Rice Lake (Faribault County)
Faribault County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 22000700
DNR records show 3 stocking entries at Rice Lake (Faribault County) since 2016, most recently northern pike fry in 2025 (13,300 fish).
- Rice Lake (Faribault County) has 3 DNR stocking records across 3 years (2016-2025): northern pike (3).
- The most-stocked species by count is northern pike: 127,740 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 4 ft; surface area 266 acres, 266 littoral acres, 4.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, green sunfish, northern pike, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Faribault County, nearest town Wells; DNR lake number (DOW) 22000700.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Northern Pike | fry | 13,300 | 0.2 |
| 2019 | Northern Pike | fry | 69,500 | 2.5 |
| 2016 | Northern Pike | fry | 44,940 | 0.7 |
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 | - Parking for 6 vehicles and trailers. |
DNR fish survey, 2011
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 296.67 | 890 | 0.11 |
| Common carp | Standard gill nets | 16.33 | 49 | 0.26 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 12.33 | 37 | 1.99 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 7.67 | 23 | 0.66 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 2.67 | 8 | 0.29 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 2.67 | 8 | 0.43 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 3 | 0.20 |
| Green sunfish | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 2 | 0.05 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 50.33 | 151 | 0.07 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 14.00 | 42 | 0.13 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 5.00 | 15 | 0.19 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 4.67 | 14 | 0.12 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 2.33 | 7 | 0.64 |
| Green sunfish | Standard trap nets | 1.33 | 4 | 0.09 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 3 | 1.98 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 1 | 0.44 |
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.
Rice Lake is a shallow, highly productive, 266-acre lake located in Faribault County near the Town of Wells. Residential development around the lake is moderate, with much of the shoreline remaining intact. A forested buffer zone ranging in width from approximately 50 to 450 feet surrounds much of the lake, except for a 1,400-ft section of shoreline in the northwest corner. The buffer separates Rice Lake from adjacent agricultural fields and aids in trapping excess nutrients from rain water runoff. Rice Lake was reclaimed in 1998 and 1999. A winter kill occurred during the winter of 2000 2001. A DNR owned ramp located on the north shore of the lake provides access for the public. The sport fish community consists of northern pike, black crappie, bluegill, and yellow perch. Walleye fry were stocked in 2003 and northern pike fry were stocked in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011. The current management plan calls for northern pike fry to be stocked in two out of three years. Northern pike catch rates (12.3/gill net) in 2011 were the highest catch rates observed during a survey at Rice Lake. Northern pike catch rates increased four-fold from 2006, when northern pike were captured at a rate of 3.0/gill net. The size structure of northern pike was stable, with fish ranging from 9.2 to 34.3 inches in length and averaging 17.8 inches. Forty percent of northern pike sampled were less than 12.0 inches, indicating a successful fry stocking or natural reproduction, and forty-nine percent were between 20.0 and 26.0 inches. One northern pike larger than 30.0 inches was captured. Black crappies were extremely abundant immediately after reclamation in 1999 and subsequent stocking. Trap net and gill net catch rates decreased since 2006, with catch rates decreasing from 27.0/trap net and 31.0/gill net in 2006 to 2.3/trap net and 7.7/gill net in 2011. Although black crappie abundance is down from previous years, the size structure of the population is larger. In 2011 black crappies sampled in gill nets ranged from 6.6 to 12.9 inches in length and averaged almost 10.0 inches compared to 3.9 to 9.5 inches with an average length of 8.0 inches in 2006. Nearly half of black crappies sampled in 2011 were greater than 10.0 inches in length. Bluegills were captured at a rate of 14.0/trap net in 2011 which is markedly less than the 120.8/trap net reported in 2006. Bluegill catch rates in 2011 were slightly above average when compared to similar lakes. Bluegill size structure decreased from the 2006 survey, when bluegills ranged from 0.4 to 8.6 inches in length and averaged…
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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