Minnesota DNR fisheries surveys · latest September 2, 2021
Species recorded at Upper Cullen Lake
14 species on the Minnesota DNR list for this lake. A species on the list has been recorded here; it does not mean it is catchable today or in every part of the lake.
Stocking at Upper Cullen Lake
No stocking record for Upper Cullen Lake appears in the Minnesota DNR material on file. That is an absence in the published record, not a confirmation that the lake is unstocked — some waters are managed as naturally reproducing and never appear in a stocking list at all.
Survey results in full
Minnesota DNR's Targeted Survey on September 2, 2021 caught 1.00 largemouth bass per hour of electrofishing at Upper Cullen Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 2–19 inches.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Upper Cullen Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is stable. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
10 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2021-09-02 (Targeted Survey).
10 surveys on file · most recent 2021-09-02 (Targeted Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluntnose Minnow | 23.16 | ||
| Bluegill | 17.08 | 2–8 in 2021-07-06 | 0.18 lb |
| Largemouth Bass | 11.37 | 2–19 in 2021-07-06 | 1.33 lb |
| Tullibee (Cisco) | 6.03 | 8–13 in 2015-07-06 | 0.76 lb |
| Northern Pike | 5.70 | 11–34 in 2021-07-06 | 1.78 lb |
CPUE = catch per unit effort, fish caught per net per set in a standardised survey. It measures abundance, not size, and is not a weekly bite report.
Length Distributions
Number of fish caught at each inch class in the most recent survey that recorded lengths. Red dashed line marks an approximate trophy threshold for that species.
Bluegill
Largemouth Bass
Tullibee (Cisco)
Northern Pike
From the 2021-09-02 survey
Upper Cullen Lake is a 435 acre lake, with a maximum depth of 40', located 6 miles northeast of the town of Nisswa in Crow Wing County. Upper Cullen is located in the Crow Wing River watershed. A nearshore survey was conducted to assess the populations of both game and non-game fish species. Ten 100' long sampling…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Upper Cullen Lake. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — Upper CullenFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
Common questions
What fish are in Upper Cullen Lake?
Minnesota DNR's Targeted Survey on September 2, 2021 caught 1.00 largemouth bass per hour of electrofishing at Upper Cullen Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 2–19 inches. Minnesota DNR lists 14 species for the lake in total. Those are survey results, not a catch report: a net set on one date measures what was in that net.
When was Upper Cullen Lake last surveyed?
The most recent fisheries survey on file for Upper Cullen Lake is dated September 2, 2021. Survey intervals vary by lake and by species; a gap of several years between surveys is normal and does not mean the record is missing.
Is Upper Cullen Lake stocked?
No stocking record for Upper Cullen Lake appears in the Minnesota DNR material on file. That is not the same as a confirmed unstocked lake: it means no stocking document was published for it in the records this page draws on.
Do the water-quality readings tell me how Upper Cullen Lake fishes?
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Upper Cullen Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is stable. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
Before you eat what you catch
Water-quality readings are not a consumption advisory. Mercury and PCB advice for Minnesota waters comes from MDH, and it is issued per species and per size class: a lake with clear, low-nutrient water can still carry a meal limit on larger predator fish.
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