West Metro Area Fisheries

7050 Highway 101 East, Suite 100
Shakopee 55379
952-496-4141
[email protected]
West Metro fisheries staff strip eggs from a female muskellunge for the statewide muskie stocking program.

West Metro fisheries staff strip eggs from a female muskellunge for the statewide muskie stocking program.

Anglers who fish in Carver, Hennepin and Scott counties benefit from the management, habitat and oversight work of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' West Metro area fisheries staff.

Area Fisheries Supervisor Daryl Ellison and a staff of five full-time and one part-time employee manage 102 fishing lakes and 108 miles of rivers and streams. These waters include popular fishing destinations such as Lake Minnetonka, the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes and two large rivers – the Minnesota and Mississippi.

 

Information
Updated: 5/21/2019

 

Trout stocked for 2019 open-water season; brook trout added in mid-May

Courthouse Lake (Chaska) received its planned rainbow trout quota for the start of the open-water fishing season. 1,500 yearlings, with average weight of  0.42 lb, were stocked. In addition, 3,278 brook trout were stocked during the week of May 13. Quarry Lake also received 1,349 brook trout at that time. These were adult fish, with an average size of just under 1 lb.  Any trout surviving from previous stockings will also be available in our managed trout lakes. Christmas Lake was last stocked with trout in 2016, so few, if any, fish remain.

Check MN DNR fishing regulations for details about trout fishing in lakes. See our Trout waters page for more information about local trout-fishing management and opportunities.

Recent fish kill reports

Winter 2018-19  Several shallow waters; our Winterkills page lists reported waters and describes this phenomenon

Spring-Fall 2018  Reports of dead fish occurred throughout open-water season 2018 because of a long winter, rapid water warm-ups, and persistently warm temperatures. The timings, numbers, fish species affected, and lake conditions were consistent with seasonal, bacterial-related causes limited to fish and sometimes amphibians. Water conditions related to high temperatures and lower oxygen were also present, creating conditions prompting fish illnesses and deaths. Lakes with such reports were:

  • Carver County: Burandt, Eagle, Hydes, Minnewashta, Reitz, Riley, Waconia
  • Hennepin County: Eagle-Pike, Gleason, Minnetonka, Nokomis, Parkers, Weaver
  • Scott County: Cedar, Fish (Aeromanas bacterial cause confirmed in May 2018), Prior, Spring (columnaris bacterial disease confirmed in September 2018), Thole

Lake Minnetonka muskie study: Please report tagged, fin-clipped fish

MN DNR, Muskies, Inc. Twin Cities Chapter, and Hugh C. Becker Foundation began a project on Lake Minnetonka to evaluate muskellunge (muskie) stocking effectiveness. Since 2009, muskie have been stocked with an individually numbered yellow tag near the dorsal fin. If you catch a tagged muskie that you plan to release, please leave the tag in the fish but record the 6-digit tag number, date caught, lake name, fish species, and fish length via the internet tag-report form or to our office's phone, email, or address (MN DNR West Metro Fisheries Office main web page). Study Details (includes Lake Minnetonka summary through August 2018)

West Metro Fisheries office location

Our office is in the Blue Lake Business Center on Scott Co. Hwy. 101 (between US Hwy 169 and Valleyfair amusement park). We share space with two other MN DNR disciplines (Parks & Trails, Wildlife) and Conservation Corps Minnesota-Iowa .

No license sales or registration/titling services are available, and we have no hatchery or live fish displays for tours. If you'd like to visit us in person, we recommend you contact us beforehand to ensure staff will be here. Because we're a small, field-oriented office, drop-in visitors could find no available help.

Fisheries info for the West Metro area

Related contacts

  • Aquatic Plant Management: Questions and Permits 651-259-5831 (ask for Aquatic Plant Mgt. staff)
  • Fish and Wildlife Kills: Minnesota Duty Officer 651-649-5451 / 1-800-422-0798
Our work
License Dollars At Work logo and link to page
  • Produce up to 1.3 million muskellunge and tiger muskellunge eggs per year for statewide stocking needs.
  • Stock walleye, muskellunge and trout in 35 lakes in the western metropolitan area.
  • Manage the Fishing in the Neighborhood Program (FiN) to introduce more city and suburban residents to fishing by providing close-to-home angling on 26 small lakes and ponds by stocking more than 20,000 catchable-sized fish each year.
  • FiN staff participated in over 50 aquatic education events in 2016, teaching more than 5,000 youth, seniors and disabled citizens about angling and local aquatic resources. Also worked with local units of government and fishing groups in 2015-16 to construct two fishing piers and one shore-fishing structure.
  • Acquire display fish and assist maintaining the aquatic displays at the Minnesota State Fair.
  • Conduct research studies on muskellunge survival, walleye abundance trends and walleye stocking strategies.
Contacts

West Metro staff

Slide text left for phones & emails

Name
Position
Phone
Email
Daryl EllisonArea Supervisor952-496-4141, Ext. 222[email protected]
Taylor PolomisAssistant Area Supervisor952-496-4141, Ext. 223[email protected]
Matt PetersenFishing in the Neighborhood952-496-4141, Ext. 226[email protected]
Mario TravalineFishing in the Neighborhood952-496-4141, Ext. 225[email protected]
Kristan MaccaroniFisheries Specialist952-496-4141, Ext. 224[email protected]
Jason HarrisFisheries Specialist952-496-4141, Ext. 227[email protected]
Lori SniderOffice Administrative Specialist952-496-4141, Ext. 221[email protected]
Keegan LundAquatic Invasive Species Specialist651-259-5828[email protected]