North Lida Lake
Otter Tail County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 56074701
DNR records show 13 stocking entries at North Lida Lake since 2019, most recently walleye adults in 2025 (1,211 fish).
- North Lida Lake has 13 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2019-2025): walleye (13).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 6,020,190 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 58 ft; surface area 5,523 acres, 2,380 littoral acres, 19.1 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 9.9 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, freshwater drum, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, and 8 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Otter Tail County, nearest town Pelican Rapids; DNR lake number (DOW) 56074701.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 1/1/1957 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | adults | 1,211 | 1,012.0 |
| 2025 | Walleye1 | yearlings | 9,600 | 1,200.0 |
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 2,380,000 | 21.4 |
| 2024 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 17,130 | 571.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | adults | 1,800 | 900.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 2,700 | 207.7 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 1,190,000 | 10.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye1 | yearlings | 490 | 70.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 720 | 72.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 1,190,000 | 10.5 |
| 2019 | Walleye | yearlings | 8 | 2.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fingerlings | 36,531 | 1,198.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 1,190,000 | 9.6 |
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.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 6.80 | 102 | 0.14 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 5.93 | 89 | 0.20 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 5.60 | 84 | 1.20 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 3.60 | 54 | 1.57 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 2.87 | 43 | 0.98 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard gill nets | 2.40 | 36 | 0.27 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 1.20 | 18 | 1.27 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 1.07 | 16 | 0.77 |
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.
North Lida Lake is a 5,564-acre mesotrophic (moderately fertile) lake located in northwestern Otter Tail County approximately five miles east of Pelican Rapids, MN. North Lida Lake is connected to South Lida Lake by a navigable culvert under State Highway 108 along the south shoreline. North Lida Lake is also connected to Lizzie Lake via a non-navigable culvert under County Road 4. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of agricultural land interspersed with hardwood woodlots. The maximum depth is 58 feet; however, 43% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. The secchi disk reading during the 2024 survey was 11.5 feet. Previous secchi disk readings have ranged from 6.0 to 14.5 feet. A majority of the shoreline on North Lida Lake has been developed. Homes, cottages, and resorts compose the majority of the development. A DNR owned concrete public water access is located off of County Road 4 along the north shoreline. Large stands of hardstem bulrush are scattered throughout the lake. Emergent aquatic plants such as bulrush provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat, and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines and lake bottoms, and can actually absorb and break down polluting chemicals. Emergent plants provide spawning areas for fish such as Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and panfish. They also serve as important nursery areas for all species of fish. Because of their ecological value, emergent plants may not be removed without a DNR permit. Harvest regulations for Walleye, crappie, and sunfish are implemented on North Lida Lake. The Walleye regulation is a 17.0 to 26.0 inch protected slot length limit with one fish over 26.0 inches allowed in possession. The crappie regulation is an 11-inch minimum length limit. A reduced daily bag limit regulation for sunfish (10 per day) was implemented in 2022. The intent of these regulations is to maintain the size structures of these populations. A special gill netting survey was conducted in 2024 to analyze the Walleye and Northern Pike populations. The general trend in recent gill netting assessments has been a declining Walleye abundance. Walleyes ranged in length from 8.1 to 23.4 inches with an average length and weight of 16.4 inches and 1.6 pounds. Walleyes attain an average length of 13.6 inches at four years of age. Northern Pike abundance has remained stable at a moderate density. Northern Pike reproduction has continued to be consistently good. Northern Pike ranged in length from 10.2 to 27.6 inches with an average length and weight of 17.8 inches and 1.2 pounds.…
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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