West Battle Lake

Otter Tail County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 56023900

DNR records show 28 stocking entries at West Battle Lake since 2016, most recently walleye adults in 2025 (135 fish).

• West Battle Lake has 28 DNR stocking records across 9 years (2016-2025): walleye (22), muskellunge (6).
• The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 7,701,139 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 108 ft; surface area 5,615 acres, 2,496 littoral acres, 17.1 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 18.0 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, pumpkinseed, and 5 more.
• 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: April 21, 2025 (targeted survey).
• Otter Tail County, nearest town Battle Lake; DNR lake number (DOW) 56023900.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/29/1977 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Stocking history

¹ fish purchased and stocked by private citizens and sporting groups. ² fish purchased by the DNR for stocking.

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2025

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.

West Battle Lake is a 5,624-acre mesotrophic (moderately fertile) lake located in south-central Otter Tail County. The city of Battle Lake, Minnesota abuts the west shoreline. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of agricultural land interspersed with hardwood woodlots. The maximum depth is 108 feet; however, 44% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. Water clarity in this lake is excellent; the secchi disk reading in 2024 was 23.5 feet. Secchi disk readings had ranged from 8.0 to 19.8 feet in other surveys. The majority of the shoreline of West Battle Lake has been extensively developed. Homes, cottages, and resorts compose the development. A DNR-owned public access is located on the east shoreline of the lake, and a city-owned public access is located on the west shoreline. The shoal water substrates consist primarily of sand and gravel. Stands of hardstem bulrush and common cattail are scattered along the south and east shorelines of the lake. Emergent aquatic plants such as bulrush and cattail provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines and lake bottoms and absorb and break down polluting chemicals. Emergent plants provide spawning areas for fish such as Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and panfish. They also serve as important nursery areas for all species of fish. Because of their ecological value, emergent plants may not be removed without a DNR permit. To maintain the excellent water quality and angling that this lake has to offer, it is imperative to preserve the quality of the aquatic habitat. West Battle Lake is a popular recreational and angling lake. The dominant gamefish species are Walleye, Northern Pike, Muskellunge, Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, and Black Crappie. Size distribution for these species appears to be good. A reduced daily limit of 5 crappie was instituted in 2025. The goal of this regulation is to maintain or improve the size structure of the Black Crappie population. A special spring trap netting survey was conducted in 2025 to analyze the Black Crappie population and establish baseline demographics. Catch data indicate that Black Crappies are abundant. The 2020-2022 year classes are strong and should provide consistently good Black Crappie angling for several years. Fish sampled ranged in size from 5.6 to 13.1 inches in length, with an average length of 9.7 inches. Fifty-two percent of the crappies were 10.0 inches or greater in length. Crappie growth rates are average, with a mean length of 10.6 inches at five years of age. Anglers can…

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, April 21, 2025.

All Minnesota stockings · every Minnesota lake with a page · state CSV · this lake on DNR LakeFinder