Bone Lake (Washington County)
Washington County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 82005400
DNR records show 15 stocking entries at Bone Lake (Washington County) since 2016, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (931 fish).
- Bone Lake (Washington County) has 15 DNR stocking records across 10 years (2016-2025): walleye (15).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 75,743 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 30 ft; surface area 221 acres, 124 littoral acres, 3.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 6.3 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, white sucker, and 2 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Washington County, nearest town Forest Lake; DNR lake number (DOW) 82005400.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/1/1980 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fingerlings | 931 | 133.0 |
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 31,000 | 0.3 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 31,000 | 0.3 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fingerlings | 262 | 87.3 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fingerlings | 2,268 | 85.5 |
| 2023 | Walleye | yearlings | 18 | 4.5 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,625 | 81.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | adults | 239 | 159.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye | yearlings | 569 | 146.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fingerlings | 820 | 41.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,124 | 82.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 240 | 120.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fingerlings | 2,168 | 77.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 3,477 | 122.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | yearlings | 2 | 3.0 |
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 | Single ramp with parking across road. |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 4.83 | 29 | 1.74 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 2.33 | 14 | 3.10 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 1.67 | 10 | 0.15 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 1.50 | 9 | 0.24 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 1.17 | 7 | 0.09 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.83 | 5 | 0.51 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.17 | 1 | 1.15 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 0.17 | 1 | 3.20 |
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.
Bone Lake is a eutrophic, class 24 lake located in Washington County. The lake has a maximum depth of 30 feet and is 221 acres in surface area, with 124 acres classified as littoral (56%). The lake is listed as impaired for excess nutrients and unacceptable levels of biological indicators. The primary management species for Bone Lake is Walleye, and the secondary management species are Largemouth Bass and Northern Pike. The Comfort Lake-Forest Lake Watershed District installed fish barriers on the outlet and on the inlet from Moody Lake in the fall of 2012. These structures, in conjunction with subsidized commercial fishing, are intended to reduce the rough fish population to negligible levels. A public boat access is located at the northwest corner of the lake. This public boat access is owned by Washington County and operated by DNR Parks and Trails. Prior to 2017, Walleye fingerlings were stocked at an annual rate of 1.0 pounds per littoral acre (125 pounds). Beginning in 2017, after an analysis of stocking performance, the stocking rate was decreased to an annual rate of 0.65 pounds per littoral acre (81 pounds). This report details the most recent gill net survey from June of 2024. The previous gill net survey was conducted in June of 2021. Walleyes were sampled using gill nets at a rate of 4.8 fish per net. This rate is above average for the lake class and is the highest catch rate for Walleye in Bone Lake since 2006. Fish size was slightly below average for the lake class, with an average length of 16.8 inches and a range of 10.4 to 20.6 inches. Most Walleyes sampled were 16-20 inches in length and the age distribution was dominated by 5-year-old fish. This may be attributable to Walleyes stocked in 2020 being one year old fish, effectively doubling the relative number of fish stocked for the 2019 "year class". The long-range management goal of maintaining a Walleye catch rate greater than or equal to 3 fish per net is being met. Northern Pike were sampled at a rate of 2.3 fish per gill net. This catch rate is below average for the lake class but is typical for Bone Lake. Fish size was above average for the lake class, with an average length of 24.7 inches. Northern pike ranged from 21.9 to 30.6 inches in total length. Although the previous gill net survey revealed a considerable number (34%) of Northern pike to be greater than 30 inches in length, no fish of notable length were captured in this survey. Although a greater number of Yellow Perch were captured in this gill net survey (7 fish) than the previous survey (1 fish), the Yellow Perch…
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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