Minnesota DNR fisheries surveys · latest July 29, 2024
Species recorded at Zumwalde Lake
18 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 Zumwalde Lake
No stocking record for Zumwalde 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 July 29, 2024 caught 3.50 walleye per gill net at Zumwalde Lake.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Zumwalde Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
8 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2024-07-29 (Targeted Survey).
8 surveys on file · most recent 2024-07-29 (Targeted Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Crappie | 27.30 | 4–11 in 2024-07-29 | 0.28 lb |
| Channel Catfish | 11.90 | 17–25 in 2024-07-29 | 1.87 lb |
| Bluegill | 10.69 | 3–7 in 2024-07-29 | 0.25 lb |
| Largemouth Bass | 8.43 | 3–18 in 2024-07-29 | 0.73 lb |
| Yellow Perch | 7.25 | 5–7 in 2024-07-29 | 0.17 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.
Black Crappie
Channel Catfish
Bluegill
Largemouth Bass
From the 2024-07-29 survey
The Sauk River Chain of Lakes (SRCL) is located in south-central Stearns County, near the city of Richmond. A dam built in the early 1900's on the Sauk River in Cold Spring created the SRCL a reservoir consisting of nine lakes and approximately 3,200 acres of water. The Sauk River drains a large portion of central…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Zumwalde Lake. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — ZumwaldeFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
Common questions
What fish are in Zumwalde Lake?
Minnesota DNR's Targeted Survey on July 29, 2024 caught 3.50 walleye per gill net at Zumwalde Lake. Minnesota DNR lists 18 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 Zumwalde Lake last surveyed?
The most recent fisheries survey on file for Zumwalde Lake is dated July 29, 2024. 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 Zumwalde Lake stocked?
No stocking record for Zumwalde 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 Zumwalde Lake fishes?
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Zumwalde Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is declining. 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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