Sunfish Lake (Le Sueur County)
Le Sueur County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 40000900
DNR records show 8 stocking entries at Sunfish Lake (Le Sueur County) since 2019, most recently northern pike adults in 2024 (171 fish).
- Sunfish Lake (Le Sueur County) has 8 DNR stocking records across 4 years (2019-2024): northern pike (3), largemouth bass (2), black crappie (1), bluegill sunfish (1), and 1 more species.
- The most-stocked species by count is northern pike: 19,652 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 30 ft; surface area 121 acres, 77 littoral acres, 1.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 3.9 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, yellow bullhead, and 1 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Le Sueur County, nearest town Kilkenny; DNR lake number (DOW) 40000900.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Northern Pike | adults | 171 | 234.6 |
| 2023 | Largemouth Bass | adults | 25 | 50.0 |
| 2021 | Largemouth Bass | adults | 25 | 75.8 |
| 2019 | Black Crappie | adults | 97 | 47.0 |
| 2019 | Bluegill Sunfish | adults | 60 | 20.0 |
| 2019 | Northern Pike | adults | 231 | 462.0 |
| 2019 | Northern Pike | fry | 19,250 | 0.7 |
| 2019 | Yellow Perch | adults | 2,250 | 150.0 |
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 | county | west shore of lake - Fair condition. Road is rough. |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 152.75 | 1,222 | 0.01 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 52.50 | 420 | 0.02 |
| Green sunfish | Standard trap nets | 27.00 | 216 | 0.03 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 9.25 | 74 | 0.05 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 9.12 | 73 | 0.24 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 6.75 | 54 | 0.11 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 1.50 | 12 | 0.37 |
| Golden shiner | Standard trap nets | 0.62 | 5 | 0.06 |
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 86.50 | 346 | 0.04 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 12.75 | 51 | 0.41 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 10.00 | 40 | 4.90 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 1.50 | 6 | 0.38 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 1.25 | 5 | 2.38 |
| Common carp | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 4 | 2.21 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 4 | 0.05 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 0.75 | 3 | 0.06 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 1.74 | 2 | 2.27 |
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.
Sunfish Lake is a 119-acre lake located near the town of Kilkenny in Le Sueur County. Sunfish Lake is unique in that much of its shoreline is unaltered; however, agriculture likely impacts its water quality as much of its watershed is row crops. A county-owned ramp located on the west side of the lake provides access for the public. The game fish community is dominated by centrarchids including Black Crappie, Bluegills, and Largemouth Bass. Stocking occurs only after winterkill events. A population assessment consisting of 4 gill nets and 8 trap nets was conducted on 19 June 2023 to monitor fish populations. An electrofishing survey was conducted on 23 May 2023 to assess Largemouth Bass populations. Sunfish Lake has been designated a Tier II lake within the Waterville area and future surveys will be conducted every 6 years. Bluegill were the most abundant fish captured. Bluegill relative abundance was 152.8/trap net. Bluegill catch rates have ranged from 1.5/trap net in 2001 (following a winterkill) to 152.8/trap net since 1993. Bluegills ranged in length from 3.2 to 6.3 inches and averaged 4.6 inches. Bluegills were aged using scales. Six year-classes of Bluegills were present in Sunfish Lake (2017-2022). Sixty adult Bluegill were stocked in spring 2019 following a winterkill. Fish belonging to the 2019-2022 year-classes are a result of that stocking. Management goals were partially met as catch rates exceeded the goal of 30.0/trap net, but the goal of 25% of Bluegills sampled exceeding 8 inches total length was not met. However, the Bluegill population in Sunfish Lake is young and may grow to desirable size. Black Crappie were affected by winterkill in 2018-2019 and Black Crappie relative abundance (1.5/trap net) was well below the lake average of 9.8/trap net. Black Crappie were aged using scales and otoliths. Age-3 and age-4 Black Crappies accounted for 12 of the 13 aged fish with a single age-8 Black Crappie present. The age-3 and age-4 Black Crappie were the result of stocking 97 adult Black Crappie in spring 2019 following the winterkill. Black Crappies ranged in length from 5.6 to 10.8 inches and averaged 8.6 inches. Management goals were not met, likely due to the proximity of the survey to winterkill. Forty Northern Pike were sampled with gill nets in 2023(10.0/gill net). Northern Pike were sampled at rates greater than the 2017 survey (1.7/gill net) and the 2012 survey (0.7/gill net) and were likely the result of adult fish stocked in the spring of 2019 following winterkill. Ninety percent of Northern Pike sampled were greater than the legal…
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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