Hunt Lake
Rice County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 66004700
DNR records show 4 stocking entries at Hunt Lake since 2019, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (67,000 fish).
- Hunt Lake has 4 DNR stocking records across 4 years (2019-2025): walleye (3), northern pike (1).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 200,776 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 27 ft; surface area 176 acres, 134 littoral acres, 2.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 2.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, crappie, freshwater drum, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, and 6 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Rice County, nearest town Shieldsville; DNR lake number (DOW) 66004700.
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 | 67,000 | 0.6 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 66,776 | 0.6 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 67,000 | 0.5 |
| 2019 | Northern Pike | adults | 134 | 268.0 |
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 | dock |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 16.79 | 16 | 2.36 |
| Black crappie | Standard electrofishing | 1.05 | 1 | 2.03 |
| White crappie | Standard electrofishing | 1.05 | 1 | 1.78 |
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 13.50 | 81 | 1.23 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 7.67 | 46 | 0.14 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 4.17 | 25 | 0.22 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 3.83 | 23 | 4.02 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 4 | 1.48 |
| White crappie | Standard gill nets | 0.50 | 3 | 0.14 |
| Common carp | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 4.03 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 4.97 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 9.89 | 89 | 0.15 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 5.22 | 47 | 0.63 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 1.44 | 13 | 0.09 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 9 | 1.43 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.89 | 8 | 3.45 |
| Golden shiner | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 0.05 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 7.11 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 1.25 |
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.
Hunt Lake is a 160-acre lake located approximately 2.5 miles southwest of the town of Shieldsville in Rice County. Hunt Lake has a maximum depth of 27 feet with approximately 84% of the lake less than 15 feet deep. A DNR owned concrete ramp is located on the north side of the lake off County Road 37. Hunt Lake is primarily managed for Black Crappie, Bluegills, and Largemouth Bass and secondarily for Largemouth Bass, Walleye and Northern Pike. The management plan calls for stocking winter rescue adult Northern Pike when available. The latest stocking events include Northern Pike adults in 2019 and Walleye fry in 2023. Hunt Lake experienced a light winterkill during the winter of 2022-2023. A standard survey was completed the week of 24 July 2023 as part of a regular monitoring program conducted by the Minnesota DNR. This survey was intended to assess the fish community by deploying 6 gill nets, 9 trap nets, and boat electrofishing. Water quality parameters were also recorded. A total of 25 Black Crappie were sampled with gill nets for a catch rate of 4.2/net. Black Crappie ranged from 4.7 to 15.8 inches with an average of 6.4 inches. An additional 47 Black Crappie ranging from 4.3 to 15.9 inches were sampled with trap nets. Black Crappie were aged using otoliths and scales and ranged from age-1 to age-9 with 8 year classes present, indicating consistent recruitment. Age-1 accounted for 47% of the sample. As the young fish continue to grow, the size structure should improve and the presence of fish over 15 inches long hints at the potential for great Black Crappie angling in Hunt Lake. A total of 89 Bluegill were sampled with trap nets for a catch rate of 9.9/net. This was similar to the 2017 catch rate of 13.6/net. Bluegills in 2023 ranged from 3.0 to 8.7 inches with an average of 5.7 inches. Bluegill ages were determined using otoliths and scales and ranged from age-1 to age-5 with 5 year classes present. Forty-two percent of the population was age-3. The lack of older fish was likely responsible for the poor size structure which should improve over time. A total of 16 Largemouth Bass were sampled using daytime boat electrofishing for a catch rate of 16.8/hour. Largemouth Bass ranged from 3.6 to 19.2 inches with an average of 14.3 inches. Although not sampled in high numbers, there appeared to be a healthy Largemouth Bass population in Hunt Lake in 2023 and the length frequency distribution indicated consistent natural reproduction and recruitment. A total of 23 Northern Pike were sampled with gill nets for a catch rate of 3.8/net. Northern Pike…
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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