Iowa Lake
Martin County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 46004900
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Iowa Lake since 2018, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (366,128 fish).
- Iowa Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 4 years (2018-2025): walleye (2), northern pike (2), yellow perch (1).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 732,128 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 9 ft; surface area 705 acres, 478 littoral acres, 12.4 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 0.7 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, channel catfish, common carp, freshwater drum, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, orangespotted sunfish, walleye, white bass, and 3 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Martin County, nearest town Fairmont; DNR lake number (DOW) 46004900.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 366,128 | 3.6 |
| 2022 | Northern Pike | fry | 71,091 | 2.4 |
| 2021 | Northern Pike | adults | 50 | 38.5 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 366,000 | 3.5 |
| 2018 | Yellow Perch | adults | 4,318 | 254.0 |
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 | STATE-OWNED BOAT AND SHORE ACCESS ON SOUTHEAST CORNER. |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 41.00 | 82 | 0.45 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 20.50 | 41 | 0.41 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 20.50 | 41 | 0.22 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 20.00 | 40 | 0.25 |
| Bigmouth buffalo | Standard gill nets | 14.00 | 28 | 1.52 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard gill nets | 11.00 | 22 | 0.87 |
| Common carp | Standard gill nets | 3.50 | 7 | 1.82 |
| Channel catfish | Standard gill nets | 2.00 | 4 | 1.67 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 16.33 | 147 | 0.20 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 9.11 | 82 | 1.98 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 4.67 | 42 | 0.39 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard trap nets | 4.11 | 37 | 1.13 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.89 | 17 | 0.36 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 1.44 | 13 | 0.33 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 1.33 | 12 | 0.25 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 1.33 | 12 | 0.52 |
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.
Iowa Lake, located south of Fairmont on the Iowa-Minnesota border in Martin County, is a 732 acre border water lake with a maximum depth of 9.4 feet and an average depth in the 3 to 4 foot range. Iowa Lake is located near the top of its watershed on South Creek, a tributary to the Blue Earth River. South Silver Lake is the source of South Creek and connected to Iowa Lake via a culvert. Iowa Lake is a large shallow lake that is susceptible to low dissolved oxygen in the winter months and high water temperatures in the summer. In addition, Iowa Lake is commonly dominated by Common Carp, Black Bullhead, and Bigmouth Buffalo, which degrade water quality and habitat. Iowa Lake is managed for Yellow Perch, Northern Pike, Black Crappie, White Crappie, and Walleye. A standard survey was completed the week of July 31, 2023 using two gill nets and nine trap nets to monitor fish populations. Historically, Yellow Perch catch rates have ranged from 0.0 per gill net in 2017 to 103.3 in 2005, averaging 44.1 per gill net since 1990. In 2023, the Yellow Perch catch rate at Iowa Lake was 20.0 per gill net, an increase from the 2017 catch rate of 0.0 per gill net and within the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (3.0 to 22.5 per gill net). The increase in abundance was likely the result of the adult Yellow Perch that were stocked in 2018, as they likely produced future year classes of Yellow Perch. Lengths of Yellow Perch ranged from 5.2 to 9.5 inches and averaged 7.9 inches. The Walleye gill net catch rate of 20.0 per gill net was the highest catch ever recorded on Iowa Lake, exceeding the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (3.2 to 15.3 per gill net). Four year classes of Walleye were sampled (2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022), with the 2022 stocked year class accounting for 93 percent of the sample (N=37 out of 40). 2019 (N=1 fish) and 2020 (N=1 fish) were unstocked years, so these Walleye were likely illegally moved by an angler, as natural reproduction is highly unlikely in Iowa Lake. Lengths of Walleye ranged from 4.9 to 19.4 inches and averaged 10.7 inches. The strong 2022 year class should provide good angling in a year or two, and should provide a top level predator to help control Bullhead and Common Carp populations. The 2023 Black Crappie catch rate was the highest ever recorded on Iowa Lake at 16.3 per trap net. It exceeds the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (1.0 to 12.3 per gill net). Historically, catch rates ranged from 0.0 per gill net in 2017 to 11.0 per gill net in 1994 and averaged 5.4 per gill net since 1990. Black…
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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Stocking rows, depths, accesses and survey figures are Minnesota DNR LakeFinder data as of 2026-09-02. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
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