Lower Bottle

Lower Bottle Lake is located four miles north of Dorset in southern Hubbard County. Lower Bottle is separated by a narrows from Upper Bottle, both lakes having similar fish communities and are generally managed together. Lower Bottle has a surface area of 641 acres and a maximum depth of 110 feet. A state-owned public access is located on the north shore of Upper Bottle Lake, and navigation is through the channel between the lakes. Boating access is also available by small boats through the shallow river connecting to Emma Lake to the south. Lower Bottle provides multi species opportunities to the angler, with good populations of Walleye, Yellow Perch, Northern Pike, and panfish. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Lower Bottle is in lake class 22. Class 22 lakes are generally very large, very deep, hard water lakes, with very irregularly shaped shorelines, and a low littoral zone (lake area less than 15 feet deep). Other class 22 lakes in the Park Rapids management area include Big Sand, Kabekona, Long, and Potato. Walleye abundance remained strong in Lower Bottle with gill net catch rates similar to past surveys. Sampled Walleye ranged in length from 8.2 to 22.8 inches with an average length of 14.1 inches. Good numbers of smaller Walleye (8-12 inches) were sampled. Yellow Perch, an important forage species for Walleye, were sampled in low numbers. Yellow Perch were small in size with fish measured up to 7.1 inches. Anglers can expect to find an abundant Northern Pike population in Lower Bottle. Northern Pike had an average length and weight of 22.2 inches and 2.6 pounds with fish measured up to 34.2 inches. While not know as a bass - panfish lake, Lower Bottle does provide angling opportunities for Black Crappie, Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass. Present and past surveys have shown the population of these species to fluctuate from low to moderate numbers. Other species sampled included high numbers of Rock Bass and White Sucker and low numbers of Brown Bullhead and Yellow Bullhead. Faucet snails, an aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been identified in Lower Bottle. 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.

Lower Bottle Lake is located in southern Hubbard County, four miles north of Dorset. Lower Bottle Lake has a surface area of 641 acres and a maximum depth of 110 feet. A DNR public access is located on the north shore of Upper Bottle Lake. Boats can navigate to Lower Bottle Lake through a channel between the lakes. Boating access is also available to the Bottle Lakes by small boats through the shallow river connecting Emma Lake to the south. Lower Bottle Lake provides multi species opportunities to anglers for Walleye, Yellow Perch, Northern Pike, Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass and panfish. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Lower Bottle Lake is in Lake Class 22. Class 22 lakes are generally very large, very deep, clear, hard water lakes, with very irregularly shaped shoreline and low littoral zone. Other class 22 lakes in the Park Rapids area include: Big Sand, Kabekona, Long, and Potato. Walleyes catch rates were in line with past samples, but below the historic high in 2013. Most Walleye were in the 14 to 17-inch size range, with fish sampled up to 24 inches. Yellow Perch, an important forage species for Walleye, were sampled in very low numbers. Yellow Perch were small, with very few perch an acceptable size for angling. Anglers can expect to find an abundant population of Northern Pike in Lower Bottle Lake. Northern Pike had an average length and weight of 22 inches and 2.5 pounds, with pike measured up to 39 inches. Lower Bottle Lake provides angling opportunities for Black Crappie, Bluegill and Pumpkinseed, but in relatively low numbers. Lower Bottle Lake has both Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass present. Bass abundance was in line with past samples, and they were an average size of 14 inches for Largemouth Bass and 15 inches for Smallmouth Bass. Currently no aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been identified in Lower Bottle 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.

Lower Bottle Lake (29-0180-00) is a 641.18-acre lake with a maximum depth of 110 feet located 4 miles north of Dorset, MN. A survey targeting near shore fish species was conducted by Park Rapids Fisheries Staff on July 10 and 12, 2018 to assess populations of non-game and small sport fish. Fourteen 100-foot sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake shore, sampling a variety of habitat types. Each site was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot 1/8th-inch mesh seine, depending on habitat conditions. During this assessment, four sites were sampled with a 50-foot seine and five sites were sampled with a 15-foot seine. Site conditions prevented the use of seines at five sites. Backpack electrofishing was done at all 14 sites, several of which were conducted from the side of the boat. Nearshore sampling captured seventeen species of fish including three species intolerant of disturbance; Banded Killifish, Blackchin Shiner and Blacknose Shiner. Other species sampled during the nearshore effort included Bluegill, Bluntnose Minnow, Common Shiner, Golden Shiner, Iowa Darter, Johnny Darter, Largemouth Bass, Mimic Shiner, Northern Pike, Pumpkinseed, Rock Bass, Spottail Shiner, White Sucker, and Yellow Perch. Nearshore catches will be used along with gill net and trap net catch data from a standard fisheries survey conducted on August 6, 2018, to calculate a fish-based Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) score which is indicative of the health of Lower Bottle Lake. This survey is contributing to a watershed assessment process in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. Lower Bottle Lake is located in the Crow Wing River Watershed.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Walleye, Northern Pike, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, and Pumpkinseed in Lower Bottle. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Lower Bottle has a maximum depth of 110 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Lower Bottle is from 2023.

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