Sarah Lake (Murray County)
Murray County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 51006300
DNR records show 2 stocking entries at Sarah Lake (Murray County) since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2017 (200,000 fish).
- Sarah Lake (Murray County) has 2 DNR stocking records across 2 years (2016-2017): walleye (2).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 453,676 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 10 ft; surface area 1,209 acres, 1,209 littoral acres, 8.1 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 3.1 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, common carp, orangespotted sunfish, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
- 3 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Murray County, nearest town Garvin; DNR lake number (DOW) 51006300.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 7/6/1959 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 200,000 | 1.7 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 253,676 | 2.2 |
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 | STATE OWNED ACCESS ON THE WEST NW SIDE OF THE LAKE T108N; 41W; S16. |
| concrete ramp | county | COUNTY OWNED ACCESS ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE LAKE. T108N; 41W; S16. |
| concrete ramp | county | COUNTY OWNED ACCESS ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE LAKE. T108N; 41W; S16;22 |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walleye | Fall electrofishing | 473.50 | 947 | 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.
Lake Sarah is a 1,093-acre, class 41 lake, located approximately 4 miles south of the City of Garvin in Murray County. Lake Sarah has a maximum depth of 11.0 feet and a watershed-to-lake ratio of 10-to-1. Lake Sarah is managed primarily for Walleye and secondarily for Yellow Perch. Lake Sarah's Walleye population is unique in the Windom fisheries management area. It is sustained through natural reproduction alone, as it has had limited stocking since 1991. Put-back fry were stocked during the initial stages of an egg-take from 2015-2017. Minnesota DNR stocked approximately 100,000 fry (100 fry/acre) in 2015 and 200,000 fry (200 fry/acre) in 2016 and 2017. Put-back stocking was discontinued due to limited return of genetically marked Walleye fry compared to natural reproduction. During the Walleye egg take on Lake Sarah and by taking genetic tissue from every broodstock Walleye used for egg take, we could tell if the Walleye fry stocked are a result of stocking or natural reproduction. So, from 2015-2017, we were able to determine the percentage of contribution the put-back fry was toward the capture of all Age-0 Walleye in the fall (Figure 1). The take home message is that the number of Age-0 Walleye was extremely high and the contribution of put-back fry was low (by comparison) and not needed. Put-back fry has not been stocked since 2017. We determined that the Walleye population will maintain itself naturally. Given we can electrofish Lake Sarah for Age-0 Walleye each Fall, we will be able to monitor the situation and make changes to the put-back fry if the population begins to falter. No stocking of Walleye fry from any egg-take stations statewide in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and spring shutdown of close contact work. However, in 2021, the egg-take operations were restarted with enhanced safety protocols for close contact work. Starting 2022, there was a return to more normal operations that were done from 2015 to 2019. A genetics study found that Lake Sarah's Walleye are unique to the Cannon River in east-central Minnesota, which was used as an egg take source decades ago by the Waterville Office. The study suggested that this Lower Mississippi Strain (LMS) of Walleye has persisted in some southern waters despite extensive stocking of a northern "Mississippi strain" Walleye and the fact that the LMS Walleye egg take and subsequent stocking ended decades ago. In other words, the only way these unique genetics persist in some of these southern waters is through natural reproduction through the decades. The study also suggested that the LMS…
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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