Benjamin Lake

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

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 04003300

DNR records show 18 stocking entries at Benjamin Lake since 2016, most recently brown trout yearlings in 2025 (300 fish).

• Benjamin Lake has 18 DNR stocking records across 10 years (2016-2025): rainbow trout (14), brown trout (4).
• The most-stocked species by count is rainbow trout: 20,914 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 128 ft; surface area 33 acres, 15 littoral acres, 1.3 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 17.0 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: bluegill, rainbow trout, yellow perch.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: June 6, 2022 (standard survey).
• Beltrami County, nearest town Blackduck; DNR lake number (DOW) 04003300.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Stocking history

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2022

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.

Benjamin Lake is a 33-acre lake with a maximum depth of 128 feet located within the Chippewa National Forest 12 miles north of Pennington in Beltrami County. An historic CCC encampment is located on Benjamin Lake and is maintained as an interpretive learning center by the US Forest Service. There is a public water access located on the southwest shore of the lake off of State HWY 39, also known as the Scenic Highway. A shore fishing pier and swimming area are also available for public use. Benjamin is managed as a designated stream trout lake that has been stocked annually in the fall with catchable-size Rainbow Trout. A trout stamp is required for anglers that want to fish on the lake. There are a few exceptions to this requirement that can be found in the regulation book. The number of Rainbow Trout captured has declined over the past few surveys and correlates with the introduction and expansion of two unwanted warmwater fish species: Bluegill and Yellow Perch. These nuisance species have outcompeted trout for available food resources and are likely causing poor growth and survival of stocked trout in recent years. Only one (1) Rainbow Trout was captured in this survey of Benjamin Lake. Despite poor catch rates for trout in recent surveys, Benjamin has seen an increase in fishing activity in recent years, particularly during the winter stream trout season which begins on the 2nd Saturday in January and runs through March 31 each year. A recent management plan revision increasing the number of trout stocked as well as stocking frequency for Benjamin Lake will take effect in 2023. The goal of the stocking revision will be to provide more consistent trout fishing opportunities throughout the year on Benjamin Lake. The total number of Rainbow Trout stocked will increase from 1,500 to 2,200 catchable-size fish annually. These fish will be divided between two stocking events (spring and fall) as opposed to the previous one-time stocking of fish in the fall. Another change that anglers should notice will be the addition of catchable-size Brown Trout (300 fish annually) to the lake's stocking plan. As observed in other area stream trout lakes, Brown Trout will readily prey upon fish such as Bluegill and Yellow Perch, although they may not exert enough predation to reduce these populations substantially. Brown Trout stocking will provide a means to utilize the lake's excess production of these unwanted fish species and should provide a trophy component to the lake's fishery as these fish can grow to large sizes.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, June 6, 2022.

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