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Mule Lake (Otter Tail County)

Otter Tail County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 56068900

DNR records show 1 stocking entry at Mule Lake (Otter Tail County) since 2021, most recently walleye yearlings in 2021 (560 fish).

Stocking history

YearSpeciesSizeNumberPounds
2021Walleye1yearlings56080.0

1 fish purchased and stocked by private citizens and sporting groups.

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.

DNR fish survey, 1992

SpeciesGearCatch per netTotal catchAvg lb
Black bullheadStandard gill nets79.501590.18
Yellow perchStandard gill nets4.0080.12
Northern pikeStandard gill nets1.0023.00
Black bullheadStandard trap nets47.751910.16
Yellow bullheadStandard trap nets11.25450.20
Brown bullheadStandard trap nets9.25370.27
Black crappieStandard trap nets7.25290.30
PumpkinseedStandard trap nets5.75230.10
Hybrid sunfishStandard trap nets3.50140.37
Largemouth bassStandard trap nets1.2551.68
BluegillStandard trap nets0.7530.43

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.

Mule Lake is included in class 33 of the MN DNR lake classification system. Other area lakes in this class include: Anderson, Belmont, Jim, and Tonseth. Northern pike abundance is below normal for this lake class with a gill net catch rate of 1.0 per lift. The average weight of individual northern pike was 2.9 pounds. Age and catch data indicate that pike reproduction is limited. The gill net catch rate of black bullheads was 79.5 per lift, which is 3.6 times greater than the upper limit of the normal range. Yellow bullhead abundance, as indexed by a trap net catch rate of 11.3 per lift, also exceeded the normal range. The trap net catch rate of bluegills was 0.8 per lift, and is 8.1 times less than the lower limit of the normal range. Largemouth bass abundance is above normal with a trap net catch rate of 1.3 per lift. There appears to be consistent bass natural reproduction as three consecutive year classes were represented in the age-class distribution (ages II-IV). Black crappie abundance is above normal with a trap net catch rate of 7.3 per lift. Crappie reproduction appears to be consistent as four consecutive year classes (ages II-V) were represented in the sample. Strong 1988 and 1990 year classes composed 31% and 38% of the black crappie sample, respectively. Growth rates of crappies are slightly slower than statewide averages with a mean length at age IV of 7.7 inches. The gill net catch rate of yellow perch was 4.0 per lift, which is within the normal range.

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. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.

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