Walker Lake is a 540-acre eutrophic (fertile) lake located in central Otter Tail County approximately four miles west of Ottertail City. The Dead River inlet is located along the north shoreline and outlets into Otter Tail Lake along the south shoreline. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of marshland and agricultural land interspersed with hardwood woodlots. Walker Lake has a maximum depth of 29 feet; however, 63% of the surface acreage is less than 15 feet deep. Shoal water substrates consist primarily of sand and muck. Development is primarily limited to the north and south shorelines. A public water access is located along the north shoreline. The secchi disk reading during the 2007 survey was 5.8 feet. Previous secchi disk readings have ranged from 4.7 to 5.5 feet. Large areas of hardstem bulrush and common cattail are present around the lake. Emergent aquatic plants such as bulrush and cattail provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat, and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines and lake bottoms, and can actually absorb and break down polluting chemicals. Emergent plants provide spawning areas for fish such as northern pike, largemouth bass, and panfish. They also serve as important nursery areas for all species of fish. Because of their ecological value, emergent plants may not be removed without a DNR permit. Walker Lake is a very popular lake for walleye fishing, especially during the first two weeks of the season. Walleyes migrate from Otter Tail Lake through Walker Lake and up the Dead River to spawn in mid to late April. They return to Walker Lake to feed once spawning is completed and before migrating back to Otter Tail Lake. Anglers take advantage of this and usually experience some excellent fishing during this time period. Because the degree of migration can vary from year to year, walleye abundance can fluctuate greatly. Walker Lake is stocked annually with walleye fry to replace eggs taken by the DNR at the walleye egg-take site at the Walker Lake Hatchery. Walleyes sampled in this assessment ranged in length from 8.1 to 23.8 inches with an average length and weight of 16.0 inches and 1.6 pounds. Walker Lake also provides some excellent bluegill fishing at various times of the year. Bluegills are abundant and possess a good size structure. In this assessment, seventy percent of the bluegills were 7.0 inches or greater in length. Age data indicate that bluegill reproduction is consistently good. Bluegills exhibit fast growth with an average length of 7.0 inches at five years of age. A balanced largemouth bass population exists. In a spring electrofishing assessment, bass ranged in length from 8.1 to 19.3 inches with an average length and weight of 13.6 inches and 1.5 pounds. Age data indicate that bass reproduction is consistently good. Bass also exhibit fast growth with an average length of 12.9 inches at four years of age. Anglers can maintain the quality of angling by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of medium to large size fish while allowing the harvest of more abundant smaller fish for table fare. Releasing the medium to large fish will ensure that the lake will have enough spawning age fish on an annual basis and will provide anglers with more opportunities to catch large fish in the future.