Grants Lake

Douglas County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 21015000

DNR records show 4 stocking entries at Grants Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (64,000 fish).

• Grants Lake has 4 DNR stocking records across 4 years (2016-2025): walleye (4).
• The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 256,000 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 60 ft, mean depth 25 ft; surface area 177 acres, 64 littoral acres, 2.5 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 10.8 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, and 4 more.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: July 12, 2022 (targeted survey).
• Douglas County, nearest town Holmes City; DNR lake number (DOW) 21015000.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Stocking history

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2022

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.

A trap net survey was conducted on Grants Lake on July 12-13, 2022 by Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) Program Staff. Nine trap nets were set along the shoreline in locations that encompassed multiple habitat types. Bluegill comprised a majority of the trap net catch by number. The number of Bluegill sampled per net was above the 25% quartile and below the 50% quartile for similar Lake Class 31 lakes and the average length was 5.5 inches, with 22% over seven inches. Bluegill, Hybrid Sunfish, Bowfin, and Northern Pike comprised a majority of the trap net catch by biomass. The fish data collected in this trap net survey were combined with data from an August 2020 gill net survey and July 2020 survey of nearshore fishes to describe the fish community and provide a Fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. In Minnesota lakes, certain fish species cannot survive without clean water and a healthy habitat (e.g. Blacknose Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Smallmouth Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g. Black Bullhead and Common Carp). The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. Results from this survey provide evidence that the fish community in Grants Lake is in good health as indicated by an FIBI score above the impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. Data from this survey will contribute biological information about the health of the fish community to the Long Prairie River Watershed assessment process in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, July 12, 2022.

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