Steele Lake (Le Sueur County)

Le Sueur County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 40004400

Steele Lake (Le Sueur County) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.

• Steele Lake (Le Sueur County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of September 2, 2026.
• Maximum depth 27 ft; surface area 76 acres, 54 littoral acres, 1.3 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 5.9 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, common carp, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: June 16, 2025 (standard survey).
• Le Sueur County, nearest town Greenland; DNR lake number (DOW) 40004400.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

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.

Steele Lake is a 70-acre lake located approximately 3 miles north of the town of Elysian in Le Sueur County. It has a maximum depth of 27 feet and most of the shoreline is undeveloped with a cattail fringe. Water quality is generally poor with frequent algae blooms due to elevated nutrient levels. A county-owned public access is located on the south side of the lake off County Highway 11. Steele Lake is primarily managed for Bluegill and Northern Pike and secondarily for Black Crappie and Largemouth Bass. All four species are stocked as needed following reclamation or winterkill events. The last recorded winterkill was in 2014 and 432 adult Northern Pike, 175 adult Bluegill, and 50 adult Black Crappie were stocked as a result. Additionally, adult Bluegill, Black Crappie, Northern Pike, and Largemouth Bass were stocked in 2015. Steele Lake is designated as a Tier-2 Lake and will be surveyed as part of a regularly scheduled monitoring program every 6 years. The 2025 standard survey was completed the week of 16 June using 2 gill nets, 9 trap nets, and 43 minutes of standard daytime boat electrofishing. Water quality parameters were also measured. A total of 453 Black Crappie were sampled with the trap nets for a catch rate of 50.3/net. After catching zero in the 2014 survey following the winterkill, the Black Crappie population has rebounded to the second highest catch rate since 1993 (n =8). Black Crappie ranged from 5.1 to 10.4 inches with an average of 8.4 inches. An additional 19 Black Crappie ranging from 4.3 to 8.3 inches were sampled with gill nets for a catch rate of 9.5/net. Fish from both gears ranged from age-1 to age-8 with 8 year classes present. Each year-class was well represented. Growth was moderate. Bluegills were abundant in trap nets with a catch rate of 48.9/net. High catch rates have been common since 1993 (n = 8) with an average catch rate of 68.6/net during that time. Bluegills sampled in 2025 ranged from 5.2 to 8.7 inches with an average of 7.3 inches. Bluegills ranged from age-2 to age-9 with 7 year classes present. Growth was moderate, with fish averaging 7 inches by age-4. Largemouth Bass were common in 2025. A total of 40 were sampled with standard daytime boat electrofishing for a catch rate of 55.8/hour. Largemouth Bass ranged from 9.0 to 20.3 with an average of 14.6 inches. Largemouth Bass from all gears ranged from age-2 to age-5 with 3 year classes present. Most of the sample was age-3 from 2022. Growth was moderate with a length of 12 inches exceeded by age-4. The Steele Lake Largemouth Bass population offered an…

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, June 16, 2025.

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