Four Mile Lake (Cook County)

Cook County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 16063900

Four Mile Lake (Cook County) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.

• Four Mile Lake (Cook County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of September 2, 2026.
• Maximum depth 20 ft; surface area 593 acres, 580 littoral acres, 8.6 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 5.5 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, northern pike, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
• 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: August 17, 2021 (standard survey).
• Cook County, nearest town Tofte; DNR lake number (DOW) 16063900.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 7/21/1987 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2021

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.

Four Mile Lake is located about 10 miles northwest of Tofte and has a US Forest Service rustic campground with a concrete log boat ramp off the Four Mile Grade (Forest Service 170) that provides public access. The lake has brown bog-stained water and covers an area of 593 acres with a maximum depth of less than 20 feet. Shallow rocks extend out from shore in some areas and boaters should use caution when navigating the lake. Anglers primarily target Walleye, although other popular species present include Black Crappie, and Northern Pike. The current fish community is sustained by natural processes that regulate the populations of each species. Walleye catch was 12.1 per gill net in 2021, which is similar to previous surveys of the lake dating back several decades. The average size of Walleye sampled was 13.6 inches and 0.92 pounds with the largest fish measuring about 26 inches long. Growth is considered normal for Finland area lakes with Walleye reaching 14.2 inches at age-5. Age analysis found year classes from each of the past several years. Results of the survey indicate natural reproduction continues to provide anglers with a good opportunity to catch and harvest a Walleye. Black Crappie are another popular species targeted by anglers in Four Mile Lake. Historic surveys dating back to the 1980's have captured a low number of individuals. This is fairly typical of crappie populations in the Finland area that are low density and maintained through sporadic recruitment of year classes that are produced frequently enough to sustain the fishery. Catches from standard fisheries gear do not accurately reflect the angling opportunities for this species on this lake. Northern Pike are also available to anglers and were captured at a rate of 1.0 per gill net in 2021. Net catches have been below the normal range for similar lakes in each of the eight previous surveys of the lake. While there is not an abundant population of pike, anglers may get a chance to battle this hard fighting species when fishing on the lake.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, August 17, 2021.

All Minnesota stockings · every Minnesota lake with a page · state CSV · this lake on DNR LakeFinder