Sabre Lake
Le Sueur County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 40001400
DNR records show 12 stocking entries at Sabre Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (67,250 fish).
- Sabre Lake has 12 DNR stocking records across 8 years (2016-2025): walleye (12).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 1,115,765 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 13 ft; surface area 258 acres, 258 littoral acres, 2.7 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 4.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), channel catfish, common carp, freshwater drum, largemouth bass, northern pike, quillback, walleye, and 4 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Le Sueur County, nearest town Cordova; DNR lake number (DOW) 40001400.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 67,250 | 0.6 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 65,750 | 0.5 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 65,750 | 0.5 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 65,750 | 0.5 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 65,750 | 0.6 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 65,750 | 0.6 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 65,750 | 0.5 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 65,750 | 0.5 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 65,750 | 0.6 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 65,700 | 0.6 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 65,700 | 0.6 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 391,115 | 3.8 |
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 | North end of the lake. |
DNR fish survey, 2021
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 19.00 | 133 | 0.51 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 9.14 | 64 | 2.30 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 6.71 | 47 | 1.60 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 6.57 | 46 | 1.21 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 3.57 | 25 | 1.98 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 3.29 | 23 | 0.39 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 3.14 | 22 | 0.17 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard gill nets | 2.86 | 20 | 4.89 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 5.50 | 44 | 7.33 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard trap nets | 3.50 | 28 | 2.97 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 2.88 | 23 | 4.29 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 2.25 | 18 | 0.65 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 2.12 | 17 | 0.58 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 1.88 | 15 | 2.67 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.12 | 9 | 1.32 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 8 | 2.21 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 5.22 | 5 | 2.16 |
| Walleye | Standard electrofishing | 1.04 | 1 | 7.51 |
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.
Sabre Lake is a 263-acre lake located in Le Sueur County west of the town of Kilkenny. A public access is located on the north side of the lake off Le Sueur County Road 2. Sabre Lake has a maximum depth of 13 feet. Sabre Lake is managed primarily for Walleye and is stocked with Walleye fry each year at a rate of 500 per littoral acre as part of a Walleye strain evaluation study. A contingency stocking plan calls for Northern Pike adults (200 pounds), Yellow Perch adults (100 pounds), Black Crappie adults (258 pounds), and Bluegill adults (258 pounds) to be stocked after winterkill events. Sabre Lake was surveyed the week of 17 June 2021 as part of a regular monitoring program conducted by Minnesota DNR. This survey was intended to assess the fish community by deploying six gill nets and nine trap nets, as well as recording water quality parameters. Walleye catch rates in Sabre Lake have remained relatively stable throughout the survey history, averaging 3.7 fish/gill net. The 2021 survey yielded 6.7 fish/gill net, which was a historic high for Walleye catch rate in Sabre Lake. Walleye were moderate sized, ranging from 10.4 to 25.6 inches and averaging 16.4 inches. Forty of the 47 Walleye aged were determined to be 2 or 3 years of age. These strong year classes were the result of stocking events in 2018 and 2019. Twenty-two Yellow Perch were sampled in the 2021 survey at Sabre Lake. The gill net catch rate was 3.1 fish/net which was below the long-term average of 4.9 fish/net. Yellow Perch lengths ranged from 6.9 to 10.8 inches and averaged 9.3 inches. The Yellow Perch population was sustained through natural recruitment and is likely an important food for predators in Sabre Lake. Northern Pike abundance has varied throughout the survey years, ranging from 1.0 fish/net in 1986, 1989, and 1994 to 6.7 fish/net in 2009. The 2021 Northern Pike catch rate was 9.1, which was the highest on record for Sabre Lake. Northern Pike lengths ranged from 15.6 to 34.5 inches and averaged 21.7 inches. An additional 15 Northern Pike were sampled in trap nets and ranged in size from 15.8 to 41.9 inches in length. Northern Pike ranged in age from 1 to 7 years with 7 year classes represented. Growth was relatively slow as Northern Pike averaged only 25.7 inches at age-4. The Northern Pike population is improving and may be of high quality soon. Sabre Lake is included in the Southern Zone Northern Pike regulations. Anglers are limited to 2 Northern Pike daily and fish must be at least 24 inches to harvest. Historic Black Crappie catch rates in Sabre Lake have been variable…
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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