Upper Sakatah Lake
Le Sueur County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 40000200
DNR records show 12 stocking entries at Upper Sakatah Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (220,250 fish).
- Upper Sakatah Lake has 12 DNR stocking records across 8 years (2016-2025): walleye (12).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 3,740,190 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 12 ft; surface area 892 acres, 892 littoral acres, 8.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 2.5 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), common carp, freshwater drum, largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye, white bass, white sucker, and 2 more.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Le Sueur County, nearest town Waterville; DNR lake number (DOW) 40000200.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 6/25/1950 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 220,250 | 1.8 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 220,250 | 1.7 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 220,250 | 1.7 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 220,250 | 1.8 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 220,250 | 2.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 220,250 | 2.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 220,250 | 1.8 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 220,250 | 1.8 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 220,250 | 1.9 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 220,250 | 1.9 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 220,250 | 2.1 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 1,317,440 | 12.8 |
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 ACCESS IN SAKATAH STATE PARK ON SO. SHORE; |
| concrete ramp | city | - ON CANNON RIVER IN WATERVILLE |
DNR fish survey, 2020
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 17.62 | 141 | 0.18 |
| White bass | Standard gill nets | 16.62 | 133 | 0.17 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 10.62 | 85 | 0.82 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 9.62 | 77 | 0.22 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard gill nets | 6.88 | 55 | 1.23 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 2.38 | 19 | 0.11 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 2.25 | 18 | 1.35 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 1.75 | 14 | 3.27 |
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.
Upper Sakatah Lake is an 881-acre lake located on the east side of the town of Waterville in Le Sueur County. It has a maximum depth of 12 feet. A boat access is located in Sakatah State Park on the south shore but it can also be accessed via the Cannon River. Upper Sakatah Lake is primarily managed for Walleye and secondarily for Bluegill, Black Crappie, and Northern Pike. The current management plan calls for stocking 500 Walleye fry/littoral acre (n = 440,500) annually. A 50:50 mix of LMS and MIS strain fry are stocked to accommodate the ongoing research project involving Cannon River Walleye stocks. Upper Sakatah Lake is designated as a Tier-2 Lake and will be surveyed as part of a regularly scheduled monitoring program at a frequency of every 6 years. A targeted survey was completed the week of August 3, 2020 using 8 gill nets. Trap nets and spring boat electrofishing targeting Largemouth Bass were not completed due to COVID-19 restrictions. Water quality parameters were also measured. Results of this survey can be compared to historical standard surveys because standardized methods were used. A total of 85 Walleyes were sampled for a catch rate of 10.6/net, indicating moderate to high numbers were present. In the three surveys prior to 2020 Walleye numbers were on a downward trend with catch rate of 5.0/net in 2004, 3.1/net in 2009, and 1.3/net in 2014. Since 1994, catch rates have varied from 1.3/net to 17.3/net with an average of 8.8/net. Lengths in 2020 ranged from 8.8 to 23.4 inches with an average of 12.8 inches. Approximately 25% of Walleye sampled were greater than 15 inches. Ages ranged from 1 to 6 years old with 5 year classes present. Approximately 95% of Walleye sampled were 1 or 2 years old. Growth was rapid with 17 inches exceeded by year 3. The fast growing 2018 and 2019 year classes should provide a welcome quality opportunity for anglers in coming years after experiencing a slump in Walleye numbers over the past 15 years or so. A total of 19 Bluegills ranging from 3.7 to 6.6 inches were sampled with the gill nets for a catch rate of 2.4/net. Bluegills are better sampled with trap nets and caution should be used before drawing conclusions about the Bluegill population in Upper Sakatah Lake using the 2020 survey. A total of 77 Black Crappies were sampled for a catch rate of 9.6/net, indicating moderate to high numbers were present. This was the highest catch rate from 1994 to 2020 (n = 6). The average during that time was just 3.5/net. Lengths in 2020 ranged from 2.6 to 11.9 inches with an average of 7.0 inches. Approximately 31% of…
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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