Heilberger Lake

Otter Tail County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 56069500

DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Heilberger Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (97,000 fish).

• Heilberger Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2025): walleye (5).
• The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 485,000 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 47 ft; surface area 221 acres, 97 littoral acres, 4.4 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 12.0 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, largemouth bass.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: June 2, 2025 (targeted survey).
• Otter Tail County, nearest town Erhard; DNR lake number (DOW) 56069500.

Stocking history

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2025

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.

Heilberger Lake is a 224-acre mesotrophic (moderately fertile) lake located in west-central Otter Tail County approximately ten miles southeast of Erhard, MN. Heilberger Lake is part of the Otter Tail River Watershed. Heilberger Lake is connected to Little Heilberger Lake via an unnavigable culvert along the south shoreline. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of agricultural land interspersed with hardwood woodlots. Heilberger Lake has a maximum depth of 47 feet; however, 43% of the lake is less than 15 feet in depth. Historical secchi disk readings range from 10.0 to 15.0 feet. The shoreline of Heilberger Lake has been extensively developed with homes and cottages. A DNR owned concrete public water access is located off of County Highway 22 along the south shoreline of the lake. The shoal water substrates consist primarily of sand and gravel with muck being the predominate substrate in the west bay. Hardstem bulrush and common cattail stands are scattered around the entire lake but are most prevalent in the west bay. Emergent aquatic plants such as hardstem bulrush and cattail provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat and are critical for maintaining good water quality. Emergent plants provide spawning areas for fish such as Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and panfish. They also serve as an important nursery area for all species of fish. Because of their ecological value, emergent plants may not be removed without a DNR permit. To maintain the excellent water quality and angling that this lake has to offer, it is imperative to preserve the quality of the aquatic habitat. A spring electrofishing survey was conducted to analyze the Largemouth Bass population. Survey data indicate that Largemouth Bass abundance, growth, and reproduction occur at moderate levels. Largemouth Bass ranged in length from 5.2 to 20.4 inches. Largemouth Bass attain an average length of 13.5 inches at five years of age. There are no special or experimental fish harvest regulations in effect for Heilberger Lake. Anglers can maintain the quality of fishing by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of medium to large fish while allowing the harvest of the more abundant smaller fish for table fare. Releasing the medium to large fish will ensure that the lake will have enough spawning age fish on an annual basis and will provide anglers with more opportunities to catch large fish in the future. Heilberger Lake was listed as infested with Zebra Mussels in 2024. Aquatic invasive species are threatening Minnesota waters. Aquatic invasive…

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, June 2, 2025.

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