Mink Lake (Wright County, DOW 86022900)

Wright County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 86022900

DNR records show 12 stocking entries at Mink Lake (Wright County, DOW 86022900) since 2016, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2024 (900 fish).

• Mink Lake (Wright County, DOW 86022900) has 12 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2016-2024): walleye (12).
• The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 11,371 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 39 ft, mean depth 6 ft; surface area 280 acres, 276 littoral acres, 5.8 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 1.8 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, common carp, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, yellow perch.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: August 5, 2025 (targeted survey).
• Wright County, nearest town Maple Lake; DNR lake number (DOW) 86022900.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 6/4/1991 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Stocking history

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2025

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 Mink Lake was conducted on August 5th, 2025, by Area Fisheries staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at 10 sampling stations. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample 1 station, and a 15-foot seine was used at 4 stations. Five stations were not seined due to deep water and dense lilies. Nearshore sampling captured 5 species of fish including 0 species that are intolerant of disturbance and 0 that are tolerant of disturbance, though one tolerant species was captured in gill nets (i.e., Common Carp). The nearshore data were combined with trap net and gill net data from an August 2021 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., Common Carp). 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 Mink 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 Mink Lake is fully supporting aquatic life. The survey results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Mississippi River - St. Cloud watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. You can help protect the fish community in Mink Lake by reducing runoff, maintaining natural shorelines, and preventing the spread of invasive species.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, August 5, 2025.

All Minnesota stockings · every Minnesota lake with a page · state CSV · this lake on DNR LakeFinder