Big Butternut Lake (Polk County)
Waterbody ID (WBIC): 2641000 — permanent page /lakes/2641000/.
Big Butternut Lake is in Polk County; records show 384 acres and 1 DNR access-site record.
- Size
- 384 acres
- Lake type
- DRAINAGE
- Max depth
- 19 ft
- Mean depth
- 13 ft
- 1 documented public access site record (DNR access inventory)
- 4 fish species/groups with abundance categories (DNR lake page)
- Fish stocking documented through 2023 (DNR stocking records)
- Summer Secchi clarity median 2.5 ft (field measurements)
- Official DNR depth map available (PDF)
Back to results Show on map Choose access / Directions Depth map (PDF) Check current DNR regulations
Plan your visit
- Lake directory: public landing — Yes
- Lake directory: public beach — No
- Lake directory: public park — Yes
- DNR public-access inventory: 1 documented access site record
- DNR public-access inventory: documented developed boat ramp
- DNR public-access inventory: 1 shore-fishing site record
- 2 sites qualify for per-site Directions through the reviewed lake association (load the site details below)
Each statement is bounded to its named source; absence of a record is never evidence of no access. The DNR access database may lag reality; posted signs at the landing are authoritative.
Verify at the DNR public boat access program page.
Documented public access sites — load details
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Fishing
The DNR lake page publishes 4 fish species/groups with abundance categories — categories are source labels, never a population count.
DNR fish labels: Largemouth Bass—Common; Northern Pike—Common; Panfish—Common; not population counts.
Stocking records: 43 documented events through 2023, 9,851,631 fish total. Species: Walleye (Frequent), Largemouth Bass (Historic). Events in 2015 or later count as recent.
Fisheries survey population estimates are published for this lake; survey estimates are historical point-in-time studies and are never compared or ranked here.
Fishing limits — 2026-2027 season: 17 normalized rows across 17 species entries. Normalized from the DNR ruleset retrieved 2026-08-04. Source text remains authoritative.
Fish species and abundance detail — load details
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Detailed stocking history — load details
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Fisheries survey estimates — load details
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2026-2027 retained fishing rules: 17 published rows for 17 species; effective through 2027-03-07. Check current DNR rules.
Normalized fishing-regulation rows — load details
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Water and setting
- Field-measured summer Secchi clarity: median 2.5 ft from 22 samples, latest sample 2023-07-16
- Satellite clarity estimate: 3.37 ft (2017) — a remote-sensing estimate, kept separate from field measurements
- Lake directory clarity class: Very Low
Official DNR depth map (PDF) — Historical lake map; not for navigation. Link checked 2026-07-16.
- AIS record: Banded mystery snail — Verified, latest documented 2013-06-19
- AIS record: Chinese mystery snail — Verified, latest documented 2013-06-19
- AIS record: Curly-leaf pondweed — Verified (vouchered), latest documented 1983-06-20
- AIS record: Purple loosestrife — Verified, latest documented 2017-08-29
Occurrence records come from a non-exhaustive DNR inventory; a record documents presence at observation time and a missing record is never evidence of absence.
- Public-land proximity (GIS proxy, not access evidence): none mapped within 1,000 ft; nearest: Gandy Dancer State Trail (Wisconsin DNR); ≈0% of shoreline buffer
- Shoreline development (landcover proxy, 2025 source): ≈46.6% developed land within 300 m, ≈9.6% impervious
- Road proximity (TIGER proxy, 2025 source): nearest local road or city street ≈1 m; ≈3.8 km of road per km² within 1 km
- Mapped critical habitat: 8 sensitive-area polygons — ≈40 ac (≈10.4% of lake area), partial-waterbody scope
Designations are legally defined DNR records shown as their sources state them; no composite rating is implied.
Measured and satellite clarity records — load details
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Aquatic invasive species records — load details
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Data & sources
Published data families
- Fish species and abundance (DNR lake pages)
- Fish stocking history
- Fishing regulations (normalized snapshot)
- Directory access facts (landing, beach, park)
- Public access site inventory
- Satellite water clarity estimate
- Field-measured Secchi clarity
- Fisheries survey population estimates
- Aquatic invasive species occurrences
Original records: Wisconsin DNR lake page.
Missing values are unpublished, never zero; each fact above is bounded to its named source and date. Full sourcing detail: Data & methods.