Big Lake (St. Louis County, DOW 69019000)
St. Louis County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 69019000
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Big Lake (St. Louis County, DOW 69019000) since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2024 (750,000 fish).
- Big Lake (St. Louis County, DOW 69019000) has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2016-2024): walleye (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 3,750,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 22 ft, mean depth 9 ft; surface area 1,904 acres, 1,514 littoral acres, 25.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 7.2 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, burbot, northern pike, rock bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
- 3 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- St. Louis County, nearest town Ely; DNR lake number (DOW) 69019000.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 7/11/1983 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 750,000 | 6.6 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 750,000 | 7.3 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 750,000 | 8.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 750,000 | 8.6 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 750,000 | 7.5 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | USF | Public ramp off Echo Trail. - North side of lake 0.3 mile off Echo Trail. |
| CA | USF | Portage from LaPond. - 160 rod portage from LaPond Lake. |
| CA | USF | Portage River outlet. - Water access from Portage River up feeder creek, T65 R13 S32 |
DNR fish survey, 2019
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 18.67 | 224 | 2.25 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 9.50 | 114 | 1.11 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 8.42 | 101 | 0.23 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 1.25 | 15 | 2.05 |
| Rock bass | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 8 | 0.45 |
| Smallmouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.58 | 7 | 2.15 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 0.25 | 3 | 0.42 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 7.13 | 107 | 1.43 |
| White sucker | Standard trap nets | 2.13 | 32 | 2.48 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.93 | 14 | 2.21 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.53 | 8 | 0.18 |
| Rock bass | Standard trap nets | 0.27 | 4 | 0.33 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.27 | 4 | 0.60 |
| Smallmouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 1.88 | 5 | 2.32 |
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.
Big Lake is a 1,904 acre lake located 13 miles northwest of Ely. The main access is a ramp off the Echo Trail but there is also a portage access on the west side to La Pond and a water route access from the Portage River into the same bay the La Pond portage originates from. The lake has a maximum depth of 22 feet and brown bog-stained water. Big Lake was thoroughly mixed on August 19, 2019 with an entire water column temperature of 70 F and oxygen levels adequate for gamefish from the surface to the bottom. Big Lake has four relatively minor inlets and one outlet. The outlet is the aforementioned water route access to the Portage River. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline are mostly boulder and ledge rock with muck in some of the bays. Aquatic plants are sparse but do grow in the shallow water in some of the bays. There are four designated US Forest Service administered campsites, three of which are located on islands, and the fourth is on the west shore and is technically within the BWCAW. None of the lake is in the BWCAW but approximately 1 mile of shoreline on the west side is within it. Additionally there are two resorts on the lake. The shoreline ownership is split between US Forest Service, State of Minnesota, and private ownership. The overall gillnet catch rate for all fish combined was 39.3 fish/net which was average compared to past catches for the lake. Total yield was 58.7 lbs/net which was also near the average. Fish species sampled in gill nets were white sucker, walleye, yellow perch, northern pike, rock bass, smallmouth bass, and black crappie. The overall trapnet catch rate for all fish combined was 11.3 fish/net which was the second lowest on record for the lake. Total yield was 17.9 lbs/net which was just below average. No additional species were sampled in trap nets that weren't also caught in gill nets. The 2019 walleye gillnet catch rate was 9.5 fish/net, which was above average compared to other similar lakes and compared to past surveys for Big Lake. Walleye lengths from gill nets ranged from 7 to just over 26 inches with an average of 14 inches which was comparable to past surveys. Growth was slow compared to other lakes in the area however this is typical of some dark water lakes. It takes on average 6 years for a Big Lake walleye to reach over 15 inches. Ages ranged from 1 to 18 with the bulk of the catch being under 8 years old. Walleye fry are stocked. Although it was not a year when fry were stocked, the 2012 year class was the strongest. The northern pike gillnet catch rate was 1.3 fish/net which was low compared…
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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