Sylvan Lake (Morrison County)
Morrison County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 49003600
DNR records show 8 stocking entries at Sylvan Lake (Morrison County) since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (200,000 fish).
- Sylvan Lake (Morrison County) has 8 DNR stocking records across 8 years (2016-2025): walleye (8).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 1,600,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 31 ft; surface area 321 acres, 191 littoral acres, 5.5 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 6.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, greater redhorse, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, shorthead redhorse, and 6 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Morrison County, nearest town Sylvan; DNR lake number (DOW) 49003600.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 6/19/1958 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 200,000 | 1.8 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 200,000 | 1.8 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 200,000 | 1.8 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 200,000 | 1.8 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 200,000 | 1.8 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 200,000 | 1.7 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 200,000 | 1.8 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 200,000 | 1.8 |
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 | - STATE OWNED ACCESS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE LAKE CTY ROAD 36 |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 24.50 | 294 | 0.21 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 3.17 | 38 | 0.16 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 0.92 | 11 | 8.17 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.83 | 10 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.58 | 7 | 0.20 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.50 | 6 | 0.34 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.50 | 6 | 0.28 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.42 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Smallmouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 19.38 | 18 | 2.47 |
| Walleye | Standard electrofishing | 17.22 | 16 | 2.40 |
| Northern pike | Standard electrofishing | 8.61 | 8 | 1.96 |
| Yellow perch | Standard electrofishing | 3.23 | 3 | 0.25 |
| Bluegill | Special trap nets | 8.00 | 160 | 0.29 |
| Black crappie | Special trap nets | 4.50 | 90 | 0.40 |
| Rock bass | Special trap nets | 2.65 | 53 | 0.07 |
| Northern pike | Special trap nets | 2.40 | 48 | 1.81 |
| Largemouth bass | Special trap nets | 1.00 | 20 | 2.65 |
| Pumpkinseed | Special trap nets | 0.85 | 17 | 0.19 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Special trap nets | 0.80 | 16 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | Special trap nets | 0.45 | 9 | 0.14 |
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.
Three fish sampling events were undertaken on Sylvan Lake in 2024 including ice-out trap netting, spring trap netting targeting Bluegill and Black Crappie, and daytime electrofishing. Electrofishing took place in the upstream reaches of the reservoir in flowing water environments. None of these sampling strategies have been utilized in the past. Traditional methods such as summer gill netting and late spring electrofishing have failed to adequately assess some aspects of the fish community in recent years, thus these new efforts were attempted. Primary management species are Northern Pike and Bluegill with Walleye, Black Crappie, and Largemouth Bass as secondary species. The three new sampling techniques employed in 2024 produced useful sample sizes of several species. A total of 58 Northern Pike were captured in the combined samples with 48 coming from the ice-out trap nets. Of the combined trap net catch of 50 fish, 18% were within the zonal protected slot of 22-26 inches and the largest measured 32.6 inches. There were two pike that topped 30 inches but mean size was small at just 18.1 inches as nearly 2/3 were under 12 inches long. Eight pike were caught electrofishing and they varied from 14.3 to 27.4 inches. The combined trap net sample of Bluegills totaled 454 fish of which 294 were captured in the panfish trap nets and 160 being caught in the ice-out trap nets. Though the ice-out nets sampled fewer fish the size structure showed better quality than the panfish nets. Bluegills over 7 inches constituted 60% of the ice-out catch and 19% surpassed 8 inches. Average length was 7 inches and the largest fish was 9 inches. Average size in the panfish trap nets was 6.4 inches with 32% exceeding 7 inches and 3% over 8 inches. The longest Bluegill in the panfish nets was 8.6 inches. The management objective for Bluegill is having at least 30% of the trap net sample exceed 7 inches long. Otoliths extracted from Bluegills in 2020 revealed relatively slow growth rates for most age groups. Age 5 fish averaged 6 inches long, however most 7-9 year old fish failed to exceed 7.5 inches. Ice-out trap nets produced a sample of 86 Black Crappie while the targeted panfish trap nets caught just 4 fish. Crappie over 9 inches comprised 49% of the combined catch, average length was 8.8 inches and maximum length was 11.3 inches. The management objective for size structure calls for at least 25% of crappie to exceed 9 inches. Otoliths were collected during both trap net efforts. Crappies displayed growth rates somewhat below area means with Age 5 fish averaging near 9…
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.
Hear when the states we cover post stockings
One email a week in season: which waters in the states we cover were stocked, straight from the state agencies' own postings. No spam, no fishing-gear ads in the mail.
Free · double opt-in · unsubscribe anytime · we store only your email.