Big Marine Lake
Washington County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 82005200
DNR records show 22 stocking entries at Big Marine Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2024 (15,060 fish).
- Big Marine Lake has 22 DNR stocking records across 9 years (2016-2024): walleye (22).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 172,455 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 60 ft; surface area 1,799 acres, 1,152 littoral acres, 16.8 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 9.8 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
- 3 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Washington County, nearest town Forest Lake; DNR lake number (DOW) 82005200.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/3/1981 (topo map/drg); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Walleye | fingerlings | 15,060 | 753.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 11,800 | 590.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 14,612 | 562.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 12,750 | 747.9 |
| 2021 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 4,375 | 175.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 19,723 | 1,152.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fingerlings | 3,422 | 188.5 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fingerlings | 3,909 | 223.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 16,740 | 540.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 1,118 | 172.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,505 | 43.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 11,289 | 548.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 22,896 | 1,152.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | yearlings | 42 | 35.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | adults | 29 | 29.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 290 | 121.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 28,115 | 1,136.3 |
| 2016 | Walleye | adults | 2 | 6.5 |
| 2016 | Walleye | yearlings | 2,858 | 635.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 173 | 72.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | adults | 73 | 73.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,674 | 200.0 |
2 fish purchased by the DNR for stocking.
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 | Minnesota DNR | North end |
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | Very shallow |
| concrete ramp | county | South west side |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 20.17 | 242 | 0.73 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 6.92 | 83 | 0.25 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 5.67 | 68 | 0.25 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 4.33 | 52 | 0.86 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 3.92 | 47 | 0.83 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 2.33 | 28 | 0.34 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 1.58 | 19 | 0.29 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard gill nets | 1.17 | 14 | 0.32 |
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 Marine Lake is a 1,799 acre, class 24 lake located in northern Washington County. Big Marine Lake is mesotrophic, moderately fertile, and is primarily managed for Walleye and Largemouth Bass. Bluegill and Black Crappie are secondary management species. From 1995 to 2017, Big Marine Lake was stocked with Walleye fingerlings at a rate of 1.0 pounds/littoral acre (1,152 pounds) in even numbered years. The stocking plan has since been altered to more effectively assess of the effects of stocking rate on year class strength. Walleye fingerlings were stocked annually from 2017 to 2022 at varying rates of 1.0 or 0.65 pounds per littoral-acre (1,152 and 749 pounds, respectively). Big Marine Lake was surveyed with gill nets in late-July/early-August of 2024 to monitor Walleye, Northern Pike, and Yellow Perch. The previous gill net survey was conducted in 2022. Walleye were sampled using gill nets at a rate of 0.25 fish per net. This catch rate is below the average for the lake class and is the lowest Walleye catch ever on Big Marine. The lake's mid-range and long-range management goals for relative abundance are not being met (2 and 4 Walleyes per net, respectively). Average size was small for the lake class and small relative to the history of the lake, with an average length of 15.3 inches. Fish lengths ranged from 14.2 to 16.5 inches. Of the 3 Walleyes sampled, 2 were age 2 and 1 was age 4. Northern Pike were sampled at a rate of 20.2 fish per gill net. This catch rate was the highest catch rate for Big Marine Lake since 2014. Average size for Northern Pike was the smallest ever recorded for Big Marine Lake, with an average length of just 14.8 inches. Only about 5 percent of Northern Pike exceeded 20 inches in length, and the largest was 29.6 inches. The Northern Pike population in Big Marine Lake appears to be very abundant and primarily comprised of smaller fish, which anglers may find unfavorable. Yellow Perch were sampled at a rate of 2.3 fish per gill net. This catch rate is well below average for the lake class, yet it is the highest since 1999. Average Yellow Perch size was relatively large for the lake, with an average length of 9 inches. The largest measured was 11.6 inches. Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, and Black Crappie were also sampled in gill nets; however, summer gill nets typically do not produce reliable data to estimate abundance or size structure for these species. It is worth noting that Largemouth Bass as large as 18 inches in length were sampled in gill nets. Other fish species were sampled including Black Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead…
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.
Hear when the states we cover post stockings
One email a week in season: which waters in the states we cover were stocked, straight from the state agencies' own postings. No spam, no fishing-gear ads in the mail.
Free · double opt-in · unsubscribe anytime · we store only your email.