Nest Lake
Kandiyohi County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 34015400
DNR records show 17 stocking entries at Nest Lake since 2016, most recently walleye adults in 2025 (9 fish).
- Nest Lake has 17 DNR stocking records across 8 years (2016-2025): walleye (17).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 3,786,716 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 40 ft, mean depth 15 ft; surface area 969 acres, 525 littoral acres, 10.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 5.9 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, channel catfish, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, and 7 more.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Kandiyohi County, nearest town Spicer; DNR lake number (DOW) 34015400.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 9/9/1969 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | adults | 9 | 16.5 |
| 2025 | Walleye | yearlings | 1,030 | 421.0 |
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 797,706 | 7.8 |
| 2025 | Walleye | fingerlings | 3,091 | 435.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 450,864 | 4.6 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fingerlings | 9,197 | 1,270.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 1,078,266 | 10.2 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fingerlings | 5,955 | 502.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 38,131 | 0.4 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fingerlings | 3,115 | 635.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 854,819 | 8.2 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 5,690 | 1,654.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 755 | 40.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 534,227 | 5.2 |
| 2018 | Walleye | adults | 68 | 165.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 1,821 | - |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 1,972 | - |
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 | New access in Hwy 23 bay area. - Two ramps, boat dock, and large asphalt parking area. Access is in a protected bay. DNR Trail access adjacent to the parking lot. |
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | West shore access. - One ramp, boat dock, and large gravel parking area. |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walleye | Fall electrofishing | 3.00 | 6 | 0.08 |
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 fall night electrofishing survey was conducted for young of year "YOY" (fingerling sized) Walleye on Nest Lake during October 9, 2025. 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). Fall electrofishing was conducted at six stations for a total of 120 minutes. The water temperature was 60 F. during the 2025 fall night electrofishing survey. Submergent vegetation densities were generally moderate at the different stations in 2025. Water clarity was moderate. We observed abundant numbers of Sunfish, Yellow Bullhead, Yellow Perch, Shiner species and Brook Silversides in the 2025 fall night electrofishing survey. We also saw moderate numbers of Largemouth Bass, Northern Redhorse, White Sucker, Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike. The Walleye population is due to a combination of natural reproduction and Walleye stockings (fry, fingerlings and adults) for Nest Lake based on surveys and oxytetracycline "OTC" marking. Nest Lake occasionally receives Walleye fry via scheduled stocking or from the Middle Fork of Crow River during clean-up operations of the Walleye hatching program at the New London State Fish Hatchery. Nest Lake was stocked with Walleye in 2015 (1,541,987 fry), 2017 (1,821 fry), 2018 (534,227 fry; 755 fingerlings, 40 pounds; 5,690 yearlings, 1,654 pounds; 68 adults, 165 pounds), 2021 (635,492 fry; 3,115 fingerlings, 635 pounds), 2022 (38,131 fry), 2023 (1,078,266 fry; 5,955 fingerlings, 502 pounds), 2024 (450,864 fry) and 2025 (797,706 fry; 9,197 fingerlings, 1,270 pounds). Walleye stocked into Nest were from the Pike River strain prior to 2014 and the local Spicer strain from 2014-2025. Walleye fry were marked with OTC in 2015. No Walleye were stocked into Nest during 2016, 2019 or 2020. Low YOY Walleye numbers were recently captured in 2025 (2.50 YOY/hour, 7.86 inches), 2024 (2.00 YOY/hour, 6.33 inches) and 2023 (5.50 YOY/hour, 7.10 inches) fall night electrofishing surveys. Moderate YOY Walleye numbers were captured in 2022 (13.85 YOY/hour, 7.27 inches). Yearling Walleye numbers were also low in the 2025 (0.50 fish/hour, 11.73 inches), 2024 (0.50 fish/hour), 2022 (0.92 fish/hour, 10.83 inches) and 2021 (0.50…
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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