Hendricks

Hendricks Lake is on the Minnesota - South Dakota border and is adjacent to the southwestern Minnesota town of Hendricks. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks comanage the fishery and border waters fishing regulations apply. An aeration system is often operated during winter near the City of Hendricks by the Lake Hendricks Improvement Association. The system creates open water that is marked with warning signs. Hendricks Lake is 1,557 acres and has a maximum depth of 9 feet. Gamefish in the lake include walleyes, yellow perch, white bass, northern pike and black crappies. This 2025 Targeted Survey was conducted to collect routine fish population data. These data can be compared to historical Standard and Targeted Survey data from Hendricks Lake. Hendricks Lake has often provided good walleye fishing. Walleye natural reproduction has been inconsistent and maintenance of a fishable population has required supplemental stockings. Newly hatched fry have been routinely stocked and older life stages have been stocked when necessary. Walleye fry from the Lower Mississippi Strain (Lake Sarah) have been stocked during recent years in an effort to develop a self-sustaining population. This strain has been found to do well in southern Minnesota lakes and recent genetic analysis has already found its prevalence to be high in Hendricks Lake. Three good natural year classes have been produced from 2022-2025, and there's high likelihood these are the result of spawning by the Lower Mississippi Strain of walleyes. Adult walleyes were abundant in 2025 and the net catch was above average for Hendricks Lake. Size was fairly evenly distributed between 13 and 22 inches with an average size of 17 inches. Yellow perch and black crappie numbers can fluctuate widely in prairie lakes like Hendricks. An abundant population of perch was present in 2025 with the majority from 9-10.5 inches. Black crappie abundance has been low for several years. Northern pike were moderately abundant with fish up to 30 inches present. Natural reproduction has maintained the pike population during recent years. Northern pike spearing is legal on Lake Hendricks. The season runs from November 15 through the last Sunday in February. The daily and possession limit is 3 and there are no size restrictions. Moderate numbers of adult white bass were present, and most were 15-16 inches. White bass frequently have good reproduction and often produce high numbers of young-of-year. White bass have a firm, white flesh and they are good to eat. Their flavor can be improved by keeping slime off the fillets when cleaning and by trimming away the reddish meat from the outside of the fillets. Anglers are encouraged to harvest and eat them. The black bullhead catch was moderate and considerably lower than 2022 when very high numbers were present. Most bullheads were 5-7 inches, with some up to 15 inches. Anglers who enjoy fishing bullheads are encouraged to give Lake Hendricks a try. Future DNR Fisheries management activities will include netting surveys, fall night electrofishing, stocking fish when appropriate and winter dissolved oxygen monitoring.

Hendricks Lake is on the Minnesota - South Dakota border and is adjacent to the southwestern Minnesota town of Hendricks. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks comanage the fishery and border waters fishing regulations apply. An aeration system is often operated during winter near the City of Hendricks by the Lake Hendricks Improvement Association. The system creates open water that is marked with warning signs. Hendricks Lake is 1,557 acres and it has a maximum depth of nine feet. Gamefish in the lake include walleyes, yellow perch, white bass, northern pike and black crappies. This 2024 Targeted Survey was conducted to collect routine fish population data. These data can be compared to historical Standard and Targeted Survey data from Hendricks Lake. Hendricks Lake has frequently provided good walleye fishing. Walleye natural reproduction has been inconsistent and maintenance of a fishable population has required supplemental stockings. Newly hatched fry are routinely stocked and older life stages are stocked when necessary. Walleye fry from the Lower Mississippi Strain (Lake Sarah) have been stocked during recent years in an effort to develop a self-sustaining population. This strain has been found to do well in southern Minnesota lakes and recent genetic analysis has already found its prevalence to be high in Hendricks Lake. Adult walleyes were abundant in 2024 and the catch was above average for Hendricks Lake. The majority were 14-17 inches with larger fish present as well. High numbers of young-of-year walleyes were produced in 2023 and 2024 and were from natural reproduction. Good survival of abundant young walleyes has contributed to the fishery the last few years. Yellow perch and black crappie numbers can fluctuate widely in prairie lakes like Henricks Lake. A moderate population of perch was present in 2024 with the majority from 6-7 inches, but some over nine inches were also present. Black crappie abundance has been low for several years. Northern pike were moderately abundant with fish up to 33 inches present in the survey. Natural reproduction has maintained the pike population during recent years. Pike grow fast in shallow prairie lakes, however they usually die young likely because they are easy to catch. Moderate numbers of adult white bass were present, and most were 15 to 16 inches. White bass frequently have good reproduction and often produce high numbers of young-of-year. White bass have a firm, white flesh and they are good to eat. Their flavor can be improved by keeping slime off the fillets when cleaning and by trimming away the reddish meat from the outside of the fillets. Anglers are encouraged to harvest and eat them. The black bullhead catch was high, but considerably lower than 2022 when very high numbers where present. Most of the bullheads were decent sized at 10.5-12 inches. Anglers who enjoy fishing bullheads are encouraged to give Hendricks Lake a try. Future DNR Fisheries management activities will include netting surveys, fall night electrofishing, stocking fish when appropriate and winter dissolved oxygen monitoring.

