Steep Bank Lake
Lincoln County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 41008200
DNR records show 8 stocking entries at Steep Bank Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (100,000 fish).
- Steep Bank Lake has 8 DNR stocking records across 8 years (2016-2025): walleye (8).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 800,722 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 6 ft; surface area 198 acres, 198 littoral acres, 2.7 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 2.3 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, orangespotted sunfish, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Lincoln County, nearest town Hendricks; DNR lake number (DOW) 41008200.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 100,000 | 0.9 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 100,000 | 0.9 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 100,722 | 0.8 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 100,000 | 0.9 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 100,000 | 0.9 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 100,000 | 0.8 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 100,000 | 1.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 100,000 | 1.0 |
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 on SE corner of lake; 7 miles NE of Hendricks; MN. T112N; R46W; S1. |
| gravel ramp | county | Gravel access off county road on north side of lake; 7 miles NE of Hendricks; MN. T113N; R45W; S31. |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black bullhead | 1/4-in trap nets | 93.83 | 563 | 0.00 |
| Common carp | 1/4-in trap nets | 26.67 | 160 | 0.00 |
| Walleye | 1/4-in trap nets | 19.50 | 117 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 1/4-in trap nets | 12.50 | 75 | 0.00 |
| Fathead minnow | 1/4-in trap nets | 4.67 | 28 | 0.00 |
| White sucker | 1/4-in trap nets | 1.50 | 9 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | 1/4-in trap nets | 1.17 | 7 | 0.00 |
| Bigmouth buffalo | 1/4-in trap nets | 0.17 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 87.50 | 175 | 0.08 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 17.00 | 34 | 0.12 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 16.00 | 32 | 2.33 |
| Bigmouth buffalo | Standard gill nets | 7.00 | 14 | 0.67 |
| Common carp | Standard gill nets | 5.50 | 11 | 1.45 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 2.50 | 5 | 0.25 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 60.50 | 484 | 0.02 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 11.50 | 92 | 0.08 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 5.12 | 41 | 4.41 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.75 | 6 | 3.79 |
| Green sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.50 | 4 | 0.09 |
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.
Steep Bank Lake is in Lincoln County five miles northeast of the town of Hendricks. It is 208 acres and has a maximum depth of seven feet. The lake is highly productive and dense algae blooms frequently occur. Fish summerkills can occur when algae die and decompose, often rapidly depleting the dissolved oxygen. The last known summerkill occurred in 2012. Steep Bank Lake also has a history of winterkills due to low oxygen, most recently in 2009. This Standard Survey was conducted to collect routine fish population data using gill nets and trap nets. These data can be compared to previous Standard and Targeted Surveys from Steep Bank Lake. Walleyes were moderately abundant in 2023 and were from a wide range of sizes, including good numbers of fish over 20 inches. Steep Bank Lake can be described as a "boom or bust" walleye fishery, and it's presently in the "boom" stage. Fry stocking has maintained the walleye population and good numbers of young walleyes were found in 2023. Low numbers of yellow perch were caught. Most of them were yearlings that measured 5-7 inches. Steep Bank has been known to produce large perch at times, however only two perch over 8 inches were caught in 2023. The largest was 13 inches. Future management activities will include walleye fry stocking, fish surveys and winter dissolved oxygen monitoring.
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. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
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