Otter Lake (McLeod County)

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

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 43008500

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

• Otter Lake (McLeod County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of September 2, 2026.
• Maximum depth 9 ft, mean depth 5 ft; surface area 642 acres, 642 littoral acres, 14.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 1.4 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, walleye.
• 3 public accesses on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: October 6, 2025 (targeted survey).
• McLeod County, nearest town Hutchinson; DNR lake number (DOW) 43008500.

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, 2025

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.

Otter (including Campbell Lake to the north) is a moderate sized reservoir (642 acres) located in the City of Hutchinson in McLeod County. Otter has approximately fourteen miles of shoreline and a maximum depth of nine feet, but much of this shallow reservoir is closer to five feet in depth. There are two City Parks (Masonic West River and Roberts) that both have cement boat ramps with ample parking. A fishing pier can be found in the eastern arm of the reservoir and numerous shore fishing opportunities are available to anglers. The reservoir's fish populations occasionally suffer from winterkill. Abundances of those species that are intolerant of low oxygen levels such as Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Common Carp and Largemouth Bass can vary greatly from year to year. Other species are usually affected to a lesser degree but can be significantly impacted during extremely harsh winters. Species' abundances will depend on the severity of the latest winterkill event, time that has passed since the last kill and water levels of the river, which can influence fish movement, spawning success and recolonization. Low water levels during droughts can also intensify winterkill events. Partial winterkills occurred in 2022 and 2023. Fish from the South Fork of the Crow River can immigrate into Otter Reservoir from both upstream and downstream following winterkill events to repopulate the system, so the stocking of Walleye is not needed. Winter anglers are reminded to be extra careful while ice fishing on Otter Reservoir as flowing water from the South Fork of the Crow River can lead to thin ice conditions in various parts of the shallow basin. Summer boat anglers should also be aware of the numerous shallow rock hazards that are present. Fall nighttime electrofishing was used to monitor Otter Reservoir's Walleye population in 2025. The electrofishing catch indicated that fair numbers of Walleye were present this fall. Walleye were 5.2 to 21.6 inches long in 2025. Most of the Walleye sampled (56 percent) were young-of-the-year (2025 year class), and they averaged 6.9 inches in length, but decent numbers of 15 to 18 inch long fish should provide some decent angling action. Of interest, many Northern Pike were also observed during the assessment and should provide good fishing opportunities in 2026. Anglers also reported good catches of both Black Crappie and White Crappie in the fall of 2025 on Otter Reservoir. People can have significant impacts on lakes and the fish populations they support. Over harvest, lakeshore development, removal of shoreline vegetation, and…

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, October 6, 2025.

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