Loon Lake (Blue Earth County)
Blue Earth County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 07009600
DNR records show 8 stocking entries at Loon Lake (Blue Earth County) since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (606,750 fish).
- Loon Lake (Blue Earth County) has 8 DNR stocking records across 8 years (2016-2025): walleye (8).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 5,981,152 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 7 ft; surface area 809 acres, 809 littoral acres, 5.3 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 1.6 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, common carp, hybrid sunfish, northern pike, walleye, white crappie, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and 1 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Blue Earth County, nearest town Lake Crystal; DNR lake number (DOW) 07009600.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 5/21/1970 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 606,750 | 5.7 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 606,750 | 56.9 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 1,213,500 | 10.5 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 606,750 | 5.6 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 606,750 | 5.4 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 606,750 | 4.9 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 606,750 | 5.8 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 1,127,152 | 10.4 |
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 | SW end of lake. - Access feature double ramps - dock and ample parking. |
DNR fish survey, 2022
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 242.67 | 728 | 0.12 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 14.67 | 44 | 1.30 |
| Bigmouth buffalo | Standard gill nets | 10.33 | 31 | 2.85 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 6.33 | 19 | 0.25 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 4.00 | 12 | 0.43 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 1.67 | 5 | 3.10 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 1.33 | 4 | 2.32 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 1 | 0.39 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 39.42 | 473 | 0.11 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 9.67 | 116 | 0.49 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 5.75 | 69 | 1.05 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 4.33 | 52 | 0.54 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 2.75 | 33 | 0.30 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 1.25 | 15 | 0.29 |
| Bigmouth buffalo | Standard trap nets | 0.75 | 9 | 4.31 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.50 | 6 | 3.56 |
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.
Loon Lake is an 809-acre lake located east of the city of Lake Crystal in northwest Blue Earth County. A DNR-maintained public access is located on the south side of the lake off County Road 9. Loon Lake is shallow with a maximum depth of 7 feet with generally poor water clarity and frequent algal blooms caused by elevated nutrient levels. Loon Lake has a history of winterkill, and an aerator is operated during the winter in an attempt to prevent them. Approximately half of the shoreline has been altered to suit residential development. Nearshore woody habitat is common along the unaltered shorelines, but aquatic vegetation is sparse lakewide and of poor quality. Loon Lake is connected to Lake Crystal to the west and Mills Lake to the east and fish are known to migrate between all three lakes. Loon Lake is managed primarily for Walleye and secondarily for Black Crappie, Bluegill, and Yellow Perch. Walleye fry are stocked annually. Additional Walleye fry and adult Black Crappie, Bluegill, and Yellow Perch are stocked following winterkill events. Loon Lake is designated as a Tier-2 lake and will be surveyed as part of a regularly scheduled monitoring program at a frequency of every 6 years. A standard survey is used for sampling a wide range of fish species during the summer months using standard methods (i.e., standard time of year, set sampling stations, taking water clarity readings and oxygen/temperature profiles, etc.) and gears (i.e., lake survey gillnets, trap nets, and spring electrofishing for Largemouth Bass). The 2022 survey was completed the week of August 15, 2022, using 3 gill nets and 12 trap nets. Water quality parameters were also measured. Walleyes were abundant in the 2022 survey. A total of 44 were sampled with the gill nets for a catch rate of 14.7/net, indicating high numbers were present. Walleye catch rates have varied from 12.0/net to 37.3/net with an average of 21.0/net since 1996. The catch rate in 2016 was 15.8/net. Walleye ranged from 8.1 to 26.3 inches with an average of 14.4 inches. Approximately 55% of Walleye sampled were over 15 inches and 18% were over 20 inches. An additional 68 Walleyes were sampled with the trap nets and ranged from 9.1 to 20.5 inches in length. Walleye from both gears were 1 to 8 years old with 6 year-classes present. Walleye aged 1 to 3 years old were common, suggesting annual stocking has succeeded in creating multiple strong year classes that have recruited to the fishery. In the absence of winterkill, the Walleye population should remain strong for years to come. Black Crappies were moderately…
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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