Grand Lake (Stearns County)
Stearns County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 73005500
DNR records show 15 stocking entries at Grand Lake (Stearns County) since 2016, most recently black crappie adults in 2025 (700 fish).
- Grand Lake (Stearns County) has 15 DNR stocking records across 7 years (2016-2025): walleye (14), black crappie (1).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 19,370 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 34 ft, mean depth 19 ft; surface area 651 acres, 235 littoral acres, 3.8 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 5.8 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, white sucker, and 2 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Stearns County, nearest town Coldspring; DNR lake number (DOW) 73005500.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 6/3/1969 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Black Crappie1 | adults | 700 | 116.7 |
| 2024 | Walleye | yearlings | 1,000 | 250.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | yearlings | 1,027 | 210.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fingerlings | 2,050 | 205.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 7,520 | 286.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye | yearlings | 3,250 | 329.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 2,923 | 172.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 155 | 72.5 |
| 2018 | Walleye | adults | 25 | 42.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | yearlings | 206 | 103.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | adults | 360 | 300.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 570 | 57.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | yearlings | 210 | 70.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | adults | 10 | 13.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 64 | 16.0 |
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 |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 75.52 | 151 | 1.35 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 54.50 | 654 | 0.11 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 3.08 | 37 | 0.18 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 2.58 | 31 | 0.97 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 2.50 | 30 | 0.30 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 1.58 | 19 | 0.39 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 1.33 | 16 | 1.74 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.58 | 7 | 0.25 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.50 | 6 | 3.67 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 20.56 | 185 | 0.19 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 20.44 | 184 | 0.86 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 18.11 | 163 | 2.62 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 7.33 | 66 | 1.52 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 4.22 | 38 | 0.11 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard gill nets | 3.11 | 28 | 1.24 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 2.00 | 18 | 0.27 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard gill nets | 0.56 | 5 | 0.19 |
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.
Grand Lake is a 655-acre, highly developed lake located approximately two miles south of Rockville in eastern Stearns County. The lake has moderate to good water quality with an average summer Secchi depth of 8.9 feet, reflecting improved water clarity since the last survey. It is classified as lake class 27. The watershed covers roughly 7,000 acres and land use is dominated by cultivated crops (41%), forest (25%), open water (14%), hay/pasture (8%), wetland (5%), grassland (3%), and residential (3%). A DNR public access is located on the south side of the lake and the lake is designated infested with starry stonewort (2017), and zebra mussels (2022). A standard lake survey was completed in 2025 to update fisheries data last collected in 2020. Grand Lake continues to support a balanced and moderately productive fishery typical of central Minnesota lakes. The 2025 standard lake survey indicated stable water quality and habitat conditions along with consistent recruitment among major gamefish. The fish community remains dominated by Walleye, Northern Pike, and Bluegill, with Largemouth Bass, Black Crappie, and several other warmwater species providing a variety of quality angler opportunities. Walleye remain the primary managed species in Grand Lake and continue to perform well under the current fingerling stocking program. The 2025 survey documented higher walleye abundance than in 2020 and above the long-term average. Fish ranged from approximately 11 to 26 inches, averaging 16 inches and 1.5 pounds. This reflects strong recruitment from the 2022 and 2024 stocking events, although the larger number of younger fish slightly lowered the average size compared to 2020. Growth remains average, with fish reaching 16 inches by age-3. Overall, the Walleye population provides a consistent and dependable fishery for anglers. Northern Pike remain abundant. The 2025 survey showed abundance similar to 2020 and continued to be above expected levels for lake class 27. Pike lengths ranged from 16 to 34 inches and averaged about 23 inches and 2.6 pounds, a noticeable improvement in size from the 2020 survey. Seventeen percent of pike sampled were longer than 26 inches compared to just 3% in 2020, suggesting modest gains in size structure. Recent angler harvest of small pike appears to be improving overall balance. The population remains high but offers good angling action with opportunities for larger fish. Bass sampling resumed in 2025 after being paused in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Spring day-time electrofishing in 2025 documented higher bass abundance than…
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.
Hear when the states we cover post stockings
One email a week in season: which waters in the states we cover were stocked, straight from the state agencies' own postings. No spam, no fishing-gear ads in the mail.
Free · double opt-in · unsubscribe anytime · we store only your email.