Loon Lake (Jackson County)
Jackson County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 32002000
DNR records show 15 stocking entries at Loon Lake (Jackson County) since 2016, most recently black crappie adults in 2025 (2,000 fish).
- Loon Lake (Jackson County) has 15 DNR stocking records across 9 years (2016-2025): walleye (8), northern pike (5), black crappie (1), yellow perch (1).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 2,584,249 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 8 ft; surface area 708 acres, 707 littoral acres, 6.3 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 1.1 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, channel catfish, common carp, freshwater drum, green sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, orangespotted sunfish, shortnose gar, and 6 more.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Jackson County, nearest town Jackson; DNR lake number (DOW) 32002000.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 10/22/1974 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Black Crappie1 | adults | 2,000 | 100.0 |
| 2025 | Northern Pike | fingerlings | 1,272 | 318.0 |
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 369,000 | 3.1 |
| 2025 | Yellow Perch1 | adults | 2,000 | 200.0 |
| 2024 | Northern Pike | fingerlings | 1,530 | 225.0 |
| 2023 | Northern Pike | fingerlings | 2,296 | 398.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 369,000 | 2.9 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 369,000 | 3.0 |
| 2021 | Northern Pike | fingerlings | 587 | 321.8 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 369,000 | 2.9 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 369,000 | 3.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 369,000 | 3.1 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 369,719 | 3.2 |
| 2016 | Northern Pike | adults | 475 | 1,055.6 |
| 2016 | Walleye | yearlings | 530 | 53.0 |
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 | - State owned access on southwest side of lake. |
| concrete ramp | county | - T101N; R36W; S25. SOUTHEAST SIDE OF THE LAKE. |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walleye | Fall electrofishing | 21.29 | 16 | 0.00 |
| YLB | Fall electrofishing | 3.99 | 3 | 0.00 |
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 a 738-acre class 43 lake with a maximum depth of 8 feet, located in Jackson County, approximately 10 miles south of the City of Lakefield near the Iowa-Minnesota border. The surrounding land use of Loon Lake is largely agricultural, resulting in nutrient rich, turbid water. Loon Lake is managed primarily for Walleye and secondarily for Yellow Perch, Black Crappie, and Northern Pike. Loon Lake has been stocked with Lower Mississippi Strain (LMS) Walleye since 2015 using 3 years out 4 rotations in an effort to get this strain established in additional waterbodies. LMS Walleye are present in Murray County's Lake Sarah, a lake that hasn't been stocked since 1991 because the Walleye population is sustained at high abundance through natural reproduction. Loon Lake was stocked with LMS Walleye because it has traditionally supported a good Walleye population and has historically had sporadic natural reproduction and thus likely has habitat for spawning walleye providing environmental conditions are conducive to natural reproduction. A natural reproduction check was conducted on October 9, 2024, to determine if natural reproduction occurred in Loon Lake. Young-of-the-year (YOY) Walleye were captured at a rate of 21.3 per hour, which indicates that natural reproduction occurred in Loon Lake in 2024. Analysis of fall electrofishing data has indicated that a catch rate of less than 20.0 per hour often does not produce a year class, and that a catch rate of more than 20.0 per hour may produce a strong year class but it's not certain. Walleye fingerlings ranged from 6.7 to 7.9 inches in length and averaged 7.2 inches. The 2020 genetic analysis of the naturally reproduced Walleye in Loon was found to be dominated by LMS (62%) and followed by Spicer strain (16%). Other strains accounted for 8 percent or less of the sample. With all Walleye reaching a size greater than 5 inches by fall of their first year, survival could be very good. Future monitoring of the Walleye population in Loon Lake with gillnetting in 2028 will determine the survival and success of the naturally produced 2024 year-class. Additionally, we verified the presence of Yellow Bass in Loon Lake. Although only 3 Yellow Bass were netted, it is proof that angler reported catches were accurate. Yellow Bass are present in high numbers upstream in Clear Lake as well as present downstream in Big Spirit Lake in Iowa. It will be interesting to see how the species assimilates into the Loon Lake fish community over time.
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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