Manuella Lake
Meeker County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 47005000
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Manuella Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (57,271 fish).
- Manuella Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2025): walleye (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 346,323 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 51 ft, mean depth 22 ft; surface area 293 acres, 114 littoral acres, 3.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 5.9 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, and 4 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Meeker County, nearest town Darwin; DNR lake number (DOW) 47005000.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/4/1969 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 57,271 | 0.6 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 57,197 | 0.5 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 59,365 | 0.5 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 58,490 | 0.5 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 114,000 | 1.1 |
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 | East side of lake- off of CSAH No.9. Located next to county park |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 154.00 | 616 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 13.25 | 53 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 11.00 | 44 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 50-ft beach seine | 8.00 | 32 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | 50-ft beach seine | 6.25 | 25 | 0.00 |
| Blacknose shiner | 50-ft beach seine | 5.00 | 20 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | 50-ft beach seine | 4.00 | 16 | 0.00 |
| Brook stickleback | 50-ft beach seine | 3.75 | 15 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 15-ft beach seine | 23.20 | 116 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 4.80 | 24 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 15-ft beach seine | 0.60 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | 15-ft beach seine | 0.40 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | 15-ft beach seine | 0.20 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | 15-ft beach seine | 0.20 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 22.01 | 18 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 19.57 | 16 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 17.12 | 14 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 14.67 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | Backpack electrofishing | 11.01 | 9 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | Backpack electrofishing | 6.11 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | Backpack electrofishing | 3.67 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Central mudminnow | Backpack electrofishing | 2.45 | 2 | 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.
A targeted survey of nearshore fish species for Lake Manuella was conducted on August 26th and 27th, 2025 by Hutchinson area fisheries Staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at all ten sampling stations. One station was electrofished from the boat. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample six stations, and a 15-foot seine was used for three stations. Site conditions prevented the use of seining at one station. Nearshore sampling captured 17 species of fish including three species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Iowa Darter, Blacknose Shiner and Banded Killifish) and one species (i.e., Green Sunfish) that is tolerant of disturbance. The nearshore data were combined with trap net and gill net data from an August 2025 survey to describe the fish community and provide a Fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. The FIBI tool 2-shallow was used for scoring, which resulted in an FIBI score of 34. This score is below the general use impairment threshold (45) for this tool. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. In Minnesota lakes, certain fish species cannot survive without clean water and a healthy habitat (e.g., Banded Killifish, Iowa Darter, and Rock Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Green Sunfish). The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website.
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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