. The lake is aerated during the winter in an effort to reduce winter kill. A DNR-owned public access is located on the south shoreline off Dodd Road, and a county-owned public access is located on the west shoreline within the town of Cordova. Gorman Lake is primarily managed for Walleye and secondarily for Black Crappie, Bluegill, and Northern Pike. The management plan calls for stocking Lower Mississippi Strain Walleye fry at a rate of 250/littoral acre (N = 130,250) annually. Northern Pike fry are stocked in odd years at a rate of 175/littoral acre (N = 87,325) and other species are stocked as needed following winterkill events. Gorman Lake is designated as a Tier-2 Lake and will be surveyed as part of a regularly scheduled monitoring program every 6 years. The 2025 survey was completed the week of 23 June 2025 using 9 gill nets, 9 trap nets, and 61 minutes of standard boat electrofishing. Water quality parameters were also measured. Walleye were sampled at a rate of 6.9/ gill net. The previous catch rate in 2022 was 6.6/net and the average catch rate from 1994 to 2025 was 4.6/net. Walleye ranged from 7.4 to 25.0 inches with an average of 15.3 inches. An additional 7 Walleye ranging from 11.6 to 18.1 inches were sampled with trap nets. Walleye from both gears ranged from age-1 to over age-12 with 8 year classes present. Growth was fast with Walleye reaching 15 inches before age-3 and 20 inches around age-5. Black Crappies were the most abundant fish surveyed in 2025. A total of 436 were sampled with gill nets for a catch rate of 48.4/net. The 2022 catch rate was 20.1/net. Black Crappie sampled in 2025 ranged from 4.5 to 13.2 inches with an average of 8.5 inches. Black Crappies from both gears ranged from age-1 to age-8 with 8 year classes present. Most Black Crappies were age-2. Growth was fast with Black Crappies reaching 8 inches by age-3 and 10 inches by age-4. A total of 27 Bluegills were sampled with trap nets for a catch rate of 3.0/net. The previous catch rate in 2019 was 8.1/net. Bluegills ranged from 4.3 to 9.4 inches with an average of 7.3 inches. Eighty-three more Bluegills ranging from 5.9 to 9.5 inches were sampled with gill nets. Ages from both gears ranged from age-2 to age-6 with 5 year classes present. Growth was moderate with fish reaching 7 inches by age-4. Ideal…
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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