Steep Bank

Steep Bank Lake is in Lincoln County five miles northeast of the town of Hendricks. It is 208 acres and has a maximum depth of seven feet. The lake is highly productive and dense algae blooms frequently occur. Fish summerkills can occur when algae die and decompose, often rapidly depleting the dissolved oxygen. The last known summerkill occurred in 2012. Steep Bank Lake also has a history of winterkills due to low oxygen, most recently in 2009. This Standard Survey was conducted to collect routine fish population data using gill nets and trap nets. These data can be compared to previous Standard and Targeted Surveys from Steep Bank Lake. Walleyes were moderately abundant in 2023 and were from a wide range of sizes, including good numbers of fish over 20 inches. Steep Bank Lake can be described as a "boom or bust" walleye fishery, and it's presently in the "boom" stage. Fry stocking has maintained the walleye population and good numbers of young walleyes were found in 2023. Low numbers of yellow perch were caught. Most of them were yearlings that measured 5-7 inches. Steep Bank has been known to produce large perch at times, however only two perch over 8 inches were caught in 2023. The largest was 13 inches. Future management activities will include walleye fry stocking, fish surveys and winter dissolved oxygen monitoring.

Steep Bank Lake is located in Lincoln County five miles northeast of the town of Hendricks. It is 208 acres and has a maximum depth of seven feet. The lake is highly productive and dense algae blooms frequently occur. Fish summerkills can occur when algae die and decompose, often rapidly depleting the dissolved oxygen. The last known summerkill occurred in 2012. Steep Bank Lake also has a history of winterkills due to low oxygen, most recently in 2009. This Targeted Survey was conducted to collect routine fish population data using gill nets and quarter-inch mesh trap nets. These data can be compared to historical Standard and Targeted survey data from Steep Bank Lake. Walleyes were moderately abundant in 2020 from a wide range of sizes, including fish over 20 inches. Steep Bank Lake can be described as a "boom or bust" Walleye fishery, and it's presently in the "boom" stage. Fry stocking has maintained the Walleye population. Yellow Perch were abundant. Most of the adult perch were from the 2019 year class and 5-8 inches. They should provide good fishing for the next year or two. One 13-inch perch was caught. Young-of-year perch were abundant and they should provide continued good perch fishing in the future. Future management activities include continued Walleye fry stocking, fish surveys and winter dissolved oxygen monitoring.

Steep Bank Lake is located in Lincoln County five miles northeast of the town of Hendricks. It is 208 acres and has a maximum depth of 7 feet. The most recent fish survey (2017) indicated quality Walleye and Yellow Perch populations were present. Steep Bank Lake is highly productive and dense algae blooms frequently occur. Winterkills occurred during the winters of 1980-81, 1981-82, 1993-94, 2000-01 and 2008-09. Low oxygen levels occurred the winters of 2010-11 and 2013-2014 but no significant kills resulted. A moderate to severe summerkill occurred in 2012 due to low oxygen levels which resulted from decomposing algae. Near record amounts of snow fell in the area during the winter of 2018-2019. By mid-March dissolved oxygen readings in Steep Bank Lake were zero from top to bottom, indicating potential winterkill conditions. Some dead Common Carp and Walleyes were observed along shore during ice-out. Three trap nets were set to check for the presence of gamefish. Walleye and Yellow Perch were caught in high numbers from various sizes, indicating that winterkill was likely minimal.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Walleye, Northern Pike, Black Crappie, Bluegill, and Yellow Perch in Steep Bank. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Steep Bank has a maximum depth of 6.5 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

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

No invasive species are on record for Steep Bank in Minnesota DNR data. Always clean, drain, and dry your equipment to help keep it that way.