Mazaska Lake
Rice County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 66003900
DNR records show 15 stocking entries at Mazaska Lake since 2016, most recently northern pike fry in 2025 (9,516 fish).
- Mazaska Lake has 15 DNR stocking records across 9 years (2016-2025): walleye (8), northern pike (7).
- The most-stocked species by count is northern pike: 134,060 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 50 ft, mean depth 13 ft; surface area 688 acres, 336 littoral acres, 4.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 4.3 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, freshwater drum, largemouth bass, longnose gar, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, and 5 more.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Rice County, nearest town Shieldsville; DNR lake number (DOW) 66003900.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 10/21/1968 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Northern Pike | fry | 9,516 | 0.2 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fingerlings | 2,884 | 405.0 |
| 2022 | Northern Pike | fry | 17,765 | 0.6 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 3,357 | 212.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 2,656 | 123.3 |
| 2021 | Northern Pike | fry | 19,936 | 0.6 |
| 2020 | Walleye | yearlings | 700 | 35.0 |
| 2019 | Northern Pike | fry | 15,000 | 0.5 |
| 2018 | Northern Pike | fry | 29,025 | 0.9 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 2,010 | 135.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 6 | 6.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 824 | 206.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 441 | 98.5 |
| 2017 | Northern Pike | fry | 15,000 | 0.4 |
| 2016 | Northern Pike | fry | 27,818 | 0.4 |
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 | DOT | - 2 side by side ramps |
| concrete ramp | county | shallow water makes launching difficult. |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 38.87 | 41 | 1.78 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard gill nets | 9.00 | 72 | 2.06 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 8.62 | 69 | 0.46 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 4.38 | 35 | 1.35 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 4.25 | 34 | 2.85 |
| Longnose gar | Standard gill nets | 3.75 | 30 | 2.40 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 3.50 | 28 | 4.43 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 3.25 | 26 | 0.26 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 1.25 | 10 | 0.07 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard trap nets | 7.58 | 91 | 2.67 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 4.83 | 58 | 1.52 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 4.50 | 54 | 0.17 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.75 | 9 | 0.16 |
| White crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.42 | 5 | 0.29 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.42 | 5 | 2.27 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 4 | 6.99 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 4 | 3.07 |
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.
Lake Mazaska is a 672-acre lake located northeast of Shieldsville in Rice County. There is a county-owned access located off Lake Mazaska Trail on the southwest shore and a state-owned access located off Highway 21 on the southeast shore. Lake Mazaska has a maximum depth of 50 feet, with approximately 50% of the lake less than 15 feet deep. Lake Mazaska is primarily managed for Bluegill and Black Crappie and secondarily for largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, and Walleye. The lake was designated as infested in 2010 after the discovery of Eurasian Water Milfoil and annual efforts have been made to keep Eurasian Water Milfoil and Curly-leaf Pondweed below nuisance levels. Lake Mazaska was surveyed the week of 21 July 2025 as part of a regular monitoring program conducted by the Minnesota DNR. This survey was intended to assess the fish community by deploying 8 gill nets and 12 trap nets, as well as recording water quality parameters. Daytime electrofishing was conducted to get a better understanding of the Largemouth bass population and size structure. The next standard survey for Lake Mazaska is scheduled for 2028. A total of 54 Bluegills were sampled with trap nets for a catch rate of 4.5/net. Lengths ranged from 3.4 to 8.7 inches with an average of 5.9 inches. Larger fish were sampled at a higher rate by gill nets with a total of 69 fish sampled for a catch rate of 8.6/net. Bluegills in gill nets ranged from 4.8 to 10.0 inches averaging 7.2 inches. Fish from both gears ranged from age-1 to age-12 with 8 year-classes present. Approximately 58% of the sample consisted of age-2 and age-3 fish. According to the 2022 creel survey, Bluegills were the most harvested fish from Lake Mazaska with an estimated 3,036 fish averaging 8.7 inches harvested during a 10-month period from December 2021 through September 2022. Based on the creel and survey data, the Bluegill population in Lake Mazaska was described as healthy and desirable to anglers. A reminder to anglers, Lake Mazaska has a 5 fish bag limit for sunfish in effect. Black Crappies were sampled in the gill nets at a rate of 3.3/net. Catch rates have diminished from 32.9 /gill net in 1995 to 3.3/ gill net in 2025. Lengths in 2025 ranged from 4.3 to 12.0 inches with an average of 7.2 inches. Fish from both gears were age-1 to age-6 with 5 year-classes present, suggesting consistent recruitment. According to a creel survey completed in 2022, Black and White Crappies were collectively the second most harvested species with an estimated 1,050 fish averaging 11.1 inches harvested during a 10-month period from…
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.
Hear when the states we cover post stockings
One email a week in season: which waters in the states we cover were stocked, straight from the state agencies' own postings. No spam, no fishing-gear ads in the mail.
Free · double opt-in · unsubscribe anytime · we store only your email.