Lower Bottle Lake
Hubbard County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 29018000
DNR records show 3 stocking entries at Lower Bottle Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2018 (6,462 fish).
- Lower Bottle Lake has 3 DNR stocking records across 2 years (2016-2018): walleye (3).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 18,380 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 110 ft; surface area 641 acres, 311 littoral acres, 6.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 15.1 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, smallmouth bass, tullibee (cisco), walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and 1 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Hubbard County, nearest town Dorset; DNR lake number (DOW) 29018000.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/9/1977 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 6,462 | 310.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 11,916 | 308.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | adults | 2 | 1.0 |
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 | Upper Bottle |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walleye | Fall electrofishing | 19.73 | 25 | 0.15 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 11.38 | 91 | 0.94 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 10.00 | 80 | 2.63 |
| Rock bass | Standard gill nets | 7.12 | 57 | 0.27 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 6.50 | 52 | 2.97 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 3.50 | 28 | 0.10 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 3.38 | 27 | 0.05 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 2.75 | 22 | 0.07 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.62 | 5 | 0.75 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 10.20 | 102 | 0.09 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 7.10 | 71 | 0.09 |
| Rock bass | Standard trap nets | 4.90 | 49 | 0.20 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.80 | 8 | 2.00 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.50 | 5 | 0.25 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.40 | 4 | 0.08 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.20 | 2 | 3.82 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.10 | 1 | 0.93 |
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.
Lower Bottle Lake is located four miles north of Dorset in southern Hubbard County. Lower Bottle is separated by a narrows from Upper Bottle, both lakes having similar fish communities and are generally managed together. Lower Bottle has a surface area of 641 acres and a maximum depth of 110 feet. A state-owned public access is located on the north shore of Upper Bottle Lake, and navigation is through the channel between the lakes. Boating access is also available by small boats through the shallow river connecting to Emma Lake to the south. Lower Bottle provides multi species opportunities to the angler, with good populations of Walleye, Yellow Perch, Northern Pike, and panfish. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Lower Bottle is in lake class 22. Class 22 lakes are generally very large, very deep, hard water lakes, with very irregularly shaped shorelines, and a low littoral zone (lake area less than 15 feet deep). Other class 22 lakes in the Park Rapids management area include Big Sand, Kabekona, Long, and Potato. Walleye abundance remained strong in Lower Bottle with gill net catch rates similar to past surveys. Sampled Walleye ranged in length from 8.2 to 22.8 inches with an average length of 14.1 inches. Good numbers of smaller Walleye (8-12 inches) were sampled. Yellow Perch, an important forage species for Walleye, were sampled in low numbers. Yellow Perch were small in size with fish measured up to 7.1 inches. Anglers can expect to find an abundant Northern Pike population in Lower Bottle. Northern Pike had an average length and weight of 22.2 inches and 2.6 pounds with fish measured up to 34.2 inches. While not know as a bass - panfish lake, Lower Bottle does provide angling opportunities for Black Crappie, Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass. Present and past surveys have shown the population of these species to fluctuate from low to moderate numbers. Other species sampled included high numbers of Rock Bass and White Sucker and low numbers of Brown Bullhead and Yellow Bullhead. Faucet snails, an aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been identified in Lower Bottle. To avoid spreading AIS, lake users are required to remove all aquatic plants or animals from their watercraft and drain all water from their boat before leaving the access.
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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