South Turtle Lake
Otter Tail County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 56037700
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at South Turtle Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2024 (597,000 fish).
- South Turtle Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2016-2024): walleye (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 2,985,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 35 ft; surface area 837 acres, 398 littoral acres, 11.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 14.6 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and 1 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Otter Tail County, nearest town Underwood; DNR lake number (DOW) 56037700.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey (get source); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 597,000 | 5.2 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 597,000 | 5.5 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 597,000 | 5.2 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 597,000 | 5.1 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 597,000 | 5.1 |
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 |
DNR fish survey, 2018
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 68.83 | 413 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 50-ft beach seine | 33.67 | 202 | 0.00 |
| BCS | 50-ft beach seine | 24.17 | 145 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 12.50 | 75 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 10.33 | 62 | 0.00 |
| PGS | 50-ft beach seine | 10.17 | 61 | 0.00 |
| BKF | 50-ft beach seine | 7.67 | 46 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 50-ft beach seine | 7.00 | 42 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 54.94 | 101 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 23.93 | 44 | 0.00 |
| BCS | Backpack electrofishing | 13.06 | 24 | 0.00 |
| Yellow bullhead | Backpack electrofishing | 8.16 | 15 | 0.00 |
| BKF | Backpack electrofishing | 7.62 | 14 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | Backpack electrofishing | 5.44 | 10 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 5.44 | 10 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 5.44 | 10 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 15-ft beach seine | 5.67 | 17 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 5.00 | 15 | 0.00 |
| BCS | 15-ft beach seine | 2.00 | 6 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 15-ft beach seine | 0.33 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Brook stickleback | 15-ft beach seine | 0.33 | 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 the nearshore fish community in South Turtle Lake was conducted by Fisheries Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) Program Staff starting July 24, 2018 on South Turtle Lake. Fourteen sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 15-foot or 50-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at all 14 sites with five sites sampled from the boat. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample six sites, a 15-foot seine was used at three sites, and soft sediments with abundant vegetation and deep water prevented the use of seines at five sampling site. Nearshore sampling captured 17 native species of fish including five species that are intolerant of disturbance (Banded Killifish, Blackchin Shiner, Blacknose Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Pugnose Shiner) and 1 species that is tolerant of disturbance (Green Sunfish). Data from this targeted nearshore survey is combined with trap net and gill net data from an August 2017 standard survey to describe the fish community and provide a Fish-based Index of Biological Integrity (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. 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. The FIBI score for South Turtle Lake from this survey is just below an impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. Data from this survey will contribute biological information about the health of the fish community to the Pomme de Terre River Watershed assessment of surface waters process completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency.
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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