Star Lake (Otter Tail County)
Otter Tail County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 56038500
DNR records show 7 stocking entries at Star Lake (Otter Tail County) since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (1,407,000 fish).
- Star Lake (Otter Tail County) has 7 DNR stocking records across 6 years (2016-2025): walleye (7).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 15,475,100 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 94 ft; surface area 4,486 acres, 2,813 littoral acres, 33.7 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 11.1 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 5 more.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Otter Tail County, nearest town Dent; DNR lake number (DOW) 56038500.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 10/4/1956 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 1,407,000 | 12.6 |
| 2025 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 3,100 | 124.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 2,813,000 | 24.6 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 2,813,000 | 25.7 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 2,813,000 | 24.7 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 2,813,000 | 23.9 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 2,813,000 | 23.9 |
1 fish purchased and stocked by private citizens and sporting groups.
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 | |
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MMS | 50-ft beach seine | 149.36 | 1,643 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 21.09 | 232 | 0.00 |
| BKF | 50-ft beach seine | 10.27 | 113 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 5.73 | 63 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 3.73 | 41 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | 50-ft beach seine | 3.18 | 35 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 50-ft beach seine | 2.09 | 23 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | 50-ft beach seine | 2.09 | 23 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 13.60 | 204 | 0.22 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 3.27 | 49 | 0.34 |
| Rock bass | Standard trap nets | 2.93 | 44 | 0.25 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 15 | 0.27 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.60 | 9 | 1.12 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.40 | 6 | 4.48 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.40 | 6 | 0.35 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.40 | 6 | 1.15 |
| Green sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 5.10 | 17 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 3.60 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 3.00 | 10 | 0.00 |
| Golden shiner | Backpack electrofishing | 1.50 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Rock bass | Backpack electrofishing | 1.20 | 4 | 0.00 |
| BKF | Backpack electrofishing | 0.60 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | Backpack electrofishing | 0.60 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Yellow bullhead | Backpack electrofishing | 0.30 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 15-ft beach seine | 4.75 | 38 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 3.62 | 29 | 0.00 |
| BCS | 15-ft beach seine | 2.12 | 17 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 15-ft beach seine | 0.75 | 6 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | 15-ft beach seine | 0.50 | 4 | 0.00 |
| BKF | 15-ft beach seine | 0.38 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | 15-ft beach seine | 0.25 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 15-ft beach seine | 0.12 | 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 Star Lake, was conducted beginning in June, 2025, and was completed in August, 2025, by Lake Biological Monitoring and Assessment Program (LBMA) 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 24 sampling stations. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample 11 stations, and a 15-foot seine was used at eight stations. Five stations were not seined due to stations being too deep to stand and density of vegetation. Nearshore sampling captured 20 species of fish including seven species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Banded Killifish, Blackchin Shiner, Blacknose Shiner, Iowa Darter, Logperch, Mimic Shiner, and Rock Bass) and two that are tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Fathead Minnows and Green Sunfish). A concurrent summer trap net survey was also conducted by LBMA staff. Fifteen 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 intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Rock Bass). Bluegill, Northern Pike, and Pumpkinseed comprised a majority of the catch by number, whereas Bluegill and Bowfin comprised a majority by biomass. The nearshore and trap net were combined with gill net data from a July 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 website. These results are similar to previous findings, which indicated that Star Lake is fully supporting aquatic life, but vulnerable to future impairments. The survey results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Otter Tail River watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN…
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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