Minnie-Belle Lake
Meeker County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 47011900
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Minnie-Belle Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2023 (85,982 fish).
- Minnie-Belle Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 4 years (2016-2023): walleye (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 175,481 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 49 ft, mean depth 32 ft; surface area 597 acres, 170 littoral acres, 4.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 12.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, white sucker, and 2 more.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Meeker County, nearest town Litchfield; DNR lake number (DOW) 47011900.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 7/30/1970 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 85,982 | 0.7 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 85,000 | 0.7 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,020 | 170.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 707 | 44.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 2,772 | 198.0 |
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 | State access on northeast side of the lake. |
| earthen ramp | county | County right of way access on west side of the lake. |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 220.00 | 1,980 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 44.00 | 396 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 21.44 | 193 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 50-ft beach seine | 7.33 | 66 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | 50-ft beach seine | 5.33 | 48 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 50-ft beach seine | 3.00 | 27 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | 50-ft beach seine | 1.44 | 13 | 0.00 |
| BKF | 50-ft beach seine | 0.89 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 121.80 | 609 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 15-ft beach seine | 80.00 | 400 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 15-ft beach seine | 6.60 | 33 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 15-ft beach seine | 4.40 | 22 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | 15-ft beach seine | 2.20 | 11 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 15-ft beach seine | 1.00 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | 15-ft beach seine | 0.80 | 4 | 0.00 |
| BKF | 15-ft beach seine | 0.60 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 35.36 | 55 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 13.50 | 21 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | Backpack electrofishing | 8.36 | 13 | 0.00 |
| Yellow bullhead | Backpack electrofishing | 7.71 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 7.71 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | Backpack electrofishing | 7.07 | 11 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 5.79 | 9 | 0.00 |
| Spottail shiner | Backpack electrofishing | 4.50 | 7 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 16.56 | 149 | 0.15 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 4.00 | 36 | 0.17 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 2.89 | 26 | 0.32 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.11 | 10 | 0.96 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.78 | 7 | 2.83 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.78 | 7 | 0.18 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.44 | 4 | 0.17 |
| Green sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 0.04 |
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.
A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Minnie-Belle Lake was conducted beginning on July 7th, 2025, by Lake Biological Monitoring and Assessment (LBMA) program 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. Fourteen sampling stations were completed with backpack electrofishing. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample nine stations, and a 15-foot seine was used at five stations. Nearshore sampling captured 17 species of fish (excluding Hybrid Sunfish) including three species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Banded Killifish, Iowa Darter, and Least Darter) and two that are tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Fathead Minnow and Green Sunfish). A concurrent summer trap net survey was also conducted by LBMA program staff. Nine trap nets were set along the shoreline in locations that encompassed multiple habitat types. Trap net sampling captured nine species of fish (excluding Hybrid Sunfish), including zero that are intolerant of disturbance. Bluegill and Largemouth Bass comprised a majority of the catch by number, whereas Bluegill and Walleye comprised a majority by biomass. The trap net catch was moderate overall. The nearshore and trap net data were combined with gill net data from an August 2024 survey to describe the fish community and provide a fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. 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. Results from this survey provide evidence that the fish community in Minnie-Belle Lake is adversely impacted by stressors indicated by an FIBI score of 29, which is below the general use impairment threshold (45) for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. These results are similar to previous findings which indicated that Minnie-Belle Lake was vulnerable to impairment. The survey results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the North Fork Crow River watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency.
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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