Deer Lake (Itasca County)
Itasca County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 31033400
DNR records show 9 stocking entries at Deer Lake (Itasca County) since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (666,000 fish).
- Deer Lake (Itasca County) has 9 DNR stocking records across 9 years (2016-2025): walleye (9).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 6,195,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 50 ft; surface area 1,855 acres, 1,332 littoral acres, 9.5 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 8.8 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, smallmouth bass, tullibee (cisco), walleye, and 3 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Itasca County, nearest town Effie; DNR lake number (DOW) 31033400.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 6/8/1977 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 666,000 | 7.4 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 766,000 | 7.5 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 666,000 | 6.7 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 666,000 | 6.9 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 666,000 | 7.1 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 666,000 | 6.8 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 700,000 | 8.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 733,000 | 6.9 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 666,000 | 6.7 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| earthen ramp | Minnesota DNR |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 10.33 | 155 | 0.11 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 4.00 | 60 | 0.12 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 2.67 | 40 | 0.21 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.73 | 11 | 0.15 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 10 | 1.97 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 5 | 1.53 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.27 | 4 | 0.24 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.20 | 3 | 0.24 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 5.38 | 70 | 2.38 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 5.15 | 67 | 0.80 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 5.00 | 65 | 1.25 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 4.31 | 56 | 0.11 |
| Smallmouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.69 | 9 | 2.83 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.38 | 5 | 0.47 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 0.38 | 5 | 0.27 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 0.31 | 4 | 0.25 |
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.
Deer Lake is a 1,748-acre lake about 14 miles east of Effie. It's part of a three-lake chain that flows west into the Bigfork River. The lake has a lot of shallow water (about three-quarters of the lake is less than 15 feet deep), with a maximum depth of 50 feet. Water clarity in 2025 was moderate, with about 11 feet of visibility. Walleye and Bluegill are the main focus for management, with Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and Smallmouth Bass also important to anglers. A protected slot limit for Walleye (17-26 inches protected, one over 26 allowed) was in place from 2005 to 2020. Bluegill limits were reduced to help improve size structure and are now set at five fish per day. Walleye fry have been stocked each year since 2014 to support the population, complimenting varying natural reproduction. Walleye numbers in 2025 were good and slightly above the lake's long-term average. Catch rates were similar to the last survey. Most fish were under 17 inches (about 77%), and the average length was just under 15 inches. Fish ranged from 8.7 to 27.4 inches. A few fish over 25 inches were present, but not many. It takes about four years for Walleye here to reach 15 inches. Eight year-classes were found, but most of the catch came from two strong recent year-classes. Overall, numbers are meeting goals, but size structure is still a bit short of targets. Year-class strength appears to play a bigger role in size than harvest regulations. Bluegill numbers were high in the summer 2025 survey-about double the last survey and the highest on record for the lake. Most fish caught in summer were small, averaging under 5 inches. However, a targeted spring survey painted a better picture. In spring, Bluegill averaged 7 inches, with fish up to 10 inches. This suggests the reduced bag limit is helping maintain some larger Bluegills, even though strong recent hatches have increased the number of smaller fish showing up in summer nets. Northern Pike numbers were right where they should be for this type of lake and similar to past surveys. Most Pike were in the low- to mid-20-inch range, averaging just over 22 inches, with fish up to 29 inches. About half of the Pike sampled fell within the protected slot for the North-central zone. Size structure was fair but below management goals for larger fish. Growth was average, with Pike reaching 21 inches by age four. Several year-classes were present, showing consistent reproduction. Black Crappie were caught in low numbers, but half of those sampled were over 10 inches, which is encouraging for anglers looking for quality fish.…
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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