Willie Lake
Meeker County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 47006100
DNR records show 4 stocking entries at Willie Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2024 (60,768 fish).
- Willie Lake has 4 DNR stocking records across 4 years (2017-2024): walleye (4).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 365,043 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 17 ft; surface area 192 acres, 121 littoral acres, 3.3 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 2.5 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid crappie, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, and 7 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Meeker County, nearest town Litchfield; DNR lake number (DOW) 47006100.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 60,768 | 0.6 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 62,275 | 0.6 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 121,000 | 1.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 121,000 | 1.1 |
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 | State-owned public access west side of lake. - Double plank ramp |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White crappie | Standard trap nets | 10.11 | 91 | 0.36 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 4.89 | 44 | 0.14 |
| Bigmouth buffalo | Standard trap nets | 3.11 | 28 | 2.02 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 1.78 | 16 | 0.05 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 1.67 | 15 | 1.35 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.89 | 8 | 0.77 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 6 | 0.50 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 2.19 |
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.
Willie is a small lake (191 acres) located south of the City of Litchfield in Meeker County. A state-owned access with gravel parking and a double cement plank boat ramp is present on the west shore. A separate fishing dock is also present at the public access. Willie has approximately three miles of shoreline and a maximum depth of seventeen feet. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) has divided Minnesota's lakes into 44 different classes based on physical and chemical characteristics. Willie is a class 34 lake and other similar waterbodies in the Hutchinson Fisheries Management Area are Spring Lake and Long Lake near Dassel, both in Meeker County. Willie Lake occasionally suffers partial winterkills with the most recent event occurring in 2023. Fish populations can fluctuate widely depending on the severity of the latest winterkill event. It may take several years for all the fish populations to fully recover from the 2023 partial winterkill. Trap netting was conducted in 2024 to fulfill requirements for a fish index of biotic integrity survey. Moderate numbers of Black Crappie were trap netted in 2024, but average length was small (6.0 inches). Only four fish were 8.0 inches or longer and maximum length was 11.0 inches. Moderate numbers of White Crappie were trap netted, with an average length of 9.0 inches. Approximately 48% of the White Crappie catch was 9 inches or longer, with a maximum length of 11.0 inches. White Crappie will provide some of the best fishing opportunity on Willie Lake at this time. Hybrid Crappie are also present at Willie Lake and the longest hybrid sampled in 2024 was 13.0 inches. Low numbers of Northern Pike were trap netted this year, but gill nets are the preferred gear for sampling this species. A small-sized population of Northern Pike is currently present at Willie Lake. Northern Pike averaged 14.8 inches in length and only one Northern Pike was over 15 inches in length. The size distribution indicated good natural reproduction of Northern Pike in 2023. The longest pike sampled was 22.9 inches. Additional species sampled include Bluegill, Bigmouth Buffalo, Black Bullhead, Bowfin, Common Carp, Hybrid Sunfish, and Yellow Perch. People can have significant impacts on lakes and the fish populations they support. Overharvest, lakeshore development, removal of shoreline vegetation, and introductions of invasive species can all adversely affect fish populations. Aquatic invasive species (AIS) are typically moved from infested to non-infested waters by anglers, boaters and lakeshore owners, and can adversely…
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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