Waverly Lake
Wright County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 86011400
DNR records show 10 stocking entries at Waverly Lake since 2017, most recently walleye yearlings in 2025 (167 fish).
- Waverly Lake has 10 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2025): walleye (10).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 296,367 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 70 ft, mean depth 26 ft; surface area 494 acres, 141 littoral acres, 4.4 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 8.1 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, and 5 more.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Wright County, nearest town Waverly; DNR lake number (DOW) 86011400.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/30/1982 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | yearlings | 167 | 135.0 |
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 141,132 | 1.4 |
| 2025 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,026 | 66.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fingerlings | 3,103 | 151.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fingerlings | 546 | 91.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 143,945 | 1.4 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,354 | 193.4 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,160 | 145.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | adults | 50 | 72.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 3,884 | 144.0 |
2 fish purchased by the DNR for stocking.
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 | city | City owned access in park on southeast shore. |
| concrete ramp | city | Off city street (Third Avenue NW), 500 feet west of park. |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 132.96 | 264 | 1.06 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 110.78 | 997 | 0.21 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 12.33 | 111 | 0.23 |
| Bigmouth buffalo | Standard trap nets | 9.78 | 88 | 0.20 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 8.22 | 74 | 1.14 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 6.67 | 60 | 0.40 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 4.33 | 39 | 0.57 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 3.44 | 31 | 0.85 |
| Green sunfish | Standard trap nets | 3.33 | 30 | 0.13 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 35.22 | 317 | 0.10 |
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 15.67 | 141 | 0.40 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 12.89 | 116 | 0.12 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 12.89 | 116 | 0.28 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 11.89 | 107 | 3.12 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 5.00 | 45 | 0.84 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 4.11 | 37 | 1.80 |
| Bigmouth buffalo | Standard gill nets | 3.22 | 29 | 0.25 |
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.
Waverly Lake is a 485-acre lake located in southern Wright County and directly north of the city of Waverly. There are two public accesses as well as a city park located on the south end of the lake. Waverly Lake is a fertile, hard water lake that experiences heavy algal blooms during mid to late summer. Water clarity has averaged about 10 feet over the past 10 years; however, it was only 3.4 feet during this survey. Land and lakeshore property owners within the watershed can help improve water quality by using best management practices that reduce run-off and nutrient input into the lake. The lake is highly developed and is a popular destination for aquatic recreation and angling. Waverly Lake was listed as infested with zebra mussels in 2019 and this infestation may be one of the reasons why water clarity has been trending upward. A standard lake survey was conducted in 2024 using boat electrofishing, gillnets, and trap nets to survey popular game species last sampled in 2019. Largemouth Bass were surveyed at night via boat electrofishing on May 16, 2024. Largemouth Bass catches continue to be high with a catch rate of 133/hr, which is nearly double the Sauk Rapids area management goal for nighttime electrofishing (75/hr). Two hundred sixty-four bass were sampled and ranged in length from six to 19 inches with an average length of 12 inches. Anglers should have good opportunities to catch quality-sized Largemouth Bass as 44% were longer than 12 inches and 18% were longer than 15 inches. Waverly Lake is primarily managed for Walleye and has been stocked with either fry or fingerlings during odd-numbered years since 1985. This strategy produced relatively high Walleye numbers in the 1980s and 90's, but Walleye catches have since normalized to around 4/net. The Walleye gill net catch in 2024 (4.1/net) was higher than 2019 (1.9/net) and back within the range of expected values for the lake. Walleye sampled ranged in length from five to 27 inches, with an average length and weight of 16 inches and 2.0 pounds. Growth rates of Walleye in Waverly Lake were relatively fast, taking only three years to reach 15 inches. The Northern Pike abundance has continued to increase from previous surveys with a catch rate of 11.9/net, which is well above the range of expected values for lakes similar to Waverly. Northern Pike ranged in length from 15 to 35 inches, with an average length and weight of 23 inches and 3.0 pounds. Anglers can expect decent pike action with a chance at catching a few 26 + inch pike as 21% of the catch were 26 inches or longer with 5% being…
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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