Lower Sakatah Lake
Rice County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 66004400
DNR records show 12 stocking entries at Lower Sakatah Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (77,500 fish).
- Lower Sakatah Lake has 12 DNR stocking records across 8 years (2016-2025): walleye (12).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 1,315,662 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 7 ft; surface area 372 acres, 372 littoral acres, 6.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 2.7 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), channel catfish, common carp, freshwater drum, largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye, white bass, and 3 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Rice County, nearest town Morristown; DNR lake number (DOW) 66004400.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 77,500 | 0.6 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 77,500 | 0.6 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 77,500 | 0.6 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 77,500 | 0.6 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 77,500 | 0.7 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 77,500 | 0.7 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 77,500 | 0.6 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 77,500 | 0.6 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 77,500 | 0.7 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 77,500 | 0.7 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 77,500 | 0.7 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 463,162 | 4.5 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O | UKN | - Can access from bridge between Upper and Lower Sakatah. Or use accesses on Upper Sakatah. |
DNR fish survey, 2020
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 18.00 | 108 | 0.16 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard gill nets | 6.33 | 38 | 1.71 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 4.67 | 28 | 1.64 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 4.50 | 27 | 0.29 |
| White bass | Standard gill nets | 4.17 | 25 | 0.23 |
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 3.67 | 22 | 0.92 |
| Common carp | Standard gill nets | 2.83 | 17 | 6.54 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 2.00 | 12 | 2.12 |
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 Sakatah Lake is a 310-acre lake located in Rice County east of the town of Waterville. Lower Sakatah is accessible by the access on Upper Sakatah Lake, which is inside Sakatah Lake State Park. Lower Sakatah can also be accessed by the bridge on Leroy Avenue, which connects Lower and Upper Sakatah Lakes. Lower Sakatah is a shallow lake with a maximum depth of only 7 feet. The deepest water in the lake can be found toward the west end, as the water gets shallower toward the outlet on the east end of the lake. Lower Sakatah Lake is managed primarily for Walleye and is stocked with Walleye fry three out of every four years. A contingency stocking plan calls for Northern Pike fingerlings, Yellow Perch adults, Black Crappie adults, and Bluegill adults to be stocked after winterkill events. A targeted survey was conducted the week of August 3, 2020 as part of a regular monitoring program conducted by Minnesota DNR. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic social distancing protocols only gill nets were used in this survey. This survey was intended to assess the fish community by deploying six gill nets as well as recording water quality parameters. This survey can be compared to historical standard surveys because standardized methods were used. Walleye were sampled at a rate of 4.7 fish/gill net in 2020, which is below the long term average of 6.2 fish/gill net. The length of Walleye averaged 16.3 inches and the largest individual sampled was 25.3 inches. The growth rate of Walleye was moderate compared to other similar lakes in the area. Walleye fry were recently stocked into Lower Sakatah Lake in 2016, 2018, and 2019 at a target rate of 1,500 fry per littoral acre, which is consistent with the entire Cannon River Watershed. The Northern Pike population in Lower Sakatah Lake has remained relatively stable in recent years. The 2020 Northern Pike catch rate was 2.0 fish/gill net, which resembled the long-term lake average of 2.9 fish/gill net. Northern Pike collected in the 2020 survey ranged in length from 10.0 to 29.2 inches and averaged 23.2 inches. Northern Pike greater than 24 inches made up 44 percent of the catch. Northern Pike in southern Minnesota grow very fast. The average length of Northern Pike in Lower Sakatah Lake was 26.2 inches at age-2. Although Northern Pike have not been stocked into Lower Sakatah Lake in recent years, Northern Pike are regularly stocked throughout the Cannon River chain of lakes. Lower Sakatah Lake is located in the Southern Northern Pike management zone. In order to harvest a Northern Pike the fish must be over 24.0 inches in…
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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Stocking rows, depths, accesses and survey figures are Minnesota DNR LakeFinder data as of 2026-09-02. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
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