Leif Lake

Becker County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 03057500

DNR records show 14 stocking entries at Leif Lake since 2016, most recently walleye yearlings in 2025 (11 fish).

• Leif Lake has 14 DNR stocking records across 6 years (2016-2025): walleye (14).
• The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 31,253 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 26 ft, mean depth 13 ft; surface area 521 acres, 316 littoral acres, 11.3 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 6.3 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, walleye, and 3 more.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: August 30, 2023 (targeted survey).
• Becker County, nearest town Audubon; DNR lake number (DOW) 03057500.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 9/1/1965 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Stocking history

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2023

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.

A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Leif Lake was conducted on August 30-31, 2023, by Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) Program staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at fourteen sampling stations, but two stations were sampled from the boat due soft sediments and dense vegetation. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample nine stations, a 15-foot seine was used at two stations, and site conditions prevented the use of seines at three stations. Nearshore sampling captured twenty species of fish including seven species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Banded Killifish, Blackchin Shiner, Blacknose Shiner, Iowa Darter, Mimic Shiner, Pugnose Shiner, and Rock Bass) and one that is tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Green Sunfish). The nearshore data were combined with gill net and trap net data from an August 2023 survey to describe the fish community and provide a fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. In Minnesota lakes, certain fish species cannot survive without clean water and a healthy habitat (e.g., Blackchin Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Rock Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Black Bullhead and Green Sunfish). The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. Results from this survey indicate that the fish community in Leif Lake is healthy as indicated by an FIBI score above the impairment threshold determined for similar lakes. These results are similar to previous survey findings, which indicated that Leif Lake was fully supporting aquatic life use. These results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Otter Tail River Watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, August 30, 2023.

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