Orono Lake
Sherburne County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 71001300
DNR records show 20 stocking entries at Orono Lake since 2021, most recently black crappie adults in 2025 (50 fish).
- Orono Lake has 20 DNR stocking records across 4 years (2021-2025): bluegill sunfish (5), largemouth bass (5), black crappie (4), yellow perch (3), and 1 more species.
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 287,320 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 18 ft, mean depth 3 ft; surface area 300 acres, 281 littoral acres, 12.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 3.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), channel catfish, common carp, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, shorthead redhorse, and 6 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Sherburne County, nearest town Elk River; DNR lake number (DOW) 71001300.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey (get source); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Black Crappie1 | adults | 50 | 5.0 |
| 2025 | Bluegill Sunfish1 | yearlings | 1,000 | 28.0 |
| 2025 | Yellow Perch1 | yearlings | 1,000 | 20.0 |
| 2023 | Black Crappie1 | yearlings | 200 | 20.0 |
| 2023 | Bluegill Sunfish1 | yearlings | 800 | 80.0 |
| 2023 | Largemouth Bass1 | yearlings | 200 | 20.0 |
| 2023 | Yellow Perch1 | yearlings | 800 | 66.7 |
| 2022 | Black Crappie1 | yearlings | 1,200 | 60.0 |
| 2022 | Bluegill Sunfish1 | yearlings | 1,500 | 75.0 |
| 2022 | Largemouth Bass1 | yearlings | 500 | 25.0 |
| 2022 | Largemouth Bass1 | adults | 10 | 25.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 281,000 | 2.3 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 6,120 | 278.0 |
| 2021 | Black Crappie1 | adults | 200 | 50.0 |
| 2021 | Bluegill Sunfish1 | adults | 200 | 66.7 |
| 2021 | Bluegill Sunfish1 | yearlings | 3,800 | 380.0 |
| 2021 | Largemouth Bass1 | yearlings | 2,000 | 400.0 |
| 2021 | Largemouth Bass1 | adults | 20 | 20.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 200 | 7.7 |
| 2021 | Yellow Perch1 | adults | 300 | 150.0 |
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.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | city | Parking for approximately 8 trailers. |
DNR fish survey, 2021
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow perch | Standard electrofishing | 32.06 | 55 | 0.02 |
| White sucker | Standard electrofishing | 29.15 | 50 | 0.00 |
| Common carp | Standard electrofishing | 17.49 | 30 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | Standard electrofishing | 12.82 | 22 | 0.27 |
| Shorthead redhorse | Standard electrofishing | 8.74 | 15 | 0.00 |
| Northern pike | Standard electrofishing | 5.83 | 10 | 0.29 |
| Silver redhorse | Standard electrofishing | 5.83 | 10 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Standard electrofishing | 5.25 | 9 | 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.
Orono Lake is a 281-acre reservoir formed by a dam on the Elk River in the City of Elk River in Sherburne County. Orono Lake has a maximum depth of 18 feet and there is a public access on the west side of the lake in a city park. The reservoir has had issues with sediment deposition from the Elk River over the years and was originally drawn down and dredged in 1999 to remove some of the sediment. Because of continual sedimentation over the past 20 years, a second drawdown and dredging was conducted during the fall 2020 and completed in the early spring of 2021. Due to the drawdown and dredging project a partial winterkill was experienced. This brief survey was intended to determine the extent of the winterkill and whether any species need to be restocked. On May 3, 2021, the Sauk Rapids Fisheries Office conducted 1.7 hours of electrofishing throughout various portions of the reservoir including upstream and downstream of Hwy 10 sampling 11 species of fish. Sport fish sampled included Black Crappie, Bluegill, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass, and Yellow Perch, all in relatively low numbers. After the survey, the lake association paid for the restocking of several species including Black Crappie (200 adults), Bluegill (3,800 yearlings), Largemouth Bass (20 adults and 2,000 yearlings), Walleye (200 fingerlings), and Yellow Perch (300 adults). The DNR will also stock an additional 281,000 Walleye fry in the spring of 2022. Additional surveys in the future may be necessary to measure the recovery of the fishery, which will likely take a period of several years. Other species sampled in low numbers include Bowfin, Common Carp, Pumpkinseed Sunfish, Shorthead and Silver Redhorse, and White Sucker.
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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