Half Moon Lake

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

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 27015200

Half Moon Lake has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.

• Half Moon Lake shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of September 2, 2026.
• Maximum depth 25 ft; surface area 33 acres, 18 littoral acres, 1.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 1.5 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
• 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: July 6, 2009 (standard survey).
• Hennepin County, nearest town Loretto; DNR lake number (DOW) 27015200.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 6/6/1961 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2009

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.

Half Moon is a 30-acre lake located in the Baker Park Reserve operated by the Three Rivers Park District. There is a parking lot, carry-in canoe access, and fishing pier on the west side of the lake. No gas boat motors are permitted. The fishery includes bluegill, black crappie, yellow perch, largemouth bass, and northern pike. An assessment was conducted during July 2009 to determine the species composition and abundance of game fish in the lake. The two most abundant species in the 2009 assessment were bluegill and black crappie. Both were sampled at a rate of 17/gill net. Bluegill averaged 6.2 inches and 0.17 pounds. Sixty-nine percent were 6 inches or longer and 4% were 8 inches or longer. The largest measured 8.2 inches and 0.37 pounds. Growth was comparable to other similar lakes in the West Metro Area. Bluegill were 4.4 inches long at age 3. Back crappie averaged 7.3 inches and 0.21 lbs. Thirteen percent were 8 inches or greater and the largest measured 8.6 inches and 0.33 lbs. Growth of black crappie was slower than other similar lakes in the West Metro Area, with fish reaching 6.3 inches long at age 3. Northern pike were moderately abundant (7.0/gill net) and mean individual weight was high at 5.87 pounds. Mean length was 29.3 inches and the largest pike was 34.3 inches. All northern pike sampled were longer than 21 inches and 77% were longer than 28 inches. Growth was slow until age 3, then it increased to near average when compared to other similar lakes in the West Metro Area. Northern pike were 16.8 inches long at age 3. Three walleye were sampled measuring 15.9, 20.1 and 25.7 inches in length. Walleye are not stocked into Half Moon Lake, nor have they ever been documented. It is likely these fish have migrated from the connection to nearby Lake Independence during spring high water events. Two largemouth bass were sampled (5.9 and 10.3 inches), however, passive sampling gear such as gill nets are not an effective method for collecting largemouth bass, so the data presented for this species is not indicative of relative abundance. Electrofishing is the typical method for largemouth bass assessments but was not conducted during this survey. Other species present in the assessment in relatively low abundance were yellow perch, bowfin, golden shiner, hybrid sunfish, white sucker, and black, brown, and yellow bullhead.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, July 6, 2009.

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