Otter Tail River(Red Rive Lake

Otter Tail County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 56071100

DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Otter Tail River(Red Rive Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2024 (276,000 fish).

• Otter Tail River(Red Rive Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2016-2024): walleye (5).
• The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 1,380,000 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 55 ft; surface area 313 acres, 138 littoral acres, 9.1 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 10.0 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, pumpkinseed.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: May 25, 2021 (targeted survey).
• Otter Tail County, nearest town Fergus Falls; DNR lake number (DOW) 56071100.

Stocking history

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2021

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.

Red River Lake is a 305-acre impoundment of the Otter Tail River located in west-central Otter Tail County approximately seven miles north of Fergus Falls, MN. An active hydroelectric dam owned by Otter Tail Power Company is located along the west shoreline. The Otter Tail River flows into the lake along the east shoreline and is navigable upstream to West Lost Lake. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of agricultural land interspersed with hardwood woodlots. The maximum depth of Red River Lake is 55 feet; however, 45% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. Historical secchi disk readings have ranged from 7.4 to 12.5 feet. The majority of the shoreline of Red River Lake is undeveloped. A DNR owned public water access is located off of County Road 3 along the north shoreline of the lake. Shoal water substrates consist primarily of sand and gravel. Emergent aquatic macrophytes such as hardstem bulrush and common cattail are rare; however, wild rice is very abundant around the entire shoreline of the lake. Emergent aquatic plants such as wild rice 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 an important nursery area for all species of fish. Because of their ecological value, emergent plants may not be removed without a DNR permit. A reduced daily bag limit regulation for sunfish (10 per day) was implemented in 2021. The objective of the regulation is to maintain the quality of the Bluegill size structure. A special spring trapnetting survey was conducted to collect baseline data on the Bluegill population, which will be used for regulation evaluation purposes in future surveys. The Bluegill population is abundant and has a quality size structure. Seventy-two percent of the Bluegill sample was 7.0 inches or greater in length, while 35% was 8.0 inches or greater in length. Age data indicate that Bluegill reproduction is consistently good. Bluegills attain an average length of 7.6 inches at five years of age. Anglers can also maintain the quality of angling by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of medium to large-size fish while allowing the harvest of more abundant smaller fish for table fare. Releasing the medium to large fish will ensure that the lake will have enough spawning age fish on an annual basis and will provide anglers with more…

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, May 25, 2021.

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