Sibley Lake
Crow Wing County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 18040400
DNR records show 6 stocking entries at Sibley Lake since 2018, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (300,000 fish).
- Sibley Lake has 6 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2018-2025): walleye (6).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 613,230 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 40 ft; surface area 444 acres, 255 littoral acres, 9.1 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 5.3 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, and 4 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Crow Wing County, nearest town Pequot Lakes; DNR lake number (DOW) 18040400.
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 | 300,000 | 2.8 |
| 2024 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 5,202 | 255.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 6,120 | 255.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 300,000 | 2.5 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,807 | 223.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | adults | 101 | 42.0 |
2 fish purchased by the DNR for stocking.
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 | Northeast shore of lake. |
DNR fish survey, 2021
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 55.17 | 331 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 50-ft beach seine | 23.17 | 139 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 10.00 | 60 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 50-ft beach seine | 6.50 | 39 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 4.17 | 25 | 0.00 |
| Golden shiner | 50-ft beach seine | 3.83 | 23 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | 50-ft beach seine | 1.17 | 7 | 0.00 |
| Blacknose shiner | 50-ft beach seine | 0.83 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 35.49 | 36 | 0.00 |
| Central mudminnow | Backpack electrofishing | 24.64 | 25 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 12.81 | 13 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 5.91 | 6 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | Backpack electrofishing | 4.93 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | Backpack electrofishing | 2.96 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | Backpack electrofishing | 1.97 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | Backpack electrofishing | 1.97 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 23.33 | 210 | 0.11 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 2.89 | 26 | 0.74 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 2.78 | 25 | 0.18 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 1.44 | 13 | 0.07 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.89 | 8 | 0.25 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.78 | 7 | 0.91 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.44 | 4 | 4.18 |
| White sucker | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 2.52 |
| Bluegill | 15-ft beach seine | 21.00 | 42 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 1.00 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Tadpole madtom | 15-ft beach seine | 0.50 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 15-ft beach seine | 0.50 | 1 | 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.
A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Sibley Lake was conducted on August 5, 2021, 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 or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at all 10 sampling stations, but two stations were sampled from the boat due to site conditions. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample six stations, a 15-foot seine was used to sample two stations, and site conditions prevented the use of a seine at two stations. Nearshore sampling captured 16 species of fish including one species that is intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Blacknose Shiner) and two that are tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Common Carp and Green Sunfish). A summer trap net survey was also conducted by IBI Program staff on August 11-12, 2021. Nine trap nets were set along the shoreline in locations that encompassed multiple habitat types. Trap net sampling captured 12 species of fish, including one that is tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Common Carp). Bluegill comprised a majority of the catch by number, whereas Common Carp, Bluegill, Yellow Bullhead, and Walleye comprised a majority by biomass. The nearshore and trap net data were combined with gill net data from a July 2020 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., Blacknose 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. Results from this survey provide evidence that the fish community in Sibley Lake is adversely impacted by stressors, as indicated by an FIBI score below the impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. These results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Crow Wing River Watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control…
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.
Hear when the states we cover post stockings
One email a week in season: which waters in the states we cover were stocked, straight from the state agencies' own postings. No spam, no fishing-gear ads in the mail.
Free · double opt-in · unsubscribe anytime · we store only your email.