Bench Lake

Cook County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 16006300

DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Bench Lake since 2016, most recently brook trout fingerlings in 2024 (1,500 fish).

Bench Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2016-2024): brook trout (5).
The most-stocked species by count is brook trout: 6,900 fish on record.
Maximum depth 16 ft; surface area 29 acres, 24 littoral acres, 1.1 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 9.0 ft.
Fish species DNR lists here: brook trout.
2 public accesses on the DNR list.
Most recent DNR fish survey: June 5, 2003 (standard survey).
Cook County, nearest town Grand Marais; DNR lake number (DOW) 16006300.

Stocking history

Year	Species	Size	Number	Pounds
2024	Brook Trout	fingerlings	1,500	32.2
2022	Brook Trout	fingerlings	1,500	60.7
2020	Brook Trout	fingerlings	900	40.1
2018	Brook Trout⁸	fingerlings	1,500	31.2
2016	Brook Trout⁸	yearlings	1,500	60.0

⁸ fish cooperatively purchased, raised, and/or stocked by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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
PO	USF	Accessible via 0.3 mile portage from Crystal Lake. Trail begins 100 yd E of a beaver lodge E of a small rounded point midway down Crystal. Bench Lake is entirely inside the BWCAW. - Accessible via 0.3 miles portage from Crystal Lake. Bench Lake is entirely inside the BWCAW.
O	USF	- Accessible via portage from Spaulding Lake.

DNR fish survey, 2003

Species	Gear	Catch per net	Total catch	Avg lb
Brook trout	Standard gill nets	8.50	17	0.93

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.

The number of brook trout taken in the 2003 assessment was about average, compared to other stream trout lakes in the Grand Marais area, but fish taken were above-average in size. It appeared that the 2001 stocking had failed completely, but good numbers of fish were present from successful 2002 and 2000 stockings. Because of the failure of the 2001 stocking, fish were present in two size ranges in 2003 - 6 to 8-inch fish from the 2002 stocking, and 13 to 15-inch fish from the 2000 and 1999 stockings. Growth rates for brook trout had been about average for the area. No undesirable fish species were found in 2003.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, June 5, 2003.

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. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.

Bench Lake

Stocking history

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2003

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