Pickerel Lake (Becker County)
Becker County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 03028700
DNR records show 12 stocking entries at Pickerel Lake (Becker County) since 2016, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (3,075 fish).
- Pickerel Lake (Becker County) has 12 DNR stocking records across 8 years (2016-2025): walleye (12).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 1,855,736 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 74 ft; surface area 361 acres, 123 littoral acres, 7.4 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 17.7 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, walleye, white sucker, and 2 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Becker County, nearest town Detroit Lakes; DNR lake number (DOW) 03028700.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 9/18/1956 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 3,075 | 123.0 |
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 246,000 | 2.4 |
| 2024 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 1,845 | 123.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 247,913 | 2.3 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 246,000 | 2.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 246,000 | 2.2 |
| 2022 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 3,567 | 123.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 246,000 | 2.1 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 246,000 | 2.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 336 | 28.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 123,000 | 1.1 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 246,000 | 2.1 |
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 | West shore of lake directly west of island. - There is a marked asphalt parking lot with room for approximately 6-8 rigs. |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 26.67 | 240 | 0.26 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 18.67 | 168 | 2.10 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 10.78 | 97 | 0.67 |
| Rock bass | Standard gill nets | 6.67 | 60 | 0.31 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 4.78 | 43 | 0.96 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 2.78 | 25 | 2.29 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 2.67 | 24 | 0.07 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 1.22 | 11 | 0.17 |
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.
Pickerel Lake is a long, narrow, 361-acre lake located about seven miles northeast of Detroit Lakes. It has a steep, rocky shoreline over much of its length. There are no inlets or outlets and the high-water levels beginning in 1998 were primarily influenced by groundwater. A 22-acre bay connected to the south end is over 70 feet deep and tends to be cooler and well-oxygenated than the main lake basin, although the entire lake could possibly support cold water fish species. The DNR stocks Walleye fry annually to maintain the fishery. Walleye fingerlings have also been stocked in 2019, 2022, 2024, and 2025 by the lake association. A targeted fisheries survey using nine gill nets was completed in July 2025 to assess the Walleye population of Pickerel Lake. Gill nets are also the standard sampling gear for Northern Pike and Yellow Perch, providing a secondary opportunity to utilize survey data on these game species. Walleye catch rates have fluctuated significantly throughout the years at Pickerel Lake. Walleye catch rates have continued to decline since the 2006 survey when 17.9 Walleye per gill net were sampled. The catch rate reached a near record low in 2025 at 2.8 Walleye per gill net. This is well below the lake's historic mean catch rate of 9.7 Walleye per gill net. The average length of Walleye was 18 inches and the longest Walleye measured was 24 inches. Nine different ages of Walleyes were sampled with fish as old as 16 years collected. Age-3 fish (2022 year class) were most abundant making up 44% of the sample. The 2018-year class (seven year old fish) also showed up in better than expected numbers. The Northern Pike gill net catch in Pickerel Lake has continued to increase since the 2004 survey. Unfortunately, the 2025 catch rate of 18.7 pike per gill net reached a new record high. The elevated pike numbers are likely affecting the Walleye abundance in the lake. About 16% of the pike were greater than 24 inches in 2025, which is about the same as the 2022 survey. The average length of Northern Pike surveyed in 2025 was 21 inches and the longest was 36 inches. Yellow Perch numbers have been below average since the 1996 survey. Yellow Perch were caught at 2.7 perch per gill net in 2025, a slight decrease from 3.2 per gill net in 2022. Perch averaged 6.5 inches and the longest was seven inches. Ideally, it would be good to see Yellow Perch numbers increase at the lake as they serve as an important forage species for gamefish. Largemouth Bass gill net catch rate remained high for gill nets with 4.8 bass per net sampled, nearly the same as the 2022…
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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