Sugar Lake (Wright County)

Wright County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 86023300

DNR records show 37 stocking entries at Sugar Lake (Wright County) since 2016, most recently muskellunge yearlings in 2025 (39 fish).

• Sugar Lake (Wright County) has 37 DNR stocking records across 10 years (2016-2025): walleye (28), muskellunge (9).
• The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 32,807 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 69 ft, mean depth 25 ft; surface area 1,014 acres, 357 littoral acres, 8.7 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 11.7 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, and 4 more.
• 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: July 8, 2025 (targeted survey).
• Wright County, nearest town Annandale; DNR lake number (DOW) 86023300.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 10/28/1981 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Stocking history

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.

A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Sugar Lake was conducted on July 8-9th, 2025, by Area Fisheries 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 13 sampling stations. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample 7 stations, and a 15-foot seine was used at 2 stations. Four stations were not seined due to deep water and dense lilies. One site was moved, since both stations 9 and 10 did not have lake access since they were separated by a constructed road. Station 10 was moved to the nearest accessible shoreline, but station 10 was skipped due to lack of access. Nearshore sampling captured 19 species of fish including 5 species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Banded Killifish, Blackchin Shiner, Blacknose Shiner, Pugnose Shiner, and Rock Bass) and 1 that is tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Green Sunfish). The nearshore data were combined with trap net and gill net data from a July 2021 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, Pugnose Shiner, and Rock Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Green Sunfish and Black Bullhead). 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. Results from this survey provide evidence that the fish community in Sugar Lake is healthy as indicated by an FIBI score above the general use impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. These results are similar to previous findings which indicated that Sugar Lake is fully supporting aquatic life. The survey results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Mississippi River - St. Cloud watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. You can help protect the fish community in Sugar Lake by reducing runoff, maintaining natural shorelines, and preventing the spread of invasive…

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, July 8, 2025.

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