Scalp Lake

Otter Tail County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 56035800

DNR records show 7 stocking entries at Scalp Lake since 2017, most recently walleye yearlings in 2025 (175 fish).

• Scalp Lake has 7 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2025): walleye (7).
• The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 11,307 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 90 ft; surface area 254 acres, 67 littoral acres, 2.5 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 19.7 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, tullibee (cisco), walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and 1 more.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: July 31, 2025 (targeted survey).
• Otter Tail County, nearest town Frazee; DNR lake number (DOW) 56035800.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/20/1968 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Stocking history

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2025

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.

A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Scalp Lake was conducted on July 31, 2025, by Area Fisheries staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at 10 sampling stations. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample 10 stations. Nearshore sampling captured 21 species of fish including 7 species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Least Darter, Blackchin Shiner and Banded Killifish) and one species tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Green Sunfish). The nearshore data were combined with trap net and gill net data from a June 2025 survey to describe the fish community and provide a fish- based (FIBI) score. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. In Minnesota lakes, certain fish species cannot survive without clean water and a healthy habitat (e.g., Blackchin Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Rock Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Green Sunfish and Common Carp). The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website site. Results from this survey provide evidence that the fish community in Scalp Lake is healthy as indicated by an FIBI score (79) that exceeds the exceptional use threshold (64) determined for similar lakes. These results are similar to previous findings which indicated that Scalp Lake is fully supporting aquatic life. The survey results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Ottertail River watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. You can help protect the fish community in Scalp Lake by reducing runoff, maintaining natural shorelines, and preventing the spread of invasive species.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, July 31, 2025.

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