Medicine Lake (Hennepin County)
Hennepin County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 27010400
DNR records show 2 stocking entries at Medicine Lake (Hennepin County) since 2017, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2019 (16,836 fish).
- Medicine Lake (Hennepin County) has 2 DNR stocking records across 2 years (2017-2019): walleye (2).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 33,509 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 49 ft; surface area 924 acres, 399 littoral acres, 8.8 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 7.0 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, walleye, and 3 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Hennepin County, nearest town Plymouth; DNR lake number (DOW) 27010400.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 9/6/1966 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 16,836 | 797.8 |
| 2017 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 16,673 | 797.5 |
2 fish purchased by the DNR for stocking.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| asphalt ramp | county | fee/permit for vehicle-trailer combo (valid for all parks in system; season passes available). No fee for shore or pier fishing within park |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 33.00 | 363 | 0.10 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 6.36 | 70 | 0.11 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 3.91 | 43 | 0.17 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 3.64 | 40 | 0.83 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 3.00 | 33 | 0.24 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 2.73 | 30 | 0.13 |
| Green sunfish | Standard trap nets | 1.64 | 18 | 0.07 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.73 | 8 | 3.63 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 14.11 | 127 | 0.14 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 13.56 | 122 | 2.90 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 10.11 | 91 | 0.84 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 9.00 | 81 | 0.21 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 2.33 | 21 | 2.52 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 2.11 | 19 | 0.08 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 1.22 | 11 | 0.20 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.78 | 7 | 1.18 |
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.
Medicine Lake is a 924-acre lake surrounded by the cities of Plymouth and Medicine Lake. Clifton E. French Regional Park (a Three Rivers Parks District property) borders the northwest portion of the lake and provides the only public boat launch during the open-water season; a fee is charged for parking boat trailer-vehicle combinations. Harty's Boatworks, located on the east side of the lake, rents boats and provides drive-on wintertime access. Two Plymouth city parks provide year-round shore-based access. Medicine has a maximum depth of 49 feet, and supports populations of Northern Pike, Walleye, Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, and Black Crappie. In 2021, a special regulation went into effect, limiting the harvest of Bluegill and Black Crappie to 5 fish per day of each species. In 2023, a Standard Survey was conducted. Northern Pike are highly abundant in Medicine, and plenty of harvest opportunity exists. Thirty-eight percent of the 126 pike sampled were smaller than 22 inches, and 35% of the sample exceeded 26 inches. The largest fish measured 36.0 inches. With the presence of smaller fish, and a good chance of catching a few larger fish, Medicine Lake would be an ideal spot for the harvest oriented angler. Walleye are also present in the lake, and fish size ranged between 13 and 26 inches in 2023. The average size of Walleye in Medicine Lake was 19.2 inches and 2.65 pounds. Walleye were last stocked in Medicine Lake in 2019. Largemouth Bass sampling was not conducted in 2020, however, the lake supports a bass population, and continues to be a popular destination for bass anglers. When bass sampling was last conducted, in 2014, fish ages 1 through 10 years old were caught, which shows that the fish are successfully reproducing each year. Medicine Lake supports a strong population of Bluegill. Although not highly abundant, the fish attain quality sizes in the lake. In 2023, the largest Bluegill sampled was 9.0 inches long. Because the lake can support large Bluegill, a special regulation was implemented with the aim of protecting those fish so that they remain in the population and have the opportunity to grow large. By harvesting a limit of 5 Bluegill per day instead of 20, anglers will give the fish a chance to persist, and the large ones won't be cropped off as quickly as they usually are. In time, we hope that a greater proportion of the fish in the population will attain a large size. Black Crappie are abundant in the lake, and of modest size. We hope that with the special regulation of a 5 bag limit, size of these fish will improve as well. Although…
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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