West Lost Lake

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

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 56048100

DNR records show 5 stocking entries at West Lost Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (692,000 fish).

• West Lost Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2025): walleye (5).
• The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 3,460,000 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 16 ft; surface area 795 acres, 692 littoral acres, 12.5 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), green sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, yellow perch.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: May 20, 2021 (targeted survey).
• Otter Tail County, nearest town Underwood; DNR lake number (DOW) 56048100.

Stocking history

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2021

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 Lost Lake is a 723-acre mesotrophic (moderately fertile) lake located in central Otter Tail County approximately seven miles north of Underwood, MN. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of agricultural and marsh land interspersed with hardwood woodlots. West Lost Lake is part of the Otter Tail River chain of lakes. The Otter Tail River inlet is located along the east shoreline while the outlet is located along the north shoreline. The maximum depth is 16 feet with 96% of the lake 15 feet or less in depth. A DNR owned public access is located on the east shoreline. Three active resorts are located on the lake. A large majority of the shoreline remains undeveloped. The dominant shoreline substrates are sand and gravel. Stands of hardstem bulrush, wild rice, and common cattail are scattered along the shoreline of the entire lake. Emergent aquatic plants provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat, and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines and lake bottoms, and can actually 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. A reduced daily bag limit regulation for sunfish (10 per day) was implemented in 2021. The objective of the regulation is to maintain the quality of the Bluegill size structure. A special spring trapnetting survey was conducted to collect baseline data on the Bluegill population, which will be used for regulation evaluation purposes in future surveys. The Bluegill population is very abundant and has a high quality size structure. Seventy-four percent of the Bluegill sample was 7.0 inches or greater in length, while 29% was 8.0 inches or greater in length. Age data indicate that Bluegill reproduction is consistently good. Bluegill growth rates are fast with an average length of 8.0 inches at six years of age. Anglers can also maintain or improve the quality of fishing in West Lost Lake by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of large-size fish while allowing the harvest of the more abundant smaller and medium sized fish for eating. Releasing the medium to large fish will ensure that the lake will have enough spawning age fish and will provide anglers with…

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, May 20, 2021.

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