Marsh
Big Stone County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 06000100
DNR records show 9 stocking entries at Marsh since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (500,000 fish).
- Marsh has 9 DNR stocking records across 8 years (2016-2025): walleye (9).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 7,040,042 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 5 ft, mean depth 3 ft; surface area 4,462 acres, 4,428 littoral acres, 52.4 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 0.9 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, channel catfish, common carp, crappie, freshwater drum, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, and 11 more.
- 5 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Big Stone County, nearest town Correll; DNR lake number (DOW) 06000100.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 500,000 | 4.2 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 1,039,159 | 8.5 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 1,000,418 | 9.1 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 500,000 | 4.6 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 1,000,000 | 8.3 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 1,000,000 | 9.6 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 146,931 | 1.2 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 853,527 | 7.3 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 1,000,007 | 10.1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| gravel ramp | Minnesota DNR | Carry-in access on west end of lake. 4.5 miles north of Louisburg; MN. T120N; R44W; S8. |
| gravel ramp | Minnesota DNR | Gravel access located on MN River channel west end of lake. 4 miles north of Louisburg; MN. T120N; R44W; S17. |
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | Concrete ramp on NW corner of lake; 1.3 miles south of Correl; MN. T120N; R44W; S9. |
| CA | Minnesota DNR | Unimproved access in the middle of the lake on the south shoreline. 2.4 miles NE of Louisburg; MN. T120N; R44W; S23. |
| gravel ramp | Minnesota DNR | Unimproved gravel ramp located at the eastern end of the lake on the north shoreline west of County Rd 51. T120N; R43W; S30. |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel catfish | Standard gill nets | 9.00 | 18 | 1.89 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 5.50 | 11 | 1.42 |
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 5.00 | 10 | 0.60 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard gill nets | 5.00 | 10 | 0.83 |
| Common carp | Standard gill nets | 4.50 | 9 | 9.96 |
| Shorthead redhorse | Standard gill nets | 2.50 | 5 | 1.90 |
| White bass | Standard gill nets | 2.00 | 4 | 1.35 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 2 | 4.37 |
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.
Marsh Lake is an impoundment of the Minnesota River approximately three miles southwest of Appleton. The lake was created in the 1930's by construction of a dam on the Minnesota River near the outlet of the Pomme de Terre River. Marsh Lake is approximately 5,000 acres and it has a maximum depth of 5 feet at the normal summer pool level. Although the lake is shallow and nutrient rich, it rarely winterkills likely because oxygenated water flows through it from the Minnesota River, Five Mile Creek, and natural springs. Marsh Lake has provided good fishing for walleyes and northern pike. Fishing has mainly been limited to ice fishing because numerous boulders and shallow reefs make boating somewhat treacherous, and shallow depths at the boat ramps limit the size of boats that can be launched. A substantial amount of open water fishing occurs just upstream of the lake on the Minnesota River and by the culverts on the Louisburg Grade Road. There is a boat access along the Minnesota River bridge on the Grade Road. The bridge and culverts are popular shore angling locations and fishing can be very good when adequate flows are present. The Marsh Lake ecosystem project was completed in early 2020. The project included converting the low-head outlet dam to a rock-arch rapids fishway and construction of a separate draw-down outlet structure. Drawdowns were conducted during 2020 and 2021 that resulted in substantial increases in emergent vegetation around the shoreline. Water levels were returned to normal in 2022. This survey was conducted to evaluate the status of the fishery. These data can be compared to historical Standard and Targeted Survey data from Marsh Lake. Eleven species of fish were caught during this survey. Game fish present were channel catfish, walleye, white bass and northern pike. Most walleyes were 14 to 18 inches, up to 23 inches. Other species in moderate numbers were freshwater drum, common carp and black bullhead. Marsh Lake and connecting water bodies are regularly stocked with walleyes. Marsh Lake had high dissolved oxygen levels during the winter of 2025-2026. Prolonged high-water levels in 2025 killed most of the emergent vegetation that had become established during the previous drawdown period. Emergent vegetation provides valuable spawning and nursery habitat for many desirable species of fish. A drawdown is planned for the spring and summer of 2026 to promote the growth of emergent vegetation and restore a portion of the habitat that was lost. This drawdown will be less substantial than the previous ones.
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. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
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