Caribou Lake (St. Louis County)
St. Louis County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 69048900
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Caribou Lake (St. Louis County) since 2017, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (12,636 fish).
- Caribou Lake (St. Louis County) has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2025): walleye (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 61,665 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 21 ft, mean depth 9 ft; surface area 539 acres, 486 littoral acres, 5.6 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 8.1 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
- 4 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- St. Louis County, nearest town Duluth; DNR lake number (DOW) 69048900.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 7/9/1969 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 12,636 | 486.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 11,142 | 484.4 |
| 2021 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 16,509 | 485.6 |
| 2019 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 11,658 | 485.8 |
| 2017 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 9,720 | 486.0 |
2 fish purchased by the DNR for stocking.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | - Off Birch Point Drive on north side of west bay just east of outlet. |
| RW | county | Road right-of-way access off of County Road 58 on south part of western bay |
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | Access located at the end of Industrial Road, on the east side of the lake |
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | Off Birch Point Drive on north side of the west bay just east of the outlet |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 113.88 | 911 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 13.12 | 105 | 0.00 |
| Spottail shiner | 50-ft beach seine | 10.12 | 81 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 50-ft beach seine | 5.12 | 41 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 4.12 | 33 | 0.00 |
| Mottled sculpin | 50-ft beach seine | 1.50 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | 50-ft beach seine | 1.12 | 9 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | 50-ft beach seine | 0.75 | 6 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Trapnet - Mini Fyke | 89.64 | 1,255 | 0.02 |
| Pumpkinseed | Trapnet - Mini Fyke | 8.36 | 117 | 0.03 |
| Brassy minnow | Trapnet - Mini Fyke | 2.64 | 37 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | Trapnet - Mini Fyke | 0.93 | 13 | 0.01 |
| Tadpole madtom | Trapnet - Mini Fyke | 0.71 | 10 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Trapnet - Mini Fyke | 0.71 | 10 | 0.01 |
| Blacknose shiner | Trapnet - Mini Fyke | 0.57 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | Trapnet - Mini Fyke | 0.50 | 7 | 0.39 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 10.80 | 18 | 0.00 |
| Central mudminnow | Backpack electrofishing | 9.60 | 16 | 0.00 |
| Spottail shiner | Backpack electrofishing | 6.60 | 11 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 6.60 | 11 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 3.00 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Tadpole madtom | Backpack electrofishing | 3.00 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | Backpack electrofishing | 1.80 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | Backpack electrofishing | 1.80 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 15-ft beach seine | 8.00 | 16 | 0.00 |
| Spottail shiner | 15-ft beach seine | 3.50 | 7 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 15-ft beach seine | 0.50 | 1 | 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.
A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Caribou Lake was conducted on June 30th-July 3rd, 2025, by Lake Biological Monitoring and Assessment (LBMA) program staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing, mini-fyke nets, and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at 14 sampling stations. Similarly, a 1/8" mesh mini-fyke net was used to sample 14 stations. Finally, a 50-foot seine was used to sample eight stations, and a 15-foot seine was used at two stations. Nearshore sampling captured 17 species of fish. The nearshore data along with gill net and standard trap net data will be used to develop fish community models for Northeast Minnesota lakes, which will be used to measure lake health. These models may function similarly to fish IBI models developed for lakes across much of the rest of the state. For additional information, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. You can help protect the fish community in Caribou Lake by reducing runoff, maintaining natural shorelines, and preventing the spread of invasive species.
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
All Minnesota stockings · every Minnesota lake with a page · state CSV · this lake on DNR LakeFinder
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.