Balsam Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 31025900
Balsam Lake has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Balsam Lake shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 37 ft; surface area 716 acres, 296 littoral acres, 10.3 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 7.4 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, northern sunfish, pumpkinseed, rock bass, tullibee (cisco), walleye, white sucker, and 2 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Itasca County, nearest town Taconite; DNR lake number (DOW) 31025900.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | State-owned access at southeast end of lake, with parking for several rigs. |
DNR fish survey, 2022
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 23.42 | 281 | 0.19 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 2.83 | 34 | 0.32 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 1.50 | 18 | 0.25 |
| Rock bass | Standard trap nets | 0.75 | 9 | 0.20 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.42 | 5 | 0.72 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.17 | 2 | 2.99 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.17 | 2 | 1.81 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.08 | 1 | 0.79 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 6.00 | 72 | 2.95 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 4.67 | 56 | 0.09 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 4.08 | 49 | 0.40 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 3.33 | 40 | 0.07 |
| Tullibee (cisco) | Standard gill nets | 1.17 | 14 | 0.85 |
| Rock bass | Standard gill nets | 0.83 | 10 | 0.52 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.25 | 3 | 1.68 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 0.08 | 1 | 6.12 |
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.
Balsam Lake is a class 25 lake located 14 miles north of Taconite, MN. The lake has one public access and is moderately developed. Balsam Lake has a history of producing large Northern Pike. A special regulation was implemented in the spring of 2006 to maintain or improve size structure. The regulation requires all Northern Pike from 24 to 36 inches be released and only one over 36 inches can be in possession. The daily limit is three. The 2017 lake management plan (LMP) indicates Northern Pike as the primary species of management with Black Crappie and Largemouth Bass as secondary species. The LMP goals include maintaining the Northern Pike gill net catch at 5.3/net with 70, 25, and 10% of the fish over 21, 28, and 34 inches. Other goals were to maintain the Black Crappie gill net or trap net catch near 3.0/net and maintain a spring night electrofishing catch for Largemouth Bass greater than 15/hour on-time. A standard survey was conducted in June of 2022 to assess the fish community and evaluate the Northern Pike special regulation. A total of 12 gill nets and 12 trap nets were used in the survey. Additional sampling of near shore fish species was conducted to calculate an Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) score. The IBI information is in a separate Targeted Survey report. Electrofishing for Largemouth Bass was not completed in 2022 due to staffing and workload considerations. Northern Pike gill net catch rates have ranged from 3.3 to 10.4 fish/net since 1966. The 2022 catch of 6.0 fish/net was below average for the lake but near the LMP goal. Lower pike numbers are desirable because slow growth and poor size structure is more common when densities are high. Northern Pike ranged from 14.6 to 36.2 inches and averaged 23 inches. Size structure goals were not achieved since only 60, 18, and 3% of the sample were 21, 28, and 34 inches long. Size quality of pike appears to have modestly improved since the regulation went into effect and good angling opportunities exist. Black Crappie catch rates have been quite variable since 1966, however size structure resembled past surveys. The gill net catch rate exceeded the LMP goal in 2022 (4.0 fish/net). The gill net sampled fish ranged from 5.0 to 12.5 inches and averaged 8.7 inches. Nearly 22 percent of captured crappie exceeded 10 inches. Given the relative abundance and size structure, modest angling opportunities appear to exist. Balsam Lake has a history of producing high numbers of small Bluegill. The 2022 trap net catch was near the lake average and typical compared to similar lakes. Bluegill lengths ranged…
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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