Baxter Lake
Isanti County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 30011400
DNR records show 6 stocking entries at Baxter Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2024 (200,000 fish).
- Baxter Lake has 6 DNR stocking records across 6 years (2017-2024): walleye (6).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 1,200,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 10 ft, mean depth 4 ft; surface area 88 acres, 88 littoral acres, 2.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 2.1 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, white sucker, and 2 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Isanti County, nearest town Isanti; DNR lake number (DOW) 30011400.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 200,000 | 1.8 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 200,000 | 1.7 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 200,000 | 1.8 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 200,000 | 1.8 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 200,000 | 1.7 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 200,000 | 1.8 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| earthen ramp | county | South end of lake off County 28. |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 69.00 | 69 | 0.85 |
| Walleye | Standard electrofishing | 2.00 | 2 | 0.49 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 16.22 | 146 | 0.18 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 2.78 | 25 | 0.28 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 2.22 | 20 | 0.15 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 1.44 | 13 | 0.22 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.11 | 10 | 0.82 |
| Common carp | Standard trap nets | 0.89 | 8 | 7.12 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.89 | 8 | 1.94 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.78 | 7 | 1.25 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 11.00 | 44 | 0.22 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 4.75 | 19 | 0.17 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 3.00 | 12 | 3.75 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 0.50 | 2 | 2.11 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.50 | 2 | 3.15 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.25 | 1 | 1.34 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 0.25 | 1 | 0.27 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard gill nets | 0.25 | 1 | 1.98 |
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.
Baxter Lake is a 78-acre lake in southwest Isanti County located eleven miles west of Isanti, MN, and is within the Rum River watershed. The lake has a maximum depth of 10 feet and an average depth of 4 feet. The lake is 100% littoral (15 feet or less). The color of the water is green (nutrient loading), which results in water clarity of 2 to 4 feet. Spencer Brook flows through Baxter Lake. The lake has two inlets, one from Blue Lake on the west shore via Spencer Brook, and one on the northeast shore from wetland drainage. There is one outlet on the northwest shore (Spencer Brook) that flows into the Rum River. The low water clarity limits aquatic plant depths. One aquatic plant survey was conducted in 2013 by the Minnesota Biological Survey team. The depth of water at which dissolved oxygen levels limit fish presence ( Baxter Lake offers angling opportunities for several species. Anglers can expect to catch high numbers of small to medium sized bass. Black Crappies have relatively high catch rates of fish over 8 inches, but low catch rates for fish over 10 inches. Northern Pike are low in number, but the average length was 25.8 inches, and 28-inch fish were sampled in all surveys. The Bluegill catch rates are average, but fish over 8 inches have been sampled each of the past two surveys. Electrofishing for Largemouth Bass was conducted in May of 2024 for the third consecutive survey. In 2024, bass were sampled at a rate of 69/hour, which is similar as the average of 60/hour. This catch rate is high compared with similar area lakes. In 2024, bass ranged in length from 3.2 to 18.9 inches with a 10.6 inch average. Bass over 20 inches have never been sampled. Anglers can expect to catch high numbers of small to medium sized bass. The 2024 Black Crappie gillnet and trap net catches were low in 2024 when compared with past surveys. The gill net catch was 11/net in 2024 and compares to the average of 38/net, while the trap net catch was 3/net in 2024 and compares to the average of 20/net. Crappie ranged in length from 3.8 to 10.0 inches and had an average length of 7.4 inches. Crappies over ten inches have been sampled in 3 of 5 surveys, while crappies over 12 inches were sampled in one survey (1984). The population currently has a high proportion of fish over eight inches but a low proportion over ten inches. A relatively low number of Northern Pike are consistently sampled with gill nets when compared with similar area lakes. The gill net catch was 3.0/net in 2024, which compares to the average of 3.0/net and a range of 1.0 to 6.5/net. The 12 pike sampled…
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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