Volney Lake
Le Sueur County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 40003300
DNR records show 19 stocking entries at Volney Lake since 2016, most recently northern pike in 2025 (3,178 fish).
- Volney Lake has 19 DNR stocking records across 9 years (2016-2025): walleye (14), northern pike (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 492,745 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 67 ft; surface area 269 acres, 130 littoral acres, 2.5 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 12.7 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), common carp, freshwater drum, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Le Sueur County, nearest town Le Center; DNR lake number (DOW) 40003300.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 5/29/1968 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Northern Pike | - | 3,178 | 10.0 |
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 32,500 | 0.3 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 32,500 | 0.3 |
| 2023 | Northern Pike | fry | 32,895 | 1.1 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 32,500 | 0.2 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 32,500 | 0.3 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 32,500 | 0.3 |
| 2021 | Northern Pike | fry | 16,500 | 0.5 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 32,500 | 0.3 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 32,500 | 0.3 |
| 2019 | Northern Pike | fry | 32,500 | 1.2 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 32,500 | 0.3 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 32,500 | 0.3 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 32,500 | 0.3 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 32,500 | 0.3 |
| 2017 | Northern Pike | fry | 32,500 | 0.9 |
| 2016 | Walleye | adults | 61 | 34.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 133,802 | 1.3 |
| 2016 | Walleye | yearlings | 1,382 | 307.0 |
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 | Single ramp with dock. |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 27.00 | 216 | 0.23 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 18.50 | 148 | 0.27 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard trap nets | 8.88 | 71 | 1.26 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 0.50 | 4 | 11.28 |
| Golden shiner | Standard trap nets | 0.38 | 3 | 0.07 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.25 | 2 | 0.28 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.25 | 2 | 0.91 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.12 | 1 | 4.65 |
| Freshwater drum | Standard gill nets | 17.00 | 102 | 0.76 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 8.50 | 51 | 0.15 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 8.33 | 50 | 0.51 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 1.83 | 11 | 5.17 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 1.33 | 8 | 0.38 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 1.17 | 7 | 1.83 |
| Common carp | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 9.30 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 3.20 | 4 | 1.80 |
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.
Lake Volney is a 283-acre lake located approximately 3 miles southeast of the town of Le Center in Le Sueur County. It is one of the deepest lakes in the Waterville Area with a maximum depth of 67 feet. Lake Volney has better water clarity than most Waterville Area lakes. A DNR-owned public access is located on the southeast side of the lake off County Road 136. Lake Volney is primarily managed for Black Crappie, Bluegill, and Largemouth Bass and secondarily for Northern Pike and Walleye. The management plan calls for stocking Walleye fry annually and Northern Pike fry are in odd years. Lake Volney is designated as a Tier-2 Lake and will be surveyed as part of a regularly scheduled monitoring program every 6 years. The 2015 survey was completed the week of 9 June 2025 using 6 gill nets, 8 trap nets, and 75 minutes of standard daytime boat electrofishing. Black Crappie was one of the most abundantly sampled species in 2025. A total of 50 Black Crappie were sampled with gill nets for a catch rate of 8.3/net. Catch rates since 1993 have varied from 0.5/net to 29.5/net with an average of 10.1/net. Lengths ranged from 6.1 inches to 11.3 inches with an average of 9.6 inches. Black Crappie were also common in the trap net sample with a catch rate of 18.5/net and an average length of 7.8 inches. Fish from both gears ranged from age-1 to age-6 with 6 year classes present. The vast majority of Black Crappie was age-2(43%) or age-5(37%). These large year classes should provide a good fishing opportunity for a few years. Growth was moderate with 8 inches exceeded by age-3. A total of 216 Bluegills were sampled with trap nets for a catch rate of 27.0/net. Catch rates since 1993 have varied from 5.0/net to 27.0/net with an average of 14.8/net. Black Crappie ranged from 3.6 inches to 8.9 inches with an average of 7.4 inches. An additional 8 fish ranging from 7.0 to 9.4 inches were sampled with gill nets. Fish from both gears ranged from age-3 to age-7 with 4 year classes present. The age-3 and age-4 year classes were the most abundant, making up 78 percent of the sample. Growth was fast with 6 inches reached by age-4 and 8 inches exceeded by age-5. Largemouth Bass were abundant in 2019 with 41 sampled during standard daytime boat electrofishing for a catch rate of 33.2/hour. The previous sample in 2016 was 61.9/hour. However, in 2025 a combination of clear water and heavy vegetation growth made electrofishing difficult and only 4 fish were sampled using electrofishing. Lengths in 2025 ranged from 7.4 inches to 16.9 inches with an average length of 14.0 inches. A…
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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