Astrid Lake
St. Louis County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 69058900
DNR records show 8 stocking entries at Astrid Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (60,000 fish).
- Astrid Lake has 8 DNR stocking records across 8 years (2016-2025): walleye (8).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 520,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 30 ft; surface area 120 acres, 57 littoral acres, 1.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 6.7 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bluegill, burbot, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, shorthead redhorse, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- St. Louis County, nearest town Buyck; DNR lake number (DOW) 69058900.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 60,000 | 0.7 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 60,000 | 0.5 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 60,000 | 0.6 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 60,000 | 0.6 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 60,000 | 0.6 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 60,000 | 0.6 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 60,000 | 0.7 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 100,000 | 1.0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| CA | USF | Portage from USFS Road #200. |
| CA | county | Navigable channel (Hunting Shack River) from the Echo Trail (CR 116). |
DNR fish survey, 2021
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 4.67 | 28 | 1.52 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 3.00 | 18 | 1.38 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 2.00 | 12 | 1.83 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 0.83 | 5 | 0.12 |
| Shorthead redhorse | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 4 | 2.42 |
| Burbot | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 1.09 |
| Rock bass | Standard gill nets | 0.17 | 1 | 0.90 |
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.
Astrid Lake is a 120 acre lake located 20 miles north of Tower. The access is via a portage from USFS Road 200. The lake can also be accessed via the Hunting Shack River from the Echo Trail. This requires adequate water levels on the river which is subject to low water levels at times. Astrid has a maximum depth of 30 feet and brown bog-stained water. On July 8, 2021 Astrid Lake was thermally stratified with a surface temperature of 79 F and a bottom temperature of 47 F. Oxygen levels were adequate for gamefish to a depth of 21 feet where the temperature was 47 degrees. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline are mostly sand, boulder, and ledge rock. The overall gillnet catch rate for all fish combined was 11.7 fish/net which was below average compared to past surveys on Astrid Lake. Yield was 17.1 lbs/net which was also below average for the lake. Fish species sampled were white sucker, northern pike, walleye, yellow perch, shorthead redhorse, burbot, and rock bass. Twelve walleye were sampled for a catch rate of 2.0 fish/net, which was right at the average compared to other similar lakes but slightly below average compared to past surveys on Astrid Lake. Lengths ranged from 10 to over 24 inches with an average of over 17 inches. Ages ranged from 2 to 10 years with 58% of the catch coming from years when walleye fry were stocked. The northern pike gillnet catch was 3.0 fish/net which was the second lowest on record compared to past surveys on Astrid. Lengths ranged from 15 to 24 inches with an average 19 inches. Sizes were similar to past surveys. The yellow perch catch rate was 0.8 fish/net which was below average compared to other similar lakes but slightly better than the average for Astrid. Sizes were relatively small with a range of 5.5 to 8 inches, which was similar to past surveys.
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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Stocking rows, depths, accesses and survey figures are Minnesota DNR LakeFinder data as of 2026-09-02. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
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