Melissa Lake
Becker County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 03047500
DNR records show 20 stocking entries at Melissa Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (934,000 fish).
- Melissa Lake has 20 DNR stocking records across 10 years (2016-2025): walleye (20).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 9,809,531 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 37 ft; surface area 1,850 acres, 934 littoral acres, 7.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 12.5 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, tullibee (cisco), and 4 more.
- 4 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Becker County, nearest town Detroit Lakes; DNR lake number (DOW) 03047500.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 5/24/1967 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 934,000 | 9.1 |
| 2024 | Walleye | yearlings | 11,962 | 787.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 941,984 | 8.8 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fingerlings | 2,812 | 148.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 934,000 | 7.6 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 17,867 | 975.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 934,000 | 8.1 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 934,000 | 7.9 |
| 2020 | Walleye | yearlings | 7,746 | 1,094.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 934,000 | 7.6 |
| 2018 | Walleye | adults | 171 | 171.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 14,247 | 578.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 934,000 | 8.1 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 190 | 190.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 2,200,000 | 18.9 |
| 2016 | Walleye | yearlings | 260 | 118.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | adults | 542 | 275.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 6,450 | 542.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 1,000,000 | 8.7 |
| 2016 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 1,300 | 118.2 |
1 fish purchased and stocked by private citizens and sporting groups.
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 | Northeast shore off Co. Rd. 17. Just south of resort/campground. |
| S | - | Northeast shore off Twnshp. 108. No parking. Commons access. - No access observed. |
| earthen ramp | TOW | N. shore- appro. 200 yd west of Pelican River inlet. Commonsaccess - Limited parking, too sandy to launch boat. Reportedly donated many years ago as a cartway for watering livestock. |
| S | PRI | SE shore- behind old resort. Commons access. - No access observed. |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brassy minnow | 50-ft beach seine | 63.78 | 1,148 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 43.72 | 787 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | 50-ft beach seine | 33.56 | 604 | 0.00 |
| Spottail shiner | 50-ft beach seine | 30.50 | 549 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 23.50 | 423 | 0.00 |
| MMS | 50-ft beach seine | 13.11 | 236 | 0.00 |
| BKF | 50-ft beach seine | 11.94 | 215 | 0.00 |
| BCS | 50-ft beach seine | 11.28 | 203 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 20.27 | 304 | 0.14 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 4.33 | 65 | 0.19 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 2.00 | 30 | 0.19 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 15 | 0.75 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 15 | 2.28 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 15 | 1.25 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.80 | 12 | 2.72 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.47 | 7 | 0.64 |
| Green sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 18.26 | 35 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 8.35 | 16 | 0.00 |
| Spottail shiner | Backpack electrofishing | 6.78 | 13 | 0.00 |
| BKF | Backpack electrofishing | 5.22 | 10 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | Backpack electrofishing | 4.70 | 9 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | Backpack electrofishing | 4.17 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | Backpack electrofishing | 3.65 | 7 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 2.61 | 5 | 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 in Melissa Lake was conducted on August 12th-15th, 2024, by Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) Program staff. Eighteen sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot seine. Nearshore sampling captured twenty-four species of fish including eight species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Banded Killifish, Blackchin Shiner, Blacknose Shiner, Iowa Darter, Least Darter, Logperch, Mimic Shiner, and Rock Bass) and two that are tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Green Sunfish and Fathead Minnow). A concurrent summer trap net survey was also conducted by IBI Program staff. Fifteen trap nets were set along the shoreline in locations that encompassed multiple habitat types. Trap net sampling captured eleven species of fish, including one that is intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Rock Bass). Bluegill comprised a majority of the catch by number, whereas Bluegill, Northern Pike, and Walleye comprised a majority by biomass. The nearshore and trap net were combined with gill net data from a July 2024 survey to describe the fish community and provide a fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. 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., Blackchin Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Rock Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Green Sunfish and Fathead Minnow). 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. Results from this survey provide evidence that the fish community in Melissa Lake is healthy as indicated by an FIBI score above the general use impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. These results are similar to previous findings which indicated that Melissa Lake is fully supporting aquatic life. The survey results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Otter Tail River assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. You can help protect the fish community in Melissa Lake by reducing runoff, maintaining natural shorelines, and…
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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