Red Sand Lake
Crow Wing County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 18038600
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Red Sand Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2023 (1,150,000 fish).
- Red Sand Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2023): walleye (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 4,450,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 23 ft; surface area 521 acres, 502 littoral acres, 4.6 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 7.6 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Crow Wing County, nearest town Brainerd; DNR lake number (DOW) 18038600.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey (get source); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 1,150,000 | 10.3 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 400,000 | 3.6 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 2,000,000 | 16.7 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 400,000 | 3.6 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 500,000 | 4.5 |
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR |
DNR fish survey, 2017
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 110.56 | 995 | 0.06 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 60.00 | 540 | 0.14 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 4.33 | 39 | 0.31 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 3.11 | 28 | 0.12 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 3.00 | 27 | 1.35 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 3.37 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.19 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.11 | 1 | 0.42 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 53.94 | 82 | 0.79 |
| Walleye | Standard electrofishing | 4.60 | 7 | 1.50 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 5.00 | 10 | 2.12 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 5.00 | 10 | 0.14 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard gill nets | 2.50 | 5 | 0.34 |
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 1.50 | 3 | 0.38 |
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.
The southern tip of Red Sand Lake lies within the city limits of Baxter, MN. Red Sand has been known to at least partially winterkill on regular basis, the last time being during the winter of 2013-2014. This is often followed by a year or two of poor fishing, while the fish that remain tend to grow at an increased rate. Within 3 to 4 years (if the lake hasn't winterkilled again), there are usually a fair amount of fish that are of catchable size. That is where Red Sand is currently at now. Unfortunately, another side effect of winterkill is that the hardier species tend to do much better; in this case that is black bullheads and they have taken over in high numbers (110.6/trap net). All sizes were found, ranging from 4.2" to 11.8". Three species that have rebounded are northern pike, largemouth bass, and bluegill. Northern pike were caught in average numbers for this type of lake (5.0/gill net), with an average length of 21.3". Not many large fish existed, with only 10% measuring 24" or larger and only two fish over 26". Bluegill numbers were also average at 4.3/trap net. Size was decent, with an average length of 7.4". Largemouth bass were sampled by electrofishing on the night of June 5th, 2017, resulting in a catch rate of 40.6/hr. Mean length was 11.3" and 45% were 12" or larger. Although walleye fry are stocked occasionally, no walleye were captured in the 2017 netting. Seven walleyes were observed and netted during bass electrofishing, with lengths ranging from 15.7"-18.7". Though they are present in the lake, no black crappie were sampled, suggesting that the previous winterkill took more of a toll on them than other species.
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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