Upper Bottle Lake
Hubbard County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 29014800
DNR records show 2 stocking entries at Upper Bottle Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2018 (6,973 fish).
- Upper Bottle Lake has 2 DNR stocking records across 2 years (2016-2018): walleye (2).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 14,026 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 55 ft; surface area 459 acres, 176 littoral acres, 4.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 14.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, smallmouth bass, tullibee (cisco), walleye, white sucker, and 2 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Hubbard County, nearest town Dorset; DNR lake number (DOW) 29014800.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/9/1977 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 6,973 | 175.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 7,053 | 175.0 |
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 | access is located on the northwest shore of upper bottle lake. |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walleye | Fall electrofishing | 22.09 | 22 | 0.19 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 13.00 | 78 | 2.24 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 8.83 | 53 | 0.97 |
| Rock bass | Standard gill nets | 6.17 | 37 | 0.25 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 5.67 | 34 | 0.11 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 5.33 | 32 | 0.93 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 2.00 | 12 | 0.19 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 1.83 | 11 | 0.31 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 1.83 | 11 | 2.71 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 4.56 | 41 | 0.14 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 3.00 | 27 | 0.17 |
| Rock bass | Standard trap nets | 1.89 | 17 | 0.19 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 1.22 | 11 | 0.32 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 6 | 0.09 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 0.14 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 1.37 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 0.89 |
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.
Upper Bottle Lake is located in southern Hubbard County, five miles north of Dorset. Upper Bottle is separated by a narrows from Lower Bottle Lake, with both lakes having similar fish communities and are generally managed together. Upper Bottle has a surface area of 459 acres and a maximum depth of 55 feet. A state-owned public access is located on the north end of the lake off County Road 24. Upper Bottle provides multi species opportunities to the angler with good populations of Walleye, Northern Pike, panfish, and bass. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Upper Bottle is in lake class 27. Class 27 lakes are generally very large, deep, hard water lakes, with very regularly shaped shoreline. Other class 27 lakes in the Park Rapids management area includes Fishhook, Garfield, and Lake George. Walleye abundance remained strong in Upper Bottle, with gill net catch rates similar to past surveys. Sampled Walleye ranged in length 8.1 to 21.6 inches with an average length of 14.0 inches. Good numbers of smaller Walleye (8 to 14 inches) were sampled. Yellow Perch, an important forage species for Walleye, were sampled in low numbers. Yellow Perch were small in size with an average length of 6.5 inches. Anglers can expect to find an abundant Northern Pike population in Upper Bottle. Northern Pike had an average length and weight of 20.8 inches and 2.2 pounds with fish measured up to 36.6 inches. While not known as a bass - panfish lake, Upper Bottle does provide angling opportunities for Black Crappie, Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Largemouth Bass, and Smallmouth Bass. Present and past surveys have shown the population of these species to fluctuate from low to moderate numbers. Other species sampled included high numbers of Rock Bass, and moderate numbers of White Sucker, Yellow Bullhead, and Golden Shiner. Brown Bullhead were sampled in low numbers. Faucet snails, an aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been identified in Upper Bottle. To avoid spreading AIS, lake users are required to remove all aquatic plants or animals from their watercraft and drain all water from their boat before leaving the access.
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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