Nelson Lake (Hubbard County)

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

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 29013100

Nelson Lake (Hubbard County) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.

• Nelson Lake (Hubbard County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of September 2, 2026.
• Maximum depth 20 ft; surface area 40 acres, 32 littoral acres, 1.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 16.3 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: bluegill, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, yellow perch.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: July 29, 2015 (standard survey).
• Hubbard County, nearest town Laporte; DNR lake number (DOW) 29013100.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2015

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.

Nelson Lake is located six miles southwest of Laporte, and is within the Paul Bunyan State Forest. Nelson has a surface area of 40 acres and a maximum depth of 19.5 feet. There is a state owned primitive campground and public access on the northeast shore of the lake. The Minnesota DNR has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Nelson is in lake class 37. Class 37 lakes generally are small, regularly shaped, shallow lakes, with a high percentage of littoral area (depths less than 15 feet), with soft and turbid water. Other class 37 lakes in the Park Rapids area include: Brush, Claussens, Crow Wing, Deadhorse, Giles, Hay, Round, Shinker, and Sweitzer. Due to its small size, Nelson Lake is very susceptible to over-harvest. Anglers must practice selective harvest if they want to improve or maintain the fishery. Northern Pike abundance was in line with similar lakes, but below the long term average for Nelson Lake. The average size of 20.7 inches and 2 pounds was larger than recent surveys. Largemouth Bass abundance was in line with previous years, and in the upper range of other similar lakes. Most fish were small with an average size of 7.3 inches, with fish sampled up to 13.7 inches. Angling opportunities for panfish include Bluegill and Pumpkinseed. Bluegill and Pumpkinseed abundance was lower than recent years, but higher than similar lakes. Most fish were small at 3-5 inches, but there were some larger Bluegills with the largest at 9 inches. Yellow Perch are important forage for Walleyes and Northern Pike, but perch abundance was the lowest recorded 2015. Perch were a small, with an average size of 6.3 inches. Walleyes have not been stocked since 1993, but are still being sampled in surveys and appear to be naturally reproducing. Fish were all large, amd were between 18.7 and 26.8 inches. Currently no aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been identified in Nelson. To avoid spreading AIS, lake users are required to remove all aquatic plants or animals from their watercraft and drain all water from their boat before leaving the access.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, July 29, 2015.

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