Mill Lake (Douglas County)
Douglas County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 21018000
DNR records show 7 stocking entries at Mill Lake (Douglas County) since 2016, most recently walleye yearlings in 2024 (5,880 fish).
- Mill Lake (Douglas County) has 7 DNR stocking records across 6 years (2016-2024): walleye (7).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 27,972 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 40 ft, mean depth 20 ft; surface area 451 acres, 196 littoral acres, 5.4 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 13.6 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).
- Douglas County, nearest town Alexandria; DNR lake number (DOW) 21018000.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Walleye | yearlings | 5,880 | 392.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 6,860 | 399.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | adults | 192 | 96.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye | yearlings | 1,657 | 462.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 6,873 | 397.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 6,505 | 423.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | adults | 5 | 5.0 |
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 |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 69.67 | 627 | 0.32 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 7.11 | 64 | 0.36 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 3.89 | 35 | 0.41 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.78 | 7 | 0.45 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 50.00 | 50 | 1.23 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 20.33 | 183 | 1.58 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 18.11 | 163 | 0.40 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 4.33 | 39 | 1.18 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 3.00 | 27 | 0.79 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 2.78 | 25 | 1.97 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 2.44 | 22 | 0.51 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 1.22 | 11 | 0.32 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.22 | 2 | 1.04 |
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.
Mill Lake is a 461-acre, moderately productive basin located eight miles southwest of Alexandria. Maximum depth of the lake is 40.0 feet. Average depth is estimated at 20.0 feet. Water clarity has increased markedly in response to establishment of zebra mussels. Water transparency at time of the June 2024 survey was measured at 21.0 feet. Mill Lake supports a diverse and robust aquatic plant community which provides important habitat for ambush feeders or vegetation-dependent gamefishes such as Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and Bluegill. Residential development is prominent with a few agricultural lots bordering the lake. A DNR public access site is located on the southeast shoreline, off MN-27. A standard fisheries survey was completed in 2024 to evaluate abundance and size distribution of gamefish populations. Survey methodology included a spring electrofishing survey, completed May 14, to effectively sample the Largemouth Bass population. The gill netting component of the standard survey was completed June 10-11. During the spring of 2022 a special regulation was implemented that reduced the daily sunfish limit from 20 down to 10. As an evaluation requirement of this special regulation, trap netting was conducted during the spring (May 14-15) when panfish are more susceptible to capture. These sampling practices will be standard protocol for future fisheries surveys on Mill Lake. Mill Lake historically supported a relatively stable Walleye population sustained through alternate year fingerling stockings. Since the discovery of zebra mussels in 2015 Walleye catch rates have declined to a near record low in 2024 (2.8 fish/gill net). Though not overly abundant, 64% of Walleyes observed were over 15.0 inches. It is apparent that survival of stocked Walleye fingerlings and Walleye abundance have diminished in response to competition and predation by a high-density population of small Northern Pike. These negative effects are likely compounded by the presence of zebra mussels. Northern Pike continue to be excessively abundant (20.3 fish/gill net). Average size of pike captures in 2024 remained modest at 18.4 inches. The largest pike measured 35.6 inches, though fish of this size are not common. Anglers are reminded that new pike zone regulations were implemented in 2018. Mill Lake is located in the North-Central Zone. Anglers can now keep up to 10 pike but not more than two can be over 26 inches in length. All pike between 22-26 inches must be immediately released. Anglers are encouraged to take advantage of these liberalized bag limits and harvest pike…
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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