Ripley (west portion) Lake

Meeker County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 47013402

Ripley (west portion) Lake has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.

• Ripley (west portion) Lake shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of September 2, 2026.
• Maximum depth 18 ft, mean depth 12 ft; surface area 614 acres, 466 littoral acres, 3.7 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 4.9 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, walleye, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
• 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: May 1, 2023 (targeted survey).
• Meeker County, nearest town Litchfield; DNR lake number (DOW) 47013402.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/4/1970 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2023

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.

Ripley is a medium sized lake (614 acres) located next to the City of Litchfield in Meeker County. Ripley has four miles of shoreline and a maximum depth of 18 feet. A city owned public access, with a cement boat ramp, and a large amount of parking is present on the east shore. A county owned public access, with a cement boat ramp, is present on the lake's western shore. A fishing pier is also available at the Ripley County Park on the west side of the lake. Spring trap netting, targeting Bluegill and Black Crappie, was completed at Ripley Lake on from May 1st to June 6th. Data was collected for size structure analysis. In addition to Bluegill and Black Crappie, Pumpkinseed Sunfish and Hybrid Sunfish were also collected during this assessment. Spring panfish trap netting catches should not be compared to historical summer trap net catches because summer trap net catches sometimes do a poor job of sampling larger Bluegill. A new sunfish regulation (five fish bag limit) began on March 2022. The regulation was implemented to achieve a high quality sunfish population that includes more large fish exceeding 8 inches). Anglers can find sunfish scattered throughout Ripley's submergent vegetation beds. Bigger Bluegill are often found in deeper water during the mid-summer months and offshore vegetation can be fairly dense some years at Ripley - making those larger sunfish tough to locate. Try dragging a waxworm under a sinker in 8 to 10 feet of water in mid-summer if you cannot find the big sunnies up shallow. The scattered submergent vegetation beds along the north shore are popular with winter sunfish anglers. Crappie recruitment appeared to be inconsistent at Ripley Lake. Crappie can sometimes be found off the deep weed edges in the summer using a small minnow under a bobber. Winter fishing pressure can be substantial at Ripley Lake and crappie are often found along the deeper flats or breaks, and around the deep hole. People can have significant impacts on lakes and the fish populations they support. Over harvest, lakeshore development, removal of shoreline vegetation, and introductions of invasive species can all adversely affect fish populations. Aquatic invasive species (AIS) are typically moved from infested to non-infested waters by anglers, boaters and lakeshore owners, and can adversely impact lakes and fish populations. Ripley Lake has the AIS - Eurasian watermilfoil. To avoid spreading AIS, lake users are required to remove all aquatic plants and animals from their watercraft and drain all lake water from their boat and bait buckets before leaving…

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, May 1, 2023.

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