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Mills Lake

Blue Earth County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 07009700

DNR records show 10 stocking entries at Mills Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (572,000 fish).

Mills Lake has 10 DNR stocking records across 9 years (2016-2025): walleye (10).
The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 7,048,312 fish on record.
Maximum depth 7 ft, mean depth 6 ft; surface area 237 acres, 237 littoral acres, 2.6 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 0.5 ft.
1 public access on the DNR list.
Most recent DNR fish survey: August 6, 2007 (standard survey).
Blue Earth County, nearest town Lake Crystal; DNR lake number (DOW) 07009700.

Depth map

0 ft5 ft

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 5/28/1970 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Stocking history

Year	Species	Size	Number	Pounds
2025	Walleye	fry	572,000	5.4
2024	Walleye	fry	572,500	5.4
2023	Walleye	fry	572,500	5.0
2022	Walleye	fry	572,500	5.3
2021	Walleye	fry	525,000	5.0
2021	Walleye	fry	572,500	5.1
2019	Walleye	fry	1,145,000	9.5
2018	Walleye	fry	1,145,000	9.7
2017	Walleye	fry	1,144,877	9.4
2016	Walleye	fry	226,435	2.2

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	- dock-limited parking

DNR fish survey, 2007

Species	Gear	Catch per net	Total catch	Avg lb
Black bullhead	Standard gill nets	63.00	252	0.21
Black crappie	Standard gill nets	20.75	83	0.20
Golden shiner	Standard gill nets	17.25	69	0.05
Yellow perch	Standard gill nets	11.75	47	0.16
Common carp	Standard gill nets	11.00	44	2.25
Northern pike	Standard gill nets	0.75	3	1.36
Black bullhead	Standard trap nets	52.50	420	0.06
Black crappie	Standard trap nets	39.62	317	0.10
Common carp	Standard trap nets	5.12	41	2.63
Yellow bullhead	Standard trap nets	3.75	30	0.47
Yellow perch	Standard trap nets	1.25	10	0.14
Largemouth bass	Standard trap nets	0.88	7	0.82
Northern pike	Standard trap nets	0.88	7	3.92
Bluegill	Standard trap nets	0.25	2	0.47

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.

Mills Lake is located southeast of Lake Crystal and off highway 169. This small (230 acre) lake has a maximum depth of 7 feet. Mills Lake has a good population of 7 - 8.5 inch black crappie and low abundance of northern pike, yellow perch, bluegill and largemouth bass. There is a good population of 8.5 - 10 inch black bullhead that average a half pound.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, August 6, 2007.

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.

Mills Lake

Depth map

Stocking history

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2007

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