Upper Cormorant Lake
Becker County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 03058800
DNR records show 14 stocking entries at Upper Cormorant Lake since 2016, most recently walleye yearlings in 2025 (8 fish).
- Upper Cormorant Lake has 14 DNR stocking records across 7 years (2016-2025): walleye (14).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 51,152 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 29 ft; surface area 974 acres, 471 littoral acres, 12.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 5.1 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and 1 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Becker County, nearest town Lake Park; DNR lake number (DOW) 03058800.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 9/19/1956 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | yearlings | 8 | 8.0 |
| 2025 | Walleye | fingerlings | 4,281 | 391.0 |
| 2025 | Walleye | adults | 524 | 255.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fingerlings | 10,065 | 471.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | adults | 1,827 | 203.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fingerlings | 3,483 | 305.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fingerlings | 15,205 | 496.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 10,105 | 475.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | adults | 718 | 290.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fingerlings | 374 | 22.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | yearlings | 446 | 160.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 3,874 | 362.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | adults | 44 | 23.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | yearlings | 198 | 87.0 |
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 | West shore in the southernmost bay- section 16 SW quarter. - Parking room available for approximately 6-8 rigs. |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 20.89 | 188 | 0.31 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 6.67 | 60 | 2.56 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 6.44 | 58 | 0.75 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 6.33 | 57 | 2.64 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 5.11 | 46 | 0.98 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 4.78 | 43 | 0.36 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard gill nets | 2.00 | 18 | 1.48 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 1.22 | 11 | 0.41 |
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 Cormorant Lake is an 856-acre, class 25 lake located in southwestern Becker County. It consists of a main basin and a long, narrow, northern arm with several shallow bays. Two narrow channels, not navigable in low water years, provide access to Rossman and Nelson Lakes to the east and eventually connect to Middle Cormorant Lake. Upper Cormorant Lake is relatively shallow (29-foot maximum depth) and summer stratification rarely occurs. There is a state-owned access on the west shore of the southernmost bay. Walleye fingerlings are stocked biennially in odd years, with yearlings and/or adults also stocked occasionally. A targeted fisheries survey using nine gill nets was completed in August 2025 to assess the Walleye and Northern Pike populations of Upper Cormorant Lake. Walleye catch rates have remained relatively stable at seven fish per gill net since 2017. The catch rate in 2025 was no exception, with gill nets averaging 6.6 Walleye per net. The average length of sampled Walleye was 19 inches and the longest Walleye measured was just shy of 27 inches. Nine different ages of Walleyes were sampled with fish as old as 14 years collected. Age-6 fish were most abundant, making up 42% of the sample. The 2016-year class (nine year old fish) also showed up in better than expected numbers. Some fish were assigned ages to years when no stocking occurred, suggesting there may be a small amount natural reproduction occurring at Upper Cormorant Lake. The Northern Pike gill net catch in Upper Cormorant historically has been low but jumped up to a record high 14.9 pike per gill net in the 2022 survey. The catch rate went back down in 2025 to 6.4 per gill net, which is still a little above the lake average of 5.9 pike per net. This is one of a few lakes in the area where the Walleye catch rate was larger than the Northern Pike catch rate. This is good news for a lake that gets stocked with Walleye fingerlings. About 31% of the pike were greater than 24 inches in 2025, which is the highest percentage ever recorded at the lake. The average length of Northern Pike surveyed in 2025 was 22.25 inches and the longest was 37 inches. Several other species were caught in the gill nets. Largemouth Bass averaged 11.5 inches with fish up to 16.5 inches caught. Bluegill of all sizes were caught in decent numbers. Bluegill averaged seven inches and measured up to 9.25 inches. About 28% of the Bluegills sampled were over eight inches. Black Crappie were captured in moderate numbers with fish up to 12.25 inches captured. Other species sampled were Brown Bullhead, Yellow…
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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