Colby Lake (St. Louis County)
St. Louis County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 69024900
Colby Lake (St. Louis County) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Colby Lake (St. Louis County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 30 ft; surface area 518 acres, 377 littoral acres, 12.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 3.4 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, burbot, channel catfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, shorthead redhorse, walleye, and 3 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- St. Louis County, nearest town Hoyt Lakes; DNR lake number (DOW) 69024900.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 1/1/1940 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| asphalt ramp | city |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 5.78 | 52 | 0.15 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 4.33 | 39 | 0.26 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 1.89 | 17 | 2.88 |
| Channel catfish | Standard trap nets | 1.89 | 17 | 2.32 |
| Shorthead redhorse | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 9 | 1.26 |
| White sucker | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 1.80 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.31 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.17 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 4.67 | 42 | 0.26 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 1.22 | 11 | 1.18 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 1.22 | 11 | 0.12 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 1.11 | 10 | 3.84 |
| Channel catfish | Standard gill nets | 0.89 | 8 | 3.24 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.44 | 4 | 0.32 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 3 | 1.93 |
| Golden shiner | Standard gill nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.07 |
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.
Colby is a 518-acre lake located immediately north of Hoyt Lakes. It is comparable to North and South Twin by Aurora, and Bailey's in downtown Virginia. The Partridge River runs through the lake and connects to the upper St. Louis River shortly downstream. This river connection makes Colby's fish community an outlier in the Tower Area. The lake was thermally stratified during the survey and had a surface temperature of 74 °F and a bottom temperature of 53 °F where the depth was 31 feet. Oxygen levels became inadequate for gamefish at 12 feet where the temperature was 63 °F. Secchi visibility was three feet, and the lake had a characteristically dark bog-stain. Aquatic vegetation is sparse in the west basin and relatively abundant in the eastern inlet bay. Shoreline substrates consist largely of boulder and rubble interspersed with areas of sand, muck, and gravel. Development is moderate for the Tower Area, with homes and cabins clustered on the southeast side of the lake adjacent to town along with the Laskin Energy powerplant on the northwest point. The remainder of the lake is largely undeveloped. Total catch in gill nets (10.4/net) was below average compared to past surveys. Black crappie, northern pike, white sucker, and channel catfish represented the bulk of the catch. Walleye, bluegill, golden shiner, shorthead redhorse, yellow bullhead, and yellow perch were present in low abundances. Channel catfish abundance (0.9/gill net, 1.9/trap net) was above average for both gears but lower than in recent surveys. Lengths from combined gears ranged from 14.5 to 28 inches with an average length better than 19 inches. Channel catfish ranged from 4 to 15 years old, but almost all were greater than 10 years old. Colby and adjacent Whitewater provide a locally unique angling opportunity for the species, which is not present outside of the St. Louis River in northeast Minnesota. Northern pike numbers (1.1/gill net) were slightly below average for Colby. Although fewer they were also larger, ranging from 23 to 31 inches with a solid average length of 26 inches the highest recorded out of Colby. The largest pike was sampled in a trap net at nearly 35 inches. Many of the pike sampled were infested with neascus, also known as black spot. It is a fish parasite harmless to humans and removed by cooking fish to temperature. Walleye abundance (0.3/gill net) was below the long-term lake average, but typical for surveys since 2000 when fingerling stocking no longer contributed to the population. Lengths ranged from 11 to 22 inches with an average length approaching 17…
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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