Big Trout Lake
Crow Wing County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 18031500
DNR records show 9 stocking entries at Big Trout Lake since 2016, most recently lake trout yearlings in 2025 (23,229 fish).
- Big Trout Lake has 9 DNR stocking records across 7 years (2016-2025): lake trout (9).
- The most-stocked species by count is lake trout: 113,200 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 128 ft, mean depth 52 ft; surface area 1,366 acres, 369 littoral acres, 8.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 13.2 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, greater redhorse, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, lake trout, lake whitefish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, and 8 more.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Crow Wing County, nearest town Manhattan Beach; DNR lake number (DOW) 18031500.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 1/22/1992 (topo map/drg); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Lake Trout | yearlings | 23,229 | 2,707.3 |
| 2023 | Lake Trout | yearlings | 20,676 | 1,829.7 |
| 2021 | Lake Trout | yearlings | 20,500 | 1,392.1 |
| 2020 | Lake Trout | yearlings | 200 | 48.3 |
| 2019 | Lake Trout | adults | 149 | 842.9 |
| 2019 | Lake Trout | yearlings | 26,110 | 2,687.4 |
| 2017 | Lake Trout | adults | 342 | 219.2 |
| 2017 | Lake Trout | yearlings | 21,888 | 1,870.8 |
| 2016 | Lake Trout8 | adults | 106 | 922.5 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | Army Corps of Engineers | East shore off of Co. Rd. 66. |
| C | UKN | Channel from Whitefish Lake on southwest shore. |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 12.58 | 151 | 0.12 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 5.42 | 65 | 0.20 |
| Rock bass | Standard trap nets | 2.92 | 35 | 0.09 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 2.50 | 30 | 0.14 |
| Common shiner | Standard trap nets | 0.58 | 7 | 0.09 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.50 | 6 | 0.10 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.42 | 5 | 2.64 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 4 | 5.09 |
| Tullibee (cisco) | Deep gill nets | 9.70 | 97 | 0.18 |
| Lake whitefish | Deep gill nets | 7.30 | 73 | 0.99 |
| Northern pike | Deep gill nets | 1.50 | 15 | 3.42 |
| Lake trout | Deep gill nets | 0.50 | 5 | 6.39 |
| Yellow perch | Deep gill nets | 0.10 | 1 | 0.04 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 5.00 | 60 | 3.07 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 2.67 | 32 | 0.22 |
| Tullibee (cisco) | Standard gill nets | 2.42 | 29 | 0.19 |
| Rock bass | Standard gill nets | 2.00 | 24 | 0.27 |
| Lake whitefish | Standard gill nets | 1.83 | 22 | 1.61 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 8 | 0.79 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 8 | 3.15 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 8 | 1.16 |
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 trout is a 1,366 acre lake and is a part of the 14,000-acre Whitefish Chain of lakes in northern Crow Wing County. The maximum depth is 128 feet and 27% of the lake is 15 feet deep or less. On the east shore of the lake there is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineer's access off County Road 66. Big Trout is unique as it is the only natural lake in Crow Wing County that is currently stocked with Lake Trout. They have been stocked regularly since 1979 in alternating odd years. Lake Trout sampled were between 10.0" and 33.2" with 37% at least 17". Northern Pike were sampled in average numbers at 5.0 per gill net with a mean length of 23.5". The largest Northern Pike sampled was 32.4" and 31% were at least 26". This lake is a part of the north central zone for Northern Pike. The possession limit is 10 with no more than 2 over 26". All from 22"-26" must be immediately released. Walleye were sampled in low numbers at 0.7 per gill net. The average length was 19.7" and the largest fish measured 25.9". Walleyes are not directly stocked into Big Trout Lake; however, the Whitefish chain is stocked annually with fry and every other year with fingerlings. Big Trout has reduced Bluegill and Black Crappie daily limits of five as a connected water to Whitefish. Although these regulations are applied, the coldwater habitat of Big Trout is less conducive to quality panfish management and anglers are likely to find better panfishing in other lakes of the chain. Bluegills were sampled in average numbers at 12.6 per trap net with an average length of 5.3". The largest fish was 8.2", however only 13% measured 7" or greater. Only one Black Crappie was caught in the trap nets. Largemouth Bass electrofishing was done across the Whitefish Chain, resulting in a catch rate of 44.9 per hour. Average length was 13.1", with fish up to 19.2" sampled. Three Smallmouth Bass were also netted while electrofishing and all of them were over 16". Tullibee (Cisco) and Lake Whitefish are both present in Big Trout Lake. The mean length of Tullibee was 8.2" and the mean length of Lake Whitefish was 14.7". Both are an important prey species for large predators like Northern Pike, Walleye, and Lake Trout. Anglers can play an important role in maintaining or improving a fish population by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest allows for the harvest of smaller fish for consumption, while encouraging the release of medium to large fish that may contribute to natural reproduction. This practice helps maintain balance in the fish populations and provides anglers the opportunity to catch more and…
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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