Hendricks Lake is on the Minnesota - South Dakota border. The lake is adjacent to the southwest Minnesota town of Hendricks. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks comanage the fishery and border waters fishing regulations apply. An aeration system is often operated during winter near the City of Hendricks by the Lake Hendricks Improvement Association. The system creates open water that is marked with warning signs. Hendricks Lake is 1,557 acres and it has a maximum depth of nine feet. Gamefish in the lake include walleyes, yellow perch, white bass, northern pike and black crappies. This 2023 Targeted Survey was conducted to collect routine fish population data. These data can be compared to historical Standard and Targeted Survey data from Hendricks Lake. Hendricks Lake has often provided good walleye fishing. Walleye natural reproduction has been inconsistent and maintenance of a fishable population has required supplemental stockings. Fry are routinely stocked and advanced life stages have been stocked when necessary. Walleye fry from the Southern Minnesota Strain (Lake Sarah) have been stocked during recent years in an effort to develop a self-sustaining population. This strain has been found to do well in southern Minnesota lakes and recent genetic analysis has found its prevalence to be high in Lake Hendricks. Adult walleyes were moderately abundant in 2023. The majority were 12-15 inches with larger fish present as well. High numbers of young-of-year walleyes were present and they should contribute to the fishery in a few years. These walleyes were from natural reproduction since no stocking occurred in 2023. Yellow perch numbers can fluctuate widely in Lake Hendricks. A moderate population was present in 2023 with a decent number of 10-11 inch fish. Black crappie abundance has been low for several years. Crappie populations tend to be highly variable in prairie lakes like Hendricks. Northern pike were moderately abundant with fish up to 29 inches present. Natural reproduction has maintained the pike population during recent years. Pike grow fast in shallow prairie lakes. However, they often die young because they are easy to catch and are succeptible to martality due to high summer water temperatures. Young white bass were very abundant and most were 4 to 6 inches. Good numbers of adults were present as well from 14-15 inches. White bass frequently have good reproduction and high numbers of young-of-year have been produced most years. White bass have a firm, white flesh and they are good to eat. Their flavor can be improved by keeping slime off the fillets when cleaning and by trimming away the reddish meat from the outside of the fillets. Anglers are encouraged to harvest and eat them. The black bullhead catch was high, although it was considerably lower than in 2022. Most of the bullheads were decent sized at 9-10 inches. Anglers that enjoy fishing bullheads are encouraged to give Hendricks Lake a try. Future DNR Fisheries management activities will include netting surveys, fall night electrofishing, stocking fish when appropriate and winter dissolved oxygen monitoring.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Yellow Perch, Walleye, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass, and Green Sunfish in Hendricks. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Hendricks has a maximum depth of 9 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

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

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