Duck

Duck Lake (DOW # 29-0142-00) is located ten miles southeast of Park Rapids, on the border of Hubbard County. Duck Lake has a surface area of 326 acres and a maximum depth of 23 feet. There is a state-owned public access located on the southwest shore of the lake off Duck Lake Road. Duck Lake has good water quality and lots of sand shoreline. Duck Lake provides fishing opportunities for Walleye, Largemouth Bass, and panfish. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different lake classes based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Duck Lake is in Lake Class 31. Lake Class 31 lakes generally have hard water and have regularly shaped shorelines. Other Lake Class 31 lakes in the Park Rapids area include: Second, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Crow Wing, Boulder, Evergreen, Hattie, Hinds, Lower Twin, Shingobee and Tripp Lakes. Walleye abundance has remained high for the past several surveys. Over half of the Walleyes sampled were in the 13-to-15-inch size range, with fish sampled up to 22.1 inches. Yellow Perch, an important forage species for Walleye, were sampled in low numbers and have been very low since 2006. Anglers will find an abundant Largemouth Bass population with high numbers of bass in the 10-14-inch size range and few fish over 15 inches. Present and past surveys have shown that the panfish population in Duck fluctuates from moderate to high numbers. Anglers can expect to find most Bluegills in the 6-8-inch size range with very few fish over 8 inches. Black Crappie numbers have remained stable in Duck Lake, but few fish over 10 inches were sampled. Currently faucet snails, an aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been identified in Duck Lake. To avoid spreading AIS, lake users are required to remove all aquatic plants or animals from their watercraft and drain all water from their boat before leaving the access.

Duck Lake is located on the southern border of Hubbard County. Duck Lake has a surface area of 326 acres and a maximum depth of 23 feet. There is a state-owned public access located on the southwest shore of the lake. Duck Lake has good water quality and lots of sand shoreline. Duck supports good populations of Walleye, Largemouth Bass, and panfish. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different lake classes based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Duck Lake is in lake class 31. Class 31 lakes are generally hard water and have regularly shaped shoreline. Other class 31 lakes in the Park Rapids area include Second, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Crow Wing Lakes, Boulder, Evergreen, Hattie, Hinds, and Lower Twin. Walleye abundance has remained high for the past several surveys. Good numbers of Walleye in the 13 to 15 inch size range were sampled with fish measured up to 24.4 inches. Yellow Perch, an important forage species for Walleye, were sampled in low numbers and has been very low since 2006. Anglers will find an abundant Largemouth Bass population with high numbers of bass in the 10-14 inch size range and few fish over 15 inches. Present and past surveys have shown the panfish population in Duck to fluctuate from moderate to high numbers. Duck Lake can provide good fishing for Black Crappie and Bluegill. Duck Lake has good water quality, submerged and emergent aquatic vegetation that provides excellent habitat for Largemouth Bass and panfish. Currently faucet snails, an aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been identified in Duck Lake. To avoid spreading AIS, lake users are required to remove all aquatic plants or animals from their watercraft and drain all water from their boat before leaving the access.

A targeted survey of the nearshore fish community was conducted on June 24, 2019 by Fisheries Lake IBI program staff. Sampling stations were evenly spaced around the lake and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at all 10 stations. A 15-foot seine was used to sample one station and a 50-foot seine was used to sample nine stations. Nearshore sampling captured 15 native species of fish including five species (Banded Killifish, Blacknose Shiner, Iowa Darter, Mimic Shiner, Rock Bass) intolerant of habitat disturbance and no tolerant species. Data from this targeted nearshore survey is combined with data from standard gill and trap netting surveys to calculate a Fish-based Index of Biological Integrity (FIBI) score that describes the overall health of the lake. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. 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. The FIBI score for Duck Lake based on this survey is above the impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. Data from this survey will contribute biological information about the health of the fish community to the Crow Wing River Watershed assessment process in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency.

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

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

Duck has a maximum depth of 23 feet and a mean depth of 14 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

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

Yes — Duck has confirmed faucet snail. Clean, drain, and dry your equipment to avoid spreading invasives to other waters.