Waverly

Waverly Lake is a 485-acre lake located in southern Wright County and directly north of the city of Waverly. There are two public accesses as well as a city park located on the south end of the lake. Waverly Lake is a fertile, hard water lake that experiences heavy algal blooms during mid to late summer. Water clarity has averaged about 10 feet over the past 10 years; however, it was only 3.4 feet during this survey. Land and lakeshore property owners within the watershed can help improve water quality by using best management practices that reduce run-off and nutrient input into the lake. The lake is highly developed and is a popular destination for aquatic recreation and angling. Waverly Lake was listed as infested with zebra mussels in 2019 and this infestation may be one of the reasons why water clarity has been trending upward. A standard lake survey was conducted in 2024 using boat electrofishing, gillnets, and trap nets to survey popular game species last sampled in 2019. Largemouth Bass were surveyed at night via boat electrofishing on May 16, 2024. Largemouth Bass catches continue to be high with a catch rate of 133/hr, which is nearly double the Sauk Rapids area management goal for nighttime electrofishing (75/hr). Two hundred sixty-four bass were sampled and ranged in length from six to 19 inches with an average length of 12 inches. Anglers should have good opportunities to catch quality-sized Largemouth Bass as 44% were longer than 12 inches and 18% were longer than 15 inches. Waverly Lake is primarily managed for Walleye and has been stocked with either fry or fingerlings during odd-numbered years since 1985. This strategy produced relatively high Walleye numbers in the 1980s and 90's, but Walleye catches have since normalized to around 4/net. The Walleye gill net catch in 2024 (4.1/net) was higher than 2019 (1.9/net) and back within the range of expected values for the lake. Walleye sampled ranged in length from five to 27 inches, with an average length and weight of 16 inches and 2.0 pounds. Growth rates of Walleye in Waverly Lake were relatively fast, taking only three years to reach 15 inches. The Northern Pike abundance has continued to increase from previous surveys with a catch rate of 11.9/net, which is well above the range of expected values for lakes similar to Waverly. Northern Pike ranged in length from 15 to 35 inches, with an average length and weight of 23 inches and 3.0 pounds. Anglers can expect decent pike action with a chance at catching a few 26 + inch pike as 21% of the catch were 26 inches or longer with 5% being longer than 30 inches. Waverly Lake has historically supported high numbers of Bluegill and the 2024 survey continued that trend. The trap net catch of Bluegill in 2024 was high (110.8/net) and well above the range of expected values for the lake and the highest since 1989. Bluegill lengths ranged from three to nine inches with an average length of six inches. Sixty-six percent of the fish sampled were six inches or longer and only 3% were longer than 8.0 inches. Anglers travelling to Waverly Lake could expect to catch a fair number of Bluegill although they will have to do some sorting and likely keep some sub-8-inch fish if they want a fish fry. Black Crappie catches from both gillnets and trap nets were above average for the lake and the highest since 1984. Black Crappie sampled ranged in length from three to 12 inches with and average length of eight inches. Fifty-two percent of Black Crappie sampled were longer than eight inches and 21% were longer than 10 inches. Anglers looking to target Black Crappie may want to give Waverly Lake a try given the results of this survey. The Yellow Perch catch in 2024 (35.2/net) was higher than 2019 and above the range of expected values for the lake class. Perch sampled ranged in length from four to nine inches with an average length of six inches. Anglers should not expect to catch large Yellow Perch as they do not grow large enough to keep although they are an important forage species for popular game species such as Northern Pike and Walleye. Other species sampled in low numbers during the survey included: Bigmouth Buffalo, Black Bullhead, Bowfin, Brown Bullhead, Common Carp, Golden Shiner, Green Sunfish, Hybrid Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, White Sucker, and Yellow Bullhead.

