Minnetaga Lake
Kandiyohi County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 34007600
DNR records show 13 stocking entries at Minnetaga Lake since 2016, most recently northern pike fry in 2025 (8,209 fish).
- Minnetaga Lake has 13 DNR stocking records across 8 years (2016-2025): walleye (9), northern pike (4).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 4,276,645 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 9 ft; surface area 791 acres, 791 littoral acres, 5.7 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 1.4 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, channel catfish, common carp, hybrid crappie, northern pike, orangespotted sunfish, smallmouth buffalo, walleye, white crappie, and 2 more.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Kandiyohi County, nearest town Kandiyohi; DNR lake number (DOW) 34007600.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Northern Pike | fry | 8,209 | 0.5 |
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 415,215 | 4.1 |
| 2024 | Northern Pike | adults | 168 | 350.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,960 | 280.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 299,922 | 3.1 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 305,050 | 2.9 |
| 2022 | Northern Pike | fry | 9,589 | 0.3 |
| 2022 | Northern Pike | fingerlings | 1,403 | 0.7 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 593,837 | 5.7 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 1,190,466 | 11.6 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 400,000 | 4.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 302,931 | 2.9 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 767,264 | 7.8 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| gravel ramp | TOW | West side of lake off of township road. Primitive access. Parking available across the road at new Lake Kasota access site (completion in 2007). - No ramps or docks. Back off of the township road. |
| CA | Minnesota DNR | Southwest side of lake. New access being constructed as of 2007. Limited parking and turn around. - No ramps or docks present. |
DNR fish survey, 2021
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 40.33 | 121 | 1.02 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 19.67 | 59 | 1.59 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 4.33 | 13 | 0.55 |
| Common carp | Standard gill nets | 2.33 | 7 | 5.21 |
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 1.67 | 5 | 0.59 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 3 | 0.96 |
| Bigmouth buffalo | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 1 | 0.54 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 4.42 | 53 | 7.41 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 3.92 | 47 | 0.52 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 3.67 | 44 | 1.16 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.17 | 14 | 1.21 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.92 | 11 | 0.10 |
| Orangespotted sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.83 | 10 | 0.02 |
| White sucker | Standard trap nets | 0.83 | 10 | 0.60 |
| Bigmouth buffalo | Standard trap nets | 0.75 | 9 | 6.89 |
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 standard survey of Minnetaga was conducted during late June and early July of 2021. A targeted survey is generally used for sampling a specific kind of fish or time of year (i.e., spawning season, fall season, etc.) unlike a standard survey which samples a wider range of fish species during the summer months using standard methodology (i.e., standard time of year, set sampling stations, taking water clarity readings and oxygen/temperature profiles, etc.) and gears (i.e., lake survey gillnets, trapnets and possibly spring electrofishing for Largemouth Bass). A standard survey of Minnetaga was first conducted during early July of 2016. An initial fish survey was completed in 2007. Minnetaga is a moderate sized (791 acres), shallow (9 feet deep), turbid and productive lake located in Kandiyohi County. There are two public access sites along the east shore which include a newly completed state-owned gravel boat ramp and a road right away access off the county gravel road. Low water levels can make large boat access difficult at the public sites. Water levels were low in 2020 and 2021. An Aquatic Management Area is located along the southwest shore. Moderate nutrient runoff inflows are common into Minnetaga during rain events from agricultural sources via the shoreline areas, tiles, and ditches. The outlet flows into Lake Kasota (6 feet deep) which connects to other shallow lakes (Little Kandiyohi and eventually Lake Wakanda). A swinging finger fish barrier is located on the downstream (Kasota side) culvert end of the outlet. Intense blue-green algae blooms can be common in Minnetaga during the summer months. Aquatic vegetation species present are usually limited mostly to sago pondweed, filamentous algae and water moss in Minnetaga. Submergent vegetation was sparse in 2021. The water clarity was poor (secchi disc=2.5 feet) for Minnetaga on June 13, 2016. The water was a brown-green stained color due in part to algae blooms in 2021. Winterkill events have been relatively uncommon in Minnetaga during recent years. A partial winterkill of gamefish may have occurred during the 2007 08 winter due to low oxygen conditions; however, there were no local reports of dead fish seen along the shore in the 2008 spring. Excellent Walleye fishing had occurred prior to January of 2013 on both Minnetaga and Kasota. Nearby, connected Lake Kasota and Lake Wakanda had significant winterkills of Common Carp and Walleye during late January or early February of 2013. No significant numbers of dead fish were noted on Minnetaga during the spring of 2014. Ice out trapnets…
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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Stocking rows, depths, accesses and survey figures are Minnesota DNR LakeFinder data as of 2026-09-02. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
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