Vails Lake
Stearns County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 73015100
DNR records show 1 stocking entry at Vails Lake since 2025, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (1,720 fish).
- Vails Lake has 1 DNR stocking record across 1 year (2025-2025): walleye (1).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 1,720 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 20 ft, mean depth 9 ft; surface area 161 acres, 127 littoral acres, 1.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 4.1 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, channel catfish, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, and 4 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Stearns County, nearest town Eden Valley; DNR lake number (DOW) 73015100.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 7/24/1989 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 1,720 | 86.0 |
1 fish purchased and stocked by private citizens and sporting groups.
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 |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 36.00 | 216 | 0.13 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 8.33 | 50 | 2.49 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 7.50 | 45 | 0.06 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 1.17 | 7 | 0.75 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 0.50 | 3 | 1.92 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard gill nets | 0.50 | 3 | 0.03 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 0.50 | 3 | 0.15 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.17 | 1 | 1.96 |
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.
Vails Lake (aka Mud Lake) is a 151-acre lake located just north of Eden Valley in southern Stearns County. It has a maximum depth of 20 feet. It is the first in a series of lakes which outlet northward to the Sauk River chain of lakes. The watershed is large and dominated by agriculture, pasture, and development. A public access and fishing pier are located on the south end of the lake. Vails Lake is managed primarily for Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and panfish and anglers can expect good fishing for these species. This survey was conducted to update the fisheries data last collected in 2018. No emergent or floating-leaf vegetation survey was conducted in 2024; however, in 2018 emergent and floating-leaf vegetation were sparse, covering only 1% of the lake area, but 31% of the shoreline. Submergent vegetation was also not surveyed in 2024, but in 2013 coontail and sago pondweed were abundant. Curly-leaf pondweed can be abundant in spring and early summer. Water clarity was moderate in mid-June, showing an improvement in water clarity since the last survey in 2018. Northern Pike numbers have been increasing in recent surveys and their size remains good. Current results were similar to 2018 and within the range of expected values for lakes like Vails. Pike lengths ranged from 13 to 36 inches with an average length and weight of 21 inches and 3 pounds. Ninety-eight percent of Northern Pike sampled were over 14 inches, with 22%over 26 inches and 8% over 30 inches. The DNR does not stock Vails Lake with Walleye ; however, the Eden Valley Sportsmen's Club has been stocking Walleye fingerlings annually since 2011. The Walleye catch in 2024 was back within the expected range of values for lakes like Vails and higher than 2018. Walleye lengths ranged from 11 to 17 inches with an average length and weight of 13 inches and 1 pound. Northern Pike numbers are likely affecting walleye fingerling survival, but the stocking rate is also low. All of the walleye captured were from the 2021, 2022, and 2023 year classes with average growth for the Sauk Rapids Area, taking 3 years to reach 17 inches. The Yellow Perch catch in 2024 was higher than the previous two surveysc(2013 and 2018), but similar to the long-term average for the lake. Perch lengths ranged from 5 to 9 inches with an average length of 6 inches. Channel Catfish have recently become established in Vails Lake as well as other lakes connected to the Sauk River Chain of Lakes. Channel Catfish were first captured in 2013 and again in 2018. but none were captured during the 2024 survey. Catfish were…
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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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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