Shetek Lake

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

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 51004600

DNR records show 11 stocking entries at Shetek Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (1,731,000 fish).

• Shetek Lake has 11 DNR stocking records across 8 years (2016-2025): walleye (8), northern pike (2), yellow perch (1).
• The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 13,224,859 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 10 ft, mean depth 5 ft; surface area 3,462 acres, 3,462 littoral acres, 36.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 1.0 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, channel catfish, common carp, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, orangespotted sunfish, quillback, and 5 more.
• 5 public accesses on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: July 1, 2025 (targeted survey).
• Murray County, nearest town Currie; DNR lake number (DOW) 51004600.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 7/10/1959 (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 Lake Shetek, which is located near the Town of Currie, was conducted on July 1 to July 7, 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. Nearshore sampling captured 21 species of fish including one species (Iowa Darter) that is intolerant of disturbance and five species that are tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Black Bullhead, Common Carp, Bigmouth Buffalo, Orangespotted Sunfish, and Fathead Minnow). The nearshore data were combined with trap net and gill net data from a August 2024 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., 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 web site. Results from this survey provide evidence that the fish community in Lake Shetek is adversely impacted by stressors, as indicated by an FIBI score near/below the general use impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. These results are similar to previous findings which indicated that Lake Shetek is impaired for biological health/fully supporting aquatic life. The survey results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Des Moines River watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. You can help protect the fish community in Lake Shetek by reducing runoff, maintaining natural shorelines, and preventing the spread of invasive species.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, July 1, 2025.

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