Indian Lake (Douglas County)
Douglas County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 21013600
DNR records show 3 stocking entries at Indian Lake (Douglas County) since 2022, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2024 (12 fish).
- Indian Lake (Douglas County) has 3 DNR stocking records across 2 years (2022-2024): walleye (3).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 1,743 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 38 ft; surface area 99 acres, 70 littoral acres, 2.4 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 4.3 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Douglas County, nearest town Leaf Valley; DNR lake number (DOW) 21013600.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey (get source); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Walleye | fingerlings | 12 | 3.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | yearlings | 121 | 67.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,610 | 70.0 |
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 | Located on north central side off Indian Lake Road NW |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 41.05 | 65 | 2.19 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 37.00 | 111 | 0.12 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 14.00 | 42 | 2.50 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 10.67 | 32 | 0.12 |
| Golden shiner | Standard gill nets | 6.33 | 19 | 0.08 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 5.33 | 16 | 0.07 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 5.00 | 15 | 0.17 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 3.67 | 11 | 3.68 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 3 | 0.43 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 16.44 | 148 | 0.13 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 12.78 | 115 | 0.15 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 5.67 | 51 | 0.12 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 4.56 | 41 | 0.08 |
| Golden shiner | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 0.06 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.44 | 4 | 0.31 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 1.40 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 1.07 |
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.
Indian Lake is a small (99 acre) fertile basin located in north-central Douglas County between the towns of Garfield and Leaf Valley. The basin has a maximum depth of 38 feet. Average depth is estimated at 12 feet. Water clarity was moderate (5 feet) at the time of the August survey. A DNR public access is located on the northern shoreline off Indian Lake Road. A standard fisheries survey was completed in August of 2025 to evaluate abundance and size distribution of gamefish populations. Walleye catches remain low (3.3/gill net) and tended to be large fish, averaging 21.0 inches and 3.7 pounds. Regular Walleye fingerling stockings were discontinued by the MN DNR in 2016 due to extremely poor survival of stocked fingerlings. The current stocking regime prescribes surplus stockings of larger Walleye, when available, to maintain a limited fishery. Largemouth Bass proved to be moderately abundant. Growth rates are well above average with bass reaching 12.0 inches by age 3. Size structure of the electrofishing catch described a quality fishery. Eighty percent of the Largemouth Bass sampled were over 12.0 inches and the largest bass observed was 19.1 inches. Northern Pike continue to be abundant (14.3 fish/gill net). Average size of pike sampled in 2025 was 22.5 inches. The largest pike measured 33.1 inches, though fish of this size are not common. Anglers are reminded that new pike zone regulations were implemented in 2018. Indian Lake is located in the North-Central Zone. Anglers can now keep up to 10 pike but not more than two can be over 26 inches in length. All pike between 22-26 inches must be immediately released. Harvesting smaller pike will help shift the population back towards larger individuals and reduce the number of predators for young Walleye and other gamefish. Bluegill catch rates (16.4 fish/trap net) were above average for Indian Lake. Age distribution of Bluegill catches extended to age 6, but 61% of captures were age-3 and younger. Consequently, average size was small (5.3 inches). Growth was rapid and did allow some individuals to reach over 9.0 inches. Black Crappie catch rates increased significantly from the previous two surveys. Crappie catches were 37.0 and 12.8 fish/net for gill nets and trap nets, respectively. Black Crappie growth rates are poor; average length of age 4 fish was 7.5 inches. Due to slow growth and an over abundant population, few Black Crappie exceeded 8.0 inches in length. Adult Yellow Perch numbers were modest during the 2025 survey. Yellow Perch are preferred prey of Walleye, Northern Pike, and Largemouth…
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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