Linka Lake
Pope County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 61003700
DNR records show 7 stocking entries at Linka Lake since 2017, most recently walleye yearlings in 2024 (72 fish).
- Linka Lake has 7 DNR stocking records across 4 years (2017-2024): walleye (7).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 2,573 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 50 ft, mean depth 22 ft; surface area 178 acres, 71 littoral acres, 2.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 7.9 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Pope County, nearest town Terrace; DNR lake number (DOW) 61003700.
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 | yearlings | 72 | 42.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fingerlings | 344 | 22.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,150 | 50.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fingerlings | 568 | 142.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fingerlings | 102 | 16.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | adults | 123 | 102.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | yearlings | 214 | 26.0 |
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 | - shallow |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 30.02 | 40 | 1.66 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 21.78 | 196 | 0.09 |
| Green sunfish | Standard trap nets | 14.67 | 132 | 0.03 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 1.11 | 10 | 0.26 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 1.60 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 0.85 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.26 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.08 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.11 | 1 | 3.55 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 6.83 | 41 | 4.32 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 3.50 | 21 | 0.19 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 2.17 | 13 | 0.11 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 1.83 | 11 | 1.49 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 1.50 | 9 | 1.38 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 1.33 | 8 | 2.68 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 0.83 | 5 | 0.54 |
| Green sunfish | Standard gill nets | 0.83 | 5 | 0.07 |
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.
Lake Linka is a 175 acre, moderately productive basin located in southern Pope County. Maximum depth of the lake is 50 feet. Average depth is estimated at 22 feet. Water clarity is very good. Transparency measurements average 14.0 feet throughout the summer with occasional decreases due to weather events. The lake supports a robust and diverse aquatic plant community which offers high-quality fish habitat for sunfishes, Largemouth Bass, and Northern Pike. The public access is located on the east shore off Lake Linka Road. This access is shallow and launching larger boats during low water levels can be problematic. A standard fisheries survey was completed in July of 2023 to evaluate abundance and size distribution of gamefish populations. Walleye catches remain low (1.3/gill net). Walleye captures tended to be large fish averaging 19.9 inches and 3.1 pounds. Regular Walleye fingerling stockings were discontinued by the MN DNR in 2017 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. Northern Pike abundance remained at a desirable level (6.8/gill net). Average length was 26.5 inches. The largest pike capture measured 34.1 inches. Anglers are reminded that new pike zone regulations were implemented in 2018. Lake Linka 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. Largemouth Bass are abundant in Lake Linka. Electrofishing catch rates of Largemouth Bass were the second highest on record. Largemouth Bass growth is moderate and on average it takes four years for bass to reach 12.0 inches. Size structure of the electrofishing catch described a quality fishery. Fifty-Five percent of the bass were over 12.0 inches and the largest bass observed from all sampling types was 20.8 inches. Bluegill catch rates (21.8 fish/trap net) were similar to the historic average for Lake Linka. Age distribution of Bluegill catches extended to age 6, but 70% of the captures were young (age 2 or 3). Consequently, average size was low (5.2 inches). Growth was rapid and did allow some individuals to exceed 8.0 inches. Black Crappies are present at low density and offer minimal fishing opportunity for this species. Adult Yellow Perch numbers were low during the…
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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