Beltrami Lake
Beltrami County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 04013500
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Beltrami Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (148,000 fish).
- Beltrami Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2025): walleye (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 1,464,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 50 ft, mean depth 13 ft; surface area 726 acres, 300 littoral acres, 7.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 9.9 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, northern sunfish, pumpkinseed, rock bass, smallmouth bass, tullibee (cisco), and 4 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Beltrami County, nearest town Bemidji; DNR lake number (DOW) 04013500.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 148,000 | 1.3 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 300,000 | 2.4 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 303,000 | 2.6 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 369,000 | 3.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 344,000 | 2.8 |
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | Public access on south side of lake - state owned. |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard electrofishing | 263.98 | 193 | 0.13 |
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.
In spring 2021, a daily bag limit reduction for sunfish (5 fish/day) was implemented on Lake Beltrami as part of the statewide Quality Sunfish Initiative (QSI). The goal of this special regulation is to maintain or improve Bluegill size structure by reducing angler harvest. In order to evaluate effectiveness of the regulation, Bluegill populations on many QSI lakes are periodically assessed. Primary data of interest include size structure metrics as well as age structure and growth information. Because age and growth data were recorded recently for Beltrami in 2020, these data were not collected in 2024. On June 10, 2024, night electrofishing was conducted on Lake Beltrami. Surface water temperatures were in the low to mid-sixties; Bluegill was the only species collected. During 44 minutes of on-time, 193 Bluegill were captured, resulting in a catch rate of 264 fish/hour. Lengths ranged from 3 to 9 inches with an average size of 5.2 inches. Only seven fish were larger than eight inches, representing 3.6 percent of the sample. In 2020, the overall catch rate was much higher but size structure was very similar.
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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