School Section Lake (Stearns County)

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

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 73003500

DNR records show 2 stocking entries at School Section Lake (Stearns County) since 2024, most recently black crappie yearlings in 2024 (536 fish).

• School Section Lake (Stearns County) has 2 DNR stocking records across 1 year (2024-2024): black crappie (1), bluegill sunfish (1).
• The most-stocked species by count is black crappie: 536 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 14 ft, mean depth 8 ft; surface area 211 acres, 201 littoral acres, 2.7 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 9.0 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, yellow perch.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: August 29, 2018 (targeted survey).
• Stearns County, nearest town Kimball; DNR lake number (DOW) 73003500.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 6/3/1969 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Stocking history

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2018

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 School Section Lake was conducted on August 29-30, 2018 by Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) Program Staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at ten sampling stations, but one station was sampled from the boat due to site conditions. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample nine stations, and site conditions prevented the use of seines at one station. Nearshore sampling captured only six species of fish including none that are intolerant or tolerant of disturbance. The nearshore data were combined with trap net and gill net data from a June 2018 standard survey to describe the fish community and provide a Fish-based IBI (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. Black Bullhead, Common Carp, and Green Sunfish). 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. Data from this survey indicates School Section Lake is in good health as indicated by an FIBI score above the impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. Data from this survey will contribute biological information about the health of the fish community to the Mississippi River-St. Cloud Watershed assessment process in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, August 29, 2018.

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