Elm Island Lake
Aitkin County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 01012300
DNR records show 3 stocking entries at Elm Island Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2022 (6,716 fish).
- Elm Island Lake has 3 DNR stocking records across 3 years (2016-2022): walleye (3).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 27,462 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 25 ft, mean depth 9 ft; surface area 520 acres, 389 littoral acres, 7.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 6.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, 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: (targeted survey).
- Aitkin County, nearest town Aitkin; DNR lake number (DOW) 01012300.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 6,716 | 389.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 8,674 | 389.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 12,072 | 778.0 |
2 fish purchased by the DNR for stocking.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| gravel ramp | county |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 19.00 | 133 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 6.43 | 45 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 50-ft beach seine | 1.86 | 13 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | 50-ft beach seine | 1.43 | 10 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | 50-ft beach seine | 0.29 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 0.29 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Northern pike | 50-ft beach seine | 0.14 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | 50-ft beach seine | 0.14 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Central mudminnow | Backpack electrofishing | 16.07 | 25 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | Backpack electrofishing | 4.50 | 7 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 3.21 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Tadpole madtom | Backpack electrofishing | 2.57 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Spottail shiner | Backpack electrofishing | 1.93 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 1.93 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | Backpack electrofishing | 1.29 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | Backpack electrofishing | 1.29 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 5.89 | 53 | 0.19 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 1.78 | 16 | 4.98 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.44 | 13 | 0.95 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 9 | 0.22 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.89 | 8 | 0.18 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.89 | 8 | 4.64 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 6 | 1.38 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.11 | 1 | 0.03 |
| Bluegill | 15-ft beach seine | 3.00 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Golden shiner | 15-ft beach seine | 2.50 | 10 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | 15-ft beach seine | 2.00 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Northern pike | 15-ft beach seine | 1.00 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 1.00 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 15-ft beach seine | 1.00 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Central mudminnow | 15-ft beach seine | 0.75 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 15-ft beach seine | 0.75 | 3 | 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 Elm Island Lake was conducted beginning on June 17th, 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 and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Fourteen sampling stations were completed with backpack electrofishing. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample seven stations, and a 15-foot seine was used at four stations. Three stations were not seined due to heavy vegetation and soft sediments. Nearshore sampling captured 13 species of fish including one species that is intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Rock Bass) and zero that are tolerant of disturbance. Additionally, a summer trap net survey was conducted one week prior to the nearshore survey by LBMA program staff. Nine trap nets were set along the shoreline in locations that encompassed multiple habitat types. Trap net sampling captured seven species of fish, including zero that are intolerant of disturbance. Bluegill and Bowfin comprised a majority of the catch by number, whereas Bowfin and Northern Pike comprised a majority by biomass. The nearshore and trap net data were combined with gill net data from a June 2023 survey to describe the fish community and provide a fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. Results from this survey and surveys in 2019 and 2023 provide evidence that the fish community in Elm Island Lake is improving as indicated by FIBI scores above the general use impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. The survey results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Mississippi River - Brainerd watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. You can help protect the fish community in Elm Island 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
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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