Upper Cormorant

Upper Cormorant Lake is an 856-acre, class 25 lake located in southwestern Becker County. It consists of a main basin and a long, narrow, northern arm with several shallow bays. Two narrow channels, not navigable in low water years, provide access to Rossman and Nelson Lakes to the east and eventually connect to Middle Cormorant Lake. Upper Cormorant Lake is relatively shallow (29-foot maximum depth) and summer stratification rarely occurs. There is a state-owned access on the west shore of the southernmost bay. Walleye fingerlings are stocked biennially in odd years, with yearlings and/or adults also stocked occasionally. A targeted fisheries survey using nine gill nets was completed in August 2025 to assess the Walleye and Northern Pike populations of Upper Cormorant Lake. Walleye catch rates have remained relatively stable at seven fish per gill net since 2017. The catch rate in 2025 was no exception, with gill nets averaging 6.6 Walleye per net. The average length of sampled Walleye was 19 inches and the longest Walleye measured was just shy of 27 inches. Nine different ages of Walleyes were sampled with fish as old as 14 years collected. Age-6 fish were most abundant, making up 42% of the sample. The 2016-year class (nine year old fish) also showed up in better than expected numbers. Some fish were assigned ages to years when no stocking occurred, suggesting there may be a small amount natural reproduction occurring at Upper Cormorant Lake. The Northern Pike gill net catch in Upper Cormorant historically has been low but jumped up to a record high 14.9 pike per gill net in the 2022 survey. The catch rate went back down in 2025 to 6.4 per gill net, which is still a little above the lake average of 5.9 pike per net. This is one of a few lakes in the area where the Walleye catch rate was larger than the Northern Pike catch rate. This is good news for a lake that gets stocked with Walleye fingerlings. About 31% of the pike were greater than 24 inches in 2025, which is the highest percentage ever recorded at the lake. The average length of Northern Pike surveyed in 2025 was 22.25 inches and the longest was 37 inches. Several other species were caught in the gill nets. Largemouth Bass averaged 11.5 inches with fish up to 16.5 inches caught. Bluegill of all sizes were caught in decent numbers. Bluegill averaged seven inches and measured up to 9.25 inches. About 28% of the Bluegills sampled were over eight inches. Black Crappie were captured in moderate numbers with fish up to 12.25 inches captured. Other species sampled were Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead, and Pumpkinseed.

A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Upper Cormorant Lake was conducted on August 22, 2022, by Detroit Lakes Area Fisheries Staff. Data collected during this nearshore survey were combined with trap net and gill net data to calculate a Fish-based IBI (FIBI) score for the lake. The FIBI Tool-2 was used for scoring and resulted in a FIBI score of 40. The previous score for Upper Cormorant Lake was 27 in July 2017. The impairment threshold score is 45, suggesting that the fish population in Upper Cormorant Lake does not meet expectations for lakes of similar characteristics, and the fish community of Upper Cormorant Lake is affected by disturbances within the watershed or along the shoreline of Upper Cormorant Lake. Data from this survey will contribute biological information about the health of the fish community to the Otter Tail River Watershed assessment process in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website.

Upper Cormorant is an 856-acre, class 25 lake located in southwestern Becker County. It consists of a main basin and a long, narrow, northern arm with several shallow bays. Two narrow channels, not navigable in low water years, provide access to Rossman and Nelson Lakes to the east. Upper Cormorant is relatively shallow (29 foot maximum depth) and summer stratification rarely occurs. No thermocline was present in August 2017. The ecological status of Upper Cormorant Lake is eutrophic, as determined by measures of total phosphorus, water transparency, and chlorophyll-a. The 2017 Northern Pike gill net catch rate of 4.9 fish per net was just below the lake's historical mean of 5.0 per net. Net catches of Northern Pike have remained relatively consistent over time and within the expected range for similar lakes. Sampled Northern Pike ranged from 16.9 to 31.1 inches in length with a mean of 21.3 inches. The Northern Pike population in Upper Cormorant appears to have consistent recruitment, but suffers from high mortality of adult fish. Despite the historically consistent presence of fish longer than 30 inches, age frequencies have been remarkably young. Gill net catches of Walleye have also remained relatively stable over time. The 2017 gill net catch rate of 6.8 fish per net was nearly equivalent to the lake's historical mean of 6.9 fish per net. The mean length of sampled Walleyes was 16.6 inches and the mean weight was 2.0 pounds. Lengths of Walleye ranged from 8.9 to 26.4 inches. Natural reproduction has historically been very limited, annual fingerling stocking has occurred since 2005 so evaluation is difficult. Yellow Perch abundance has been historically very low, and was again the case in 2017 when the catch rate was 0.1 fish per net. Yellow Perch catch rates have ranged from 0.0 to 6.4 fish per net. This phenomena is quite intriguing considering the overall low abundance of Northern Pike. The trap net catch rate of Bluegill in 2017 of 46.9 fish per net was above the historical mean of 41.1 fish per net for the first time since 1988. Trap net sampled Bluegills ranged from 2.8 to 11.0 inches in length with a mean of 5.7 inches. Despite slow growth rates, enough older Bluegills were present so that 33% of the fish sampled were over seven inches in length. In 2017, the Black Crappie catch rate increased to 3.3 fish per trap net, which bested the lake's historical average of 2.3 fish per net for the first time since 2002. The overall mean length of sampled crappies was 8.5 inches and lengths ranged from 4.8 to 10.6 inches. Black Crappies grew to an average length of 8.6 inches by age four. Brown and Yellow Bullhead numbers were fairly high. Average sizes for both Brown and Yellow Bullhead were about 11-12 inches and 0.75 pounds. Black Bullheads were not sampled in 2012 or 2017. Common Carp abundance remained low in 2017. Carp were first caught in assessment nets in 1976. Although carp habitat appears to be abundant, carp have not increased substantially in numbers or created water quality or fish community problems in Upper Cormorant. Other fish species sampled in 2012 included Largemouth Bass, Hybrid and Pumpkinseed Sunfish, and White Sucker.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Black Crappie, Walleye, Bluegill, Northern Pike, and Largemouth Bass in Upper Cormorant. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

Minnesota DNR records list public access for Upper Cormorant. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for the launch type and directions before you go.

Upper Cormorant has a maximum depth of 29 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Upper Cormorant is from 2025.

Yes — Upper Cormorant has confirmed zebra mussel. Clean, drain, and dry your equipment to avoid spreading invasives to other waters.