Stowe Lake
Douglas County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 21026400
DNR records show 13 stocking entries at Stowe Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (11,940 fish).
- Stowe Lake has 13 DNR stocking records across 7 years (2016-2025): walleye (13).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 46,130 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 14 ft, mean depth 10 ft; surface area 377 acres, 389 littoral acres, 4.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 5.8 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, common carp, freshwater drum, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye, white sucker, and 2 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Douglas County, nearest town Brandon; DNR lake number (DOW) 21026400.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/2/1955 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 11,940 | 398.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | yearlings | 1,202 | 794.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 11,670 | 389.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 13,365 | 779.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye | yearlings | 1,066 | 778.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 3,525 | 235.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 474 | 260.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 660 | 165.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 318 | 127.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | adults | 553 | 553.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 510 | 102.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | yearlings | 432 | 374.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | adults | 415 | 415.0 |
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 |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 52.43 | 45 | 2.15 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 18.56 | 167 | 0.41 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 6.56 | 59 | 0.76 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 1.22 | 11 | 2.36 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.11 | 10 | 1.30 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 1.11 | 10 | 6.91 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 3.59 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard trap nets | 0.44 | 4 | 3.29 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.44 | 4 | 2.70 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 9.00 | 81 | 2.89 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 5.44 | 49 | 1.01 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 4.44 | 40 | 2.36 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard gill nets | 3.56 | 32 | 0.94 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 2.44 | 22 | 0.84 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 2.22 | 20 | 0.15 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 0.44 | 4 | 0.59 |
| Common carp | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 3 | 8.09 |
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.
Stowe Lake is a 377-acre shallow, productive basin located two miles northwest of Brandon in Douglas County. Mean and maximum depths are 10 and 14 feet, respectively. This basin receives inflows from Hoplin and Wolf Creeks and outflows to the west branch of the Chippewa River. Water quality and clarity can be seasonally poor in response to algae blooms stimulated by excessive nutrient levels that come from a large, predominantly agricultural watershed. Residential development surrounding the lake is moderate. A public access with limited parking is located on the west shoreline. A standard MN DNR lake survey was completed in summer 2025 to assess the fish community of Stowe Lake. Survey results indicated that habitat conditions and the corresponding fish community have changed substantially over the past few decades. In the late 1990s, this basin was turbid and submerged aquatic plants were sparse. The fish community was dominated by Black Bullheads and other underutilized species. Habitat conditions have improved (i.e., more abundant submerged aquatic plants), which has led to expansion and increased diversity of gamefish populations and a drastic reduction in Black Bullhead abundance. Net catches in 2025 indicated that Black Crappie, Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, and Walleye populations were all doing well. Growth rates of most fishes in Stowe Lake are rapid due to the high fertility of this basin. Consequently, gamefish populations are often skewed towards larger fish. The one exception in 2025 was the Walleye population. Most Walleyes sampled were young fish from the 2022 and 2023 year classes. Mean size (13.7 inches and 1.0 pounds) was on the smaller side, but Walleye size structure will improve as these young fish grow into sizes desired by anglers. Yellow Perch are also present, but numbers of harvestable fish are relatively low. Other fish species sampled during the 2025 survey include Black, Brown, and Yellow Bullhead, Common Carp, Freshwater Drum, hybrid sunfish, and White Sucker. The next standard MN DNR lake survey is tentatively scheduled for 2031. Stowe Lake is designated as an infested waterbody due to the presence of zebra mussels. Adult zebra mussels were first confirmed in 2017. See https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/ais/index.html for more information regarding aquatic invasive species.
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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