Big Rice Lake (Beltrami County)
Beltrami County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 04003100
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Big Rice Lake (Beltrami County) since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (630,000 fish).
- Big Rice Lake (Beltrami County) has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2025): walleye (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 3,613,351 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 13 ft; surface area 642 acres, 633 littoral acres, 6.6 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 6.2 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, greater redhorse, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, walleye, white sucker, and 2 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Beltrami County, nearest town Pennington; DNR lake number (DOW) 04003100.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye3 | fry | 630,000 | 5.5 |
| 2023 | Walleye3 | fry | 729,551 | 6.2 |
| 2021 | Walleye3 | fry | 641,000 | 5.5 |
| 2019 | Walleye3 | fry | 772,800 | 6.2 |
| 2017 | Walleye3 | fry | 840,000 | 6.7 |
3 fish cooperatively purchased, raised, and/or stocked by Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| O | UKN | - THRU TURTLE RIVER ON W AND SE ~CASS LAKE~. CANOE ROUTE REST STOP ON TURTLE RIVER. BELOW BIG RICE LAKE. |
DNR fish survey, 2019
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 31.75 | 127 | 0.21 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 6.00 | 24 | 0.79 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 5.25 | 21 | 1.85 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard gill nets | 3.75 | 15 | 1.00 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 2.75 | 11 | 2.29 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 2.25 | 9 | 2.50 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 1.50 | 6 | 0.20 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 4 | 3.90 |
| Bluegill | Special trap nets | 14.60 | 146 | 0.44 |
| Pumpkinseed | Special trap nets | 6.60 | 66 | 0.00 |
| Brown bullhead | Special trap nets | 4.20 | 42 | 0.00 |
| Yellow bullhead | Special trap nets | 3.20 | 32 | 0.00 |
| Rock bass | Special trap nets | 2.20 | 22 | 0.00 |
| Northern pike | Special trap nets | 2.10 | 21 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | Special trap nets | 1.10 | 11 | 0.50 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Special trap nets | 0.90 | 9 | 0.00 |
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 Rice Lake is a 633 acre lake on the Turtle River Chain with a maximum depth of 13 feet. It is upstream of Kitchi and Little Rice lakes and is accessible via the Turtle River from either upstream or downstream. The majority of the shoreline is undeveloped wetland with an abundance of bog and marsh. Big Rice is primarily managed for Northern Pike followed by panfish and Walleye. Walleye fry are stocked on alternating years. The Walleye population in Big Rice is highly dependent on seasonal migrations. A total of 11 Walleye were captured in 2019 resulting in a catch rate just short of 3 fish/net which is typical for this type of lake. Lengths ranged from 10 to 25 inches and averaged just over 18 inches in length. The Northern Pike population is likely more residual than the Walleye population. A total of 21 pike were captured in 4 nets resulting in a catch rate of about 5 fish/net. Pike lengths ranged from 13 to 27 inches and averaged about 20 inches. Bluegill are fairly abundant with 146 fish captured in trap nets. Size quality is excellent with fish over 10 inches in length present. The Bluegill in Big Rice grow relatively fast, reaching lengths over 7 inches by age 4. Yellow Perch were captured in good abundance. Perch larger than 11 inches were observed and average size was just short of 8 inches. The perch population appears to have remained relatively stable over the past decade or more.
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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