Horseshoe Lake (Le Sueur County)
Le Sueur County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 40000100
DNR records show 8 stocking entries at Horseshoe Lake (Le Sueur County) since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (85,000 fish).
- Horseshoe Lake (Le Sueur County) has 8 DNR stocking records across 8 years (2016-2025): walleye (8).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 1,646,045 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 26 ft; surface area 417 acres, 338 littoral acres, 5.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 3.1 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), common carp, freshwater drum, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye, yellow bullhead, and 1 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Le Sueur County, nearest town Waterville; DNR lake number (DOW) 40000100.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 85,000 | 0.7 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 85,000 | 0.7 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 85,000 | 0.7 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 170,000 | 1.4 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 201,393 | 1.6 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 340,000 | 2.7 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 340,000 | 3.2 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 339,652 | 3.3 |
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 | - CONCRETE PLANKS; SOUTH SHORE |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 110.83 | 665 | 0.05 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 54.00 | 324 | 0.09 |
| Golden shiner | Standard gill nets | 5.67 | 34 | 0.06 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 4.33 | 26 | 4.03 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 3.67 | 22 | 1.24 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 3.17 | 19 | 0.41 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard gill nets | 2.33 | 14 | 4.44 |
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 2.17 | 13 | 1.36 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 44.99 | 46 | 1.24 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 13.29 | 93 | 0.47 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 8.71 | 61 | 0.36 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard trap nets | 2.43 | 17 | 5.26 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.86 | 13 | 1.36 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 1.43 | 10 | 8.50 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.14 | 8 | 1.30 |
| Bigmouth buffalo | Standard trap nets | 0.86 | 6 | 12.87 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.14 | 1 | 2.58 |
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.
Horseshoe Lake is a 393-acre lake located in Le Sueur County northeast of the city of Waterville. A DNR owned public access is located on the south side of the lake off County Road 10. Horseshoe Lake has a maximum depth of 26 feet. Horseshoe Lake is primarily managed for Black Crappie, Bluegill, and secondarily for Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike and Walleye. The management plan calls for stocking 85,000 Walleye fry yearly. Horseshoe Lake has been designated a Tier-2 lake and will be surveyed every 6 years, including: spring day electrofishing to assess the Largemouth Bass population, gill nets and trap nets to assess the fish community for size structure and abundance. Horseshoe Lake was surveyed the week of 24 June 2024 as part of a regular monitoring program conducted by Minnesota DNR. This survey consisted of deploying 7 trap and 6 gill nets as well as 61 minutes of daytime boat electrofishing to monitor the fish community. Horseshoe Lake has historically produced moderate quality Black Crappies. Since 1983, Black Crappie relative abundance has varied from 0.6/trap net in 1990 to 63.7/trap net in 1988. Relative abundance of Black Crappie in 2024 was moderate at 13.3/trap net, which was an increase from 2018 (7.1/trap net). Black Crappies were also very abundant in gill nets with a catch rate of 110.8/gill net. Five year classes (2019-2023) were present. Age-2 (2022 year class) Black Crappies were the most abundant, accounting for 36% of Black Crappies sampled. Age-1 and age-4 black crappies were also very abundant, each accounting for more than 20 percent of the sample. Black Crappies size structure in trap nets was large. Black Crappie ranged from 3.6 to 12.0 inches and averaged 8.9 inches in trap nets. Black Crappies in gill nets ranged in size from 3.7 inches to 11.5 inches and averaged 5.7 inches. Bluegill relative abundance has been variable in Horseshoe Lake ranging from 1.3/trap net in 1983 to 60.4/trap net in 1993. Bluegills were sampled at a rate of 8.7/trap net in 2024, which was lower than in 2018 (19.6/trap net). Bluegills ranged from 3.0 to 9.5 inches in length and averaged 7.3 inches. Six year classes of Bluegill were sampled in 2024 (2017-2022). Each age group from age-2 through age-5 made up just over 20 Percent of the sample. This indicates consistent recruitment of Bluegills. Walleye relative abundance decreased from the 2018 survey, dropping from 4.5/gill net to 2.0/gill net in 2024, but still was within the long term range of catch rates (0.0 to 9.5/gill net). Two year classes of Walleye were present (2019 and 2023). Walleyes…
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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