Little Birch Lake
Todd County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 77008900
DNR records show 13 stocking entries at Little Birch Lake since 2016, most recently walleye yearlings in 2025 (886 fish).
- Little Birch Lake has 13 DNR stocking records across 9 years (2016-2025): walleye (13).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 5,070,055 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 89 ft; surface area 839 acres, 277 littoral acres, 8.6 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 11.3 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, channel catfish, common carp, greater redhorse, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, and 8 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Todd County, nearest town Grey Eagle; DNR lake number (DOW) 77008900.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 9/10/1980 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye1 | yearlings | 886 | 277.0 |
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 800,000 | 7.3 |
| 2024 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 1,717 | 277.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fingerlings | 2,408 | 344.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 650,000 | 5.8 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 5,540 | 277.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 800,000 | 7.3 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 800,000 | 7.2 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fingerlings | 9,504 | 288.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 400,000 | 3.3 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 800,000 | 7.1 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 400,000 | 3.6 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 400,000 | 3.5 |
1 fish purchased and stocked by private citizens and sporting groups.
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 NW side of lake |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walleye | Fall electrofishing | 0.99 | 1 | 0.47 |
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.
Little Birch Lake (DOW# 77-0089; Lake Class 22) is an 839-acre lake located near Grey Eagle, Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) owned concrete boat ramp is located on the northwest shore. Little Birch Lake has 8.61 miles of shoreline and a maximum depth of 89 feet. The lake is primarily managed for Walleye and secondarily for Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and Smallmouth Bass. The Lake was initially surveyed in 1981, and 39 fish sampling surveys or investigations have occurred since then with the most recent prior sampling in 2023 (Fall Young of Year Walleye Assessment). Fall night electrofishing has been completed on an annual or biennial basis since 1995 on Little Birch Lake. Fall night electrofishing totaling 1 hour of on time was conducted on Little Birch Lake to evaluate young of the year Walleye abundance from fry stocking. Walleye fry (800,00 fry, 3,000/littoral acre) were stocked in spring 2025. The sampling crew noted high amounts of submerged vegetation in normally barren shallow sampling stations, which may have impacted young of the year Walleye catches. No young of the year Walleye were captured during this survey. In past surveys the typical catch is 10 YWAE but as many as 76 have been captured. Walleye averaging 6.0-7.0 inches in length are captured during in an hour of fall electrofishing on Little Birch Lake. One yearling or older Walleye was captured during sampling with a length of 11.50 inches. Fall fingerling stockings have contributed significantly to the fishery in the past, although current high Northern Pike populations may limit survival of these fish. Anglers are encouraged to harvest pike on Little Birch Lake according to statewide regulations, especially those under 22 inches. Doing so may help with future Walleye management. Historically, fall young of the year Walleye electrofishing catch rates have not corresponded well with future gill net catches, suggesting they may be imprecise indicator of recruitment to the fishery. In other words, if fall electrofishing survey documents the presence of young of the year Walleye, a year class of unknown strength has been produced. However, if fall electrofishing fails to capture young Walleye, it does not necessarily indicate that no year class was produced. In the past, gill net surveys have identified good year classes from years when no young Walleyes were caught in fall electrofishing surveys. It is also important to note that summer catches have regularly documented year classes from non-stocked years indicating that significant natural…
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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