Parley Lake
Carver County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 10004200
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Parley Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2024 (230,000 fish).
- Parley Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 3 years (2016-2024): walleye (3), black crappie (1), bluegill sunfish (1).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 575,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 18 ft; surface area 258 acres, 231 littoral acres, 3.8 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 5.1 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, and 4 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Carver County, nearest town Saint Bonifacius; DNR lake number (DOW) 10004200.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 9/17/1981 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 230,000 | 2.3 |
| 2023 | Black Crappie | adults | 46 | 17.0 |
| 2023 | Bluegill Sunfish | adults | 46 | 12.1 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 115,000 | 0.9 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 230,000 | 2.3 |
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 | 3.5 mi NE of Waconia on Cnty Rd 30, E on Parley Lake Rd, on SW shore. - 2 vehicle parking spaces 4 vehicle/trailer parking spaces |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 35.17 | 211 | 0.41 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 17.00 | 102 | 2.96 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 7.33 | 44 | 0.36 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 5.33 | 32 | 0.18 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 4.33 | 26 | 0.34 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 1.33 | 8 | 2.76 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.83 | 5 | 0.23 |
| Common carp | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 2.89 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 28.44 | 256 | 0.16 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 3.33 | 30 | 0.52 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 3.11 | 28 | 0.14 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 2.11 | 19 | 0.31 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 1.11 | 10 | 1.54 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 9 | 0.73 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.89 | 8 | 0.29 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.78 | 7 | 0.86 |
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.
Parley is a 258-acre (231 littoral acres) lake with a maximum depth of 18 feet. Parley is located northeast of the City of Waconia in central Carver County. Parley is primarily managed for Bluegill and crappie but includes catchable populations of Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, and Walleye. Public water access (concreate ramp; up to 4 vehicle/trailer parking spaces) is located on the southwest side of the lake off of State Highway 5 and Parley Lake Road and is maintained by DNR Parks and Trails. A Standard Survey (9 trap nets/6 gill nets) was conducted on Parley Lake during the week of 6/09/2025 to monitor water characteristics and fish populations. Water color was brown/green, with moderate water clarity, measured at 9.5 feet during the time of this survey. Dissolved oxygen fell to two parts per million at 18 feet, meaning fish would be unable to use water depths greater than 18 feet during mid-summer. Eurasian Watermilfoil has been identified in Parley Lake and remains present, providing a good reminder of the clean, drain, dispose law which helps to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species: Clean all aquatic plants, zebra mussels, and other invasive species from boats, trailers, and water-related equipment. Drain water from your boat, ballast tanks, motor, live well and bait container. Remove drain plugs and keep drain plugs out while transporting equipment. Dispose of unwanted bait in the trash. To keep live bait, drain the water and refill the bait container with bottled or tap water. Moderate numbers of Bluegill were sampled with trap nets (28.4/net) near the expected catch rate of similar lakes. There were 256 Bluegill sampled in trap nets during the 2025 survey, with an average length of 6.0 inches and the largest measured at 8.7 inches. Size structure was balanced (an intermediate between high numbers of small fish and few numbers of large fish). Parley Lake is one of seven lakes in the West Metro Area (Hennepin, Carver, Scott Counties) included in the state-wide Quality Sunfish Initiative or QSI regulation (https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fish/sunfish/index.html). This special regulation was implemented in spring 2021 and reduced the daily bag limit from 20 fish to 5 for Bluegill in an effort to protect and improve the existing population. Early results show a positive impact from the reduced bag limit with noticeable increases to Bluegill size structure. Low numbers of Black Crappie were sampled with trap nets (0.9/net) and gill nets (4.3/net) near the low end of the expected catch rate. There were 34 Black Crappie sampled during the 2025…
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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