Ash Lake
St. Louis County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 69086400
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Ash Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (11,365 fish).
- Ash Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2025): walleye (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 75,896 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 25 ft; surface area 690 acres, 195 littoral acres, 6.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 7.6 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, hybrid sunfish, northern pike, pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- St. Louis County, nearest town International Falls; DNR lake number (DOW) 69086400.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 12/1/1938 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 11,365 | 586.1 |
| 2023 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 18,130 | 584.8 |
| 2021 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 19,305 | 585.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 18,321 | 585.3 |
| 2017 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 8,775 | 585.0 |
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 | - State owned public access on northeast side of lake. |
| O | county | - Access off road on southeast corner of lake |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smallmouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 189.30 | 236 | 0.51 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 86.67 | 780 | 0.22 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 19.67 | 177 | 1.79 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 8.00 | 72 | 1.20 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 5.11 | 46 | 0.55 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 1.11 | 10 | 0.65 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 0.78 | 7 | 6.37 |
| Smallmouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 6 | 1.02 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 8.55 | 94 | 0.16 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 8.09 | 89 | 0.47 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 7.27 | 80 | 0.41 |
| Golden shiner | Standard trap nets | 1.36 | 15 | 0.08 |
| Smallmouth bass | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 11 | 1.43 |
| White sucker | Standard trap nets | 0.91 | 10 | 2.29 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.82 | 9 | 1.28 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 0.45 | 5 | 0.18 |
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.
Ash Lake is a moderately productive Class 5 lake located approximately 12 miles north of Orr, MN. It has a total surface area of 669 acres, with a maximum depth of 25 feet, and a maximum fetch (NE) of 1.8 miles. Approximately 28% (195 acres) of the lake is less than 15 feet deep. Undeveloped forest and bogs dominate the surrounding watershed. Plants with an abundance rating of "common" during the 2013 survey included clasping leaf pondweed, narrow-leaf pondweed group, and water celery. Submerged vegetation grew to a maximum depth of 8 feet. Sand was the most common shoal water substrate, followed by boulder and detritus. Six inlets were identified. Three of the inlets had no visible flow, while the other three had very little velocity, ranging from 0.1 to 0.2 feet per second. The outlet forms the source of the Ash River. Current fishing regulations on Ash Lake for Walleye follow the statewide regulation, which is a 6-combination total possession limit with not more than 1 Walleye over 20". There is a special regulation set to improve Northern Pike size structure, which is a possession limit of three with only 1 over 36" and all Northern Pike between 24 - 36" inches must be immediately released. Black Crappie fishing regulation follows the statewide regulation with a 10-combination total possession limit. Sunfish fishing regulation follows the statewide regulation with a 20-combination total possession limit. Bass fishing regulations follow the Northeast Zone regulation, which is six combined Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass possession limit. Walleye gill-net catch rate was 8.0 fish per net which is above average for similar lakes. Catch rate was above the management goal of 5.0 fish per net for Ash Lake. Total length ranged from 7.5 to 29.9 inches and mean length was 12.9 inches. Average weight was 1.2 pounds which is average for similar class lakes. A total of 10 year classes were present, and ages ranged from 2-17 years. Ash Lake offers a good Walleye fishing opportunity, there are good numbers of Walleyes in Ash Lake with the chance to catch Walleye over 26 inches. Northern Pike gill-net catch rate was 0.8 fish per net, which is well below the average for similar class lakes. Catch rate was below the management goal of an abundance between 1.8 and 5.5 fish per gill net for Ash Lake. Total length ranged from 23.7 to 38.2 inches and the mean length was 28.9 inches. Mean weight of Northern Pike captured in gill nets was 6.4 pounds which is well above average for similar lakes. A total of four year classes were present, and ages ranged from 2 - 8 years.…
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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