Garden Lake
Lake County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 38078200
DNR records show 4 stocking entries at Garden Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2023 (3,480 fish).
- Garden Lake has 4 DNR stocking records across 4 years (2017-2023): walleye (4).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 21,458 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 55 ft; surface area 653 acres, 239 littoral acres, 17.3 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 5.5 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, burbot, cisco species, northern pike, rock bass, smallmouth bass, tullibee (cisco), walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Lake County, nearest town Ely; DNR lake number (DOW) 38078200.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 10/23/1965 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 3,480 | 120.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 4,065 | 119.6 |
| 2019 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 7,699 | 238.8 |
| 2017 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 6,214 | 239.0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | Parking for approx. five vehicles w/ trailers. Turning around is somewhat cramped for space. |
| C | Minnesota DNR | Navigable channel from Farm Lake. |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco (tullibee) | Standard gill nets | 6.22 | 56 | 0.24 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 4.11 | 37 | 1.07 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 3.44 | 31 | 0.11 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 1.67 | 15 | 2.36 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 1.22 | 11 | 1.82 |
| Burbot | Standard gill nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.14 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.37 |
| Rock bass | Standard gill nets | 0.11 | 1 | 0.23 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 3.88 | 31 | 0.35 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 2.25 | 18 | 1.72 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 1.12 | 9 | 0.25 |
| Rock bass | Standard trap nets | 1.12 | 9 | 0.38 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.75 | 6 | 1.10 |
| White sucker | Standard trap nets | 0.62 | 5 | 2.90 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.38 | 3 | 0.81 |
| Smallmouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.12 | 1 | 0.28 |
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.
Garden Lake is five miles east of Ely, covers 653 acres, and is one of three connected lakes that with Farm and South Farm comprise the Garden Reservoir. This system is also connected to White Iron Lake via the South Kawishiwi River. A public access with a concrete plank boat ramp is located near the northwest corner of the lake off CR 18 (Fernberg Road). Garden Lake can also be accessed by boat from Farm Lake. A hydroelectric dam at the outlet of Garden Lake affects water levels seasonally on Garden Lake and the other connected lakes. The 2020 lake management plan for the Garden Reservoir lakes listed walleye and northern pike as the primary management species and the plan also listed bluegill, smallmouth bass, and black crappie as capable of providing quality fishing. A standard survey was conducted