Portage (main bay) Lake
Otter Tail County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 56014001
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Portage (main bay) Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (148,000 fish).
- Portage (main bay) Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2025): walleye (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 740,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 49 ft; surface area 269 acres, 148 littoral acres, 2.5 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 12.4 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Otter Tail County, nearest town Ottertail; DNR lake number (DOW) 56014001.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/25/1963 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 148,000 | 1.3 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 148,000 | 1.2 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 148,000 | 1.3 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 148,000 | 1.2 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 148,000 | 1.3 |
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 |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brassy minnow | 50-ft beach seine | 38.83 | 233 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 36.33 | 218 | 0.00 |
| Blacknose shiner | 50-ft beach seine | 9.00 | 54 | 0.00 |
| BCS | 50-ft beach seine | 3.83 | 23 | 0.00 |
| BKF | 50-ft beach seine | 2.67 | 16 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 2.00 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 1.50 | 9 | 0.00 |
| MMS | 50-ft beach seine | 1.33 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 14.78 | 133 | 0.11 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 3.11 | 28 | 0.21 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 2.00 | 18 | 1.09 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.78 | 16 | 0.68 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.89 | 8 | 0.52 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.44 | 4 | 0.38 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 2.19 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 1.22 |
| Brassy minnow | 15-ft beach seine | 14.00 | 42 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 15-ft beach seine | 3.67 | 11 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | 15-ft beach seine | 0.33 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 0.33 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 12.13 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | Backpack electrofishing | 7.58 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 3.03 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Golden shiner | Backpack electrofishing | 3.03 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | Backpack electrofishing | 1.52 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | Backpack electrofishing | 1.52 | 1 | 0.00 |
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.
A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Portage Lake was conducted on August 8-9, 2023, by Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) Program staff. Nine sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at ten sampling stations. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample six stations, a 15-foot seine was used at three stations, and site conditions prevented the use of seines at one station. Nearshore sampling captured fourteen species of fish including six species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Banded Killifish, Blackchin Shiner, Blacknose Shiner, Iowa Darter, Mimic Shiner, and Smallmouth Bass) and zero that are tolerant of disturbance. A concurrent summer trap net survey was also conducted by IBI Program staff. Nine trap nets were set along the shoreline in locations that encompassed multiple habitat types. Trap net sampling captured eight species of fish. Bluegill comprised a majority of the catch by number, whereas Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, and Yellow Bullhead comprised a majority by biomass. The nearshore and trap net data were combined with gill net data from a July 2022 survey to describe the fish community and provide a fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. In Minnesota lakes, certain fish species cannot survive without clean water and a healthy habitat (e.g., Blackchin Shiner, Least Darter, and Rock Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Black Bullhead and Green Sunfish). The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. Results from this survey indicate that the fish community in Portage Lake is healthy as indicated by an FIBI score that exceeds the general use threshold determined for similar lakes. These results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Redeye River Watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. In addition to the fish survey, Minnesota DNR Fisheries IBI program staff conducted an assessment of lakeshore habitat on Portage…
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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