Mountain Lake (Cottonwood County)

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

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 17000300

DNR records show 21 stocking entries at Mountain Lake (Cottonwood County) since 2016, most recently northern pike fingerlings in 2025 (432 fish).

• Mountain Lake (Cottonwood County) has 21 DNR stocking records across 7 years (2016-2025): walleye (17), northern pike (4).
• The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 119,814 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 8 ft; surface area 230 acres, 220 littoral acres, 4.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 3.9 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, common carp, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, yellow bass, yellow bullhead, and 1 more.
• 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: May 6, 2025 (targeted survey).
• Cottonwood County, nearest town Mountain Lake; DNR lake number (DOW) 17000300.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 5/20/1985 (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.

Mountain Lake is a 241-acre, class 43 lake, located within the City of Mountain Lake in Cottonwood County. The lake has a maximum depth of 7.0 feet, and has a watershed-to-lake ratio of 22-to-1. In the early 1990's, Mountain Lake had a diverse population of fish. During the winter of 1993-94, the lake suffered a partial winterkill, resulting in an increase in Common Carp and Black Bullhead abundance, which resulted in a decrease in aquatic vegetation. Because of the high abundance of undesirable fish, Mountain Lake Watershed was reclaimed during the fall of 1998, with the goal to restore desirable fish populations, re-establish aquatic vegetation, and improve water quality. Curlyleaf Pondweed is abundant in Mountain Lake, to the extent that a vegetation harvester is operated by the City of Mountain Lake on an annual basis. Mountain Lake is managed primarily for Largemouth Bass and Bluegill, and secondarily for Yellow Perch, Walleye, Northern Pike, and Black Crappie. A daytime electrofishing survey was conducted in the week of May 6, 2025 to monitor the Largemouth Bass population and the newly introduced Yellow Bass population. Largemouth Bass electrofishing catch rates have been highly variable, ranging from 0.0 per hour in 1994 to 228.0 per hour in 2000, and averaging 73.9 per hour since 1994. In 2025, the Largemouth Bass catch rate was 78.5 per hour. Multiple year classes of Largemouth Bass were present as lengths ranged from 6.2 to 19.2 inches and averaged 15.7 inches. Management goals were met because the catch rate exceeded the goal of 20.0 per hour and size structure indices were within desired ranges. It appears that the Largemouth Bass population in Mountain Lake is a stable, naturally reproducing population with many fish 15 to 20 inches present. Prior to the electrofishing survey, it was reported that Yellow Bass had been caught by anglers at Mountain Lake. During sampling, Yellow Bass were captured at a rate of 29.7 per hour and ranged in length from 8.0 to 11.7 inches and averaged 8.8 inches. Once introduced, Yellow Bass tends to establish and maintain a robust population. Yellow Bass are native to Minnesota but historically had only been documented in the Mississippi River. Windom Area Fisheries first sampled Yellow Bass in Hall Lake in Martin County in 2013, and since have seen rapid expansion of populations to various water bodies in Martin, Cottonwood, Jackson, and Faribault Counties, likely a result of illegal stocking by anglers.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, May 6, 2025.

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