Armstrong Lake (St. Louis County)
St. Louis County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 69027800
DNR records show 6 stocking entries at Armstrong Lake (St. Louis County) since 2016, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (4,182 fish).
- Armstrong Lake (St. Louis County) has 6 DNR stocking records across 6 years (2016-2025): walleye (6).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 229,054 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 34 ft; surface area 382 acres, 102 littoral acres, 4.5 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 14.4 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- St. Louis County, nearest town Ely; DNR lake number (DOW) 69027800.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/29/1957 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 4,182 | 204.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 5,918 | 204.1 |
| 2021 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 6,183 | 203.3 |
| 2019 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 7,467 | 229.8 |
| 2017 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 5,304 | 204.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 200,000 | 2.0 |
2 fish purchased by the DNR for stocking.
Field note · Minnesota stocks by year, not by truck day: walleye fry go in within weeks of ice-out, fingerlings and yearlings mostly in fall, and stream trout in spring and fall. A row here means the fish went in during that year; DNR adds the year's rows after the fact, so the current year can look empty until winter.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | Public Access with boat ramp and parking off State Hwy. 1/169 on the west end of the lake. Access is 8.9 miles east of Tower, MN or 12 miles west of Ely, MN. - Parking for about 8 vehicles and trailers. |
DNR fish survey, 2021
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 94.67 | 142 | 1.01 |
| Smallmouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 5.33 | 8 | 0.84 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 16.67 | 150 | 0.08 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 1.89 | 17 | 0.48 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 9 | 2.05 |
| Rock bass | Standard trap nets | 0.78 | 7 | 0.13 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.44 | 4 | 3.15 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.10 |
| Smallmouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.13 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 0.11 | 1 | 0.26 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 4.44 | 40 | 2.42 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 3.33 | 30 | 2.47 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 2.11 | 19 | 0.16 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 2.11 | 19 | 0.10 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 1.67 | 15 | 0.74 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 1.11 | 10 | 2.86 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 0.56 | 5 | 0.32 |
| Rock bass | Standard gill nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.10 |
Catch per net (CPUE) is the DNR survey's count per gill net or trap net set; higher means more of that species were sampled, not a fishing forecast. Top species per gear shown; where we have no verified common name for a DNR code, the code itself is shown.
Armstrong Lake is a 382 acre lake located 10 miles west of Ely. It is accessed by a concrete ramp off Hwy 169. The lake has a maximum depth of 34 feet and clear water at the time of this survey. On August 9, 2021 the lake was thermally stratified with a surface temperature of 72 F and a bottom temperature of 54 F. Oxygen levels were adequate for gamefish to a depth of 27 feet where the temperature was 57 F. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline are mostly gravel, rubble, and sand. Aquatic plants grow to a depth of 14 feet. The overall gillnet catch rate for all fish combined was 15.8 fish/net which was the lowest catch rate on record for the lake. Yield was 24.5 lbs/net which was the second lowest of past surveys on the lake. Fish species sampled were walleye, northern pike, yellow perch, bluegill, largemouth bass, white sucker, black crappie, rock bass, smallmouth bass, and pumpkinseed. Trap nets caught fish at an overall rate of 21.4 fish/net which was the second lowest on record for the lake. Yield was 6.1 lbs/net which was average compared to past catches on the lake. The catch was dominated by bluegill with no additional species sampled in trap nets that weren't also sampled in gill nets. Forty walleye were sampled in gill nets for a catch rate of 4.4 fish/net, which was just below average compared to other similar lakes but the highest catch rate since the 1997 survey. Walleye lengths ranged from 10 to over 26 inches with an average of nearly 19 inches. The average weight was impressive at over 2 pounds which was better than most other similar lakes in the state. Walleye growth was good with the average fish measuring 16 inches at four years old. Ages ranged from 2 to 9 years with the 2016 year class representing 55% of the total catch. When stocked years were compared against non-stocked years, 32 of the 38 aged fish (84%) came from a year class where stocking occurred. The northern pike gillnet catch was 3.3 fish/net which was the lowest since the 1987 survey but just above average compared to other similar lakes. Lengths ranged from 16 to 34.5 inches with an average over 21 inches. Sizes were on par with previous surveys. Spring night electrofishing was used for the second time on Armstrong for bass sampling. On the night of June 2nd, three electrofishing stations were sampled with each station being fished for 30 minutes. One-hundred fifty total bass were captured in 1.5 hours of on-time for a total catch rate of 100.0 fish/hour. Eight smallmouth were captured in the 1.5 hours of fishing for a catch rate of 5.3 fish/hour. This was below…
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
All Minnesota stockings · every Minnesota lake with a page · state CSV · this lake on DNR LakeFinder
Stocking rows, depths, accesses and survey figures are Minnesota DNR LakeFinder data as of 2026-09-02; contours are the DNR bathymetric survey. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
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