Pleasant Lake (Otter Tail County)
Otter Tail County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 56044900
DNR records show 3 stocking entries at Pleasant Lake (Otter Tail County) since 2017, most recently walleye yearlings in 2023 (1,297 fish).
- Pleasant Lake (Otter Tail County) has 3 DNR stocking records across 3 years (2017-2023): walleye (3).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 3,521 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 38 ft; surface area 385 acres, 235 littoral acres, 4.8 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 13.5 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Otter Tail County, nearest town Underwood; DNR lake number (DOW) 56044900.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Walleye | yearlings | 1,297 | 296.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye | yearlings | 1,532 | 244.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | adults | 692 | 692.0 |
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 |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 67.14 | 71 | 0.96 |
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.
Pleasant Lake is a 370-acre mesotrophic (moderately fertile) lake located in central Otter Tail County five miles north of Underwood, MN. Pleasant Lake is connected to Little Pleasant Lake via an unnavigable culvert under a township road along the north shoreline. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of agricultural land interspersed with hardwood woodlots. Pleasant Lake has a maximum depth of 38 feet; however, 64% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. Historical secchi disk readings have ranged from 6.0 to 17.0 feet. A majority of the shoreline of Pleasant Lake remains undeveloped. A DNR owned concrete public water access is located along the northeast shoreline. Shoal water substrates consist primarily of sand and gravel with muck being the predominant substrate in the south bay. Hardstem bulrush and common cattail are prevalent along the entire shoreline of the lake. Emergent aquatic plants such as bulrush and cattail provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat, and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines and lake bottoms from erosion, and can 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 important nursery areas for all species of fish. Because of their ecological value, emergent plants may not be removed without a DNR permit. To maintain the excellent water quality and angling that this lake has to offer, it is imperative to preserve the quality of the aquatic habitat. A spring electrofishing survey was conducted to analyze the Largemouth Bass population. Catch data indicate that Largemouth Bass are moderately abundant. Age data indicate that bass reproduction is consistently good as six successive age-classes were represented in the sample. Largemouth Bass ranged in length from 5.4 to 19.3 inches. Largemouth Bass attain an average length of 13.2 inches at five years of age. There are no special or experimental fish harvest regulations in effect for Pleasant Lake. Anglers can maintain the quality of fishing by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of medium to large 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 opportunities to catch large fish in the future. Pleasant Lake is not listed as an invasive species infested water body. Aquatic invasive species are threatening Minnesota…
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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Stocking rows, depths, accesses and survey figures are Minnesota DNR LakeFinder data as of 2026-09-02. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
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