Waverly Lake is a 485-acre lake located in southern Wright County and directly north of the city of Waverly. There are two public accesses as well as a city park located on the south end of the lake. Waverly Lake is a fertile, hard water lake that experiences heavy algal blooms during mid to late summer. Water clarity has averaged about 10 feet over the past 10 years; however, it was only 3.4 feet during this survey. Land and lakeshore property owners within the watershed can help improve water quality by using best management practices that reduce run-off and nutrient input into the lake. The lake is highly developed and is a popular destination for aquatic recreation and angling. Waverly Lake was listed as infested with zebra mussels in 2019 and this infestation may be one of the reasons why water clarity has been trending upward. A standard lake survey was conducted in 2024 using boat electrofishing, gillnets, and trap nets to survey popular game species last sampled in 2019. Largemouth Bass were surveyed at night via boat electrofishing on May 16, 2024. Largemouth Bass catches continue to be high with a catch rate of 133/hr, which is nearly double the Sauk Rapids area management goal for nighttime electrofishing (75/hr). Two hundred sixty-four bass were sampled and ranged in length from six to 19 inches with an average length of 12 inches. Anglers should have good opportunities to catch quality-sized Largemouth Bass as 44% were longer than 12 inches and 18% were longer than 15 inches. Waverly Lake is primarily managed for Walleye and has been stocked with either fry or fingerlings during odd-numbered years since 1985. This strategy produced relatively high Walleye numbers in the 1980s and 90's, but Walleye catches have since normalized to around 4/net. The Walleye gill net catch in 2024 (4.1/net) was higher than 2019 (1.9/net) and back within the range of expected values for the lake. Walleye sampled ranged in length from five to 27 inches, with an average length and weight of 16 inches and 2.0 pounds. Growth rates of Walleye in Waverly Lake were relatively fast, taking only three years to reach 15 inches. The Northern Pike abundance has continued to increase from previous surveys with a catch rate of 11.9/net, which is well above the range of expected values for lakes similar to Waverly. Northern Pike ranged in length from 15 to 35 inches, with an average length and weight of 23 inches and 3.0 pounds. Anglers can expect decent pike action with a chance at catching a few 26 + inch pike as 21% of the catch were 26 inches or longer with 5% being longer than 30 inches. Waverly Lake has historically supported high numbers of Bluegill and the 2024 survey continued that trend. The trap net catch of Bluegill in 2024 was high (110.8/net) and well above the range of expected values for the lake and the highest since 1989. Bluegill lengths ranged from three to nine inches with an average length of six inches. Sixty-six percent of the fish sampled were six inches or longer and only 3% were longer than 8.0 inches. Anglers travelling to Waverly Lake could expect to catch a fair number of Bluegill although they will have to do some sorting and likely keep some sub-8-inch fish if they want a fish fry. Black Crappie catches from both gillnets and trap nets were above average for the lake and the highest since 1984. Black Crappie sampled ranged in length from three to 12 inches with and average length of eight inches. Fifty-two percent of Black Crappie sampled were longer than eight inches and 21% were longer than 10 inches. Anglers looking to target Black Crappie may want to give Waverly Lake a try given the results of this survey. The Yellow Perch catch in 2024 (35.2/net) was higher than 2019 and above the range of expected values for the lake class. Perch sampled ranged in length from four to nine inches with an average length of six inches. Anglers should not expect to catch large Yellow Perch as they do not grow large enough to keep although they are an important forage species for popular game species such as Northern Pike and Walleye. Other species sampled in low numbers during the survey included: Bigmouth Buffalo, Black Bullhead, Bowfin, Brown Bullhead, Common Carp, Golden Shiner, Green Sunfish, Hybrid Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, White Sucker, and Yellow Bullhead.

Waverly Lake is a fertile, hard water lake located in central Wright County, immediately north of the City of Waverly. The lake has a surface area of 485 acres and a maximum depth of 70 feet. Waverly Lake is highly developed and is popular for angling and other types of recreation. The lake can experience heavy algal blooms during the summer. Land and lakeshore owners within the watershed can help improve water quality by using best management practices to reduce run-off and nutrient input to the lake. There are two public accesses, both on the south end of the lake with Legion Memorial Park being the largest. The park also includes a beach, two fishing docks, and a swimming dock. In 2019, a standard survey was completed to update fisheries data last collected in 2014. The survey included spring Largemouth Bass electrofishing and summer gill netting and trap netting for all species. Waverly Lake is managed primarily for Walleye and it had been stocked with fry from 1985 to 2009. This strategy had produced relatively high Walleye populations in the 1980s and 90's. However, after several consecutive unsuccessful fry stockings, the stocking strategy shifted to fingerling stocking in 2011. The Walleye catch in 2019 was the lowest on record, but still within the range of expected values for the lake. Growth rates are relatively fast, which is probably due to an abundance of available forage. The Northern Pike catch rate increased from the previous survey, and was above the range of expected values for lakes similar to Waverly. Anglers should have opportunities to catch quality-sized Northern Pike as fish in the survey ranged in length from 20 to 35 inches with an average length and weight of 25 inches and 4 pounds. Thirty-three percent of pike sampled were longer than 26 inches and 9% were longer than 30 inches which is good for the area. Waverly Lake supports both Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, but Largemouth are the most common species caught. One Smallmouth Bass measuring 17 inches was sampled during the gill net survey. The number of Largemouth Bass sampled were the highest on record for Waverly Lake and almost three times more than the past two surveys. Three hundred and one bass were sampled and ranged in length from five (5) to 20 inches with an average length of 12 inches. Anglers should have opportunities to catch quality-sized fish as over half of the Largemouth Bass caught were longer than 12 inches and 25% were longer than 15 inches. Waverly Lake has historically supported high numbers of Bluegill. The 2019 catch of Bluegill was much higher than the previous survey and more than expected for the lake. Bluegill averaged six (6) inches in length and fish up to nine (9) inches were sampled. Black Crappie were sampled within the range of expected values for the lake and the catch was similar to 2014. Black Crappie sampled ranged in length from six (6) to 11 inches with an average length of eight (8) inches. Other species sampled included: Black, Brown, and Yellow Bullhead, Bowfin, Common Carp, Green Sunfish, Hybrid Sunfish, Pumpkinseed and White Sucker.

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

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

Waverly has a maximum depth of 70.5 feet and a mean depth of 25.5 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Waverly is from 2024.

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