West McDonald Lake

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

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 56038602

DNR records show 11 stocking entries at West McDonald Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (3,375 fish).

• West McDonald Lake has 11 DNR stocking records across 10 years (2016-2025): walleye (11).
• The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 36,954 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 62 ft; surface area 597 acres, 183 littoral acres, 4.7 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 14.2 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, walleye, and 3 more.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: June 9, 2025 (targeted survey).
• Otter Tail County, nearest town Vergas; DNR lake number (DOW) 56038602.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; 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 McDonald Lake is a 573-acre mesotrophic (moderately fertile) lake located in north-central Otter Tail County, approximately four miles south of Vergas, MN. West McDonald Lake is within the Otter Tail River Watershed. There are no inlets or outlets connected to West McDonald Lake. The immediate watershed is composed of agricultural land interspersed with hardwood woodlots. The maximum depth is 75 feet; however, 32% of the lake is 15 feet or less in depth. Historical Secchi disk readings have ranged from 13.2 to 17.1 feet. The majority of the shoreline of West McDonald Lake has been extensively developed with homes and cabins. A DNR owned concrete public water access is located off of County Road 85 along the southwest shoreline of the lake. The shoal water substrates consist of sand and gravel. Small 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 McDonald Lake can be ecologically classified as a bass-panfish-walleye type of lake and this is reflected in the assemblage of the fish community. Largemouth Bass, Walleye, and Bluegill are the dominant gamefish species. A spring electrofishing survey was conducted to analyze the Largemouth Bass population. Survey data indicate that Largemouth Bass abundance, growth, and reproduction occur at moderate levels. Largemouth Bass ranged in length from 4.5 to 19.7 inches with an average length of 10.1 inches. Largemouth Bass attain an average length of 12.3 inches at five years of age. Anglers can maintain the quality of fishing by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of medium to large-size fish while allowing the harvest of the more abundant smaller fish for table fare. Releasing the medium to large fish will ensure that the lake will have enough spawning age fish on an annual basis and will provide anglers with more opportunities to catch large fish in the future. West McDonald…

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, June 9, 2025.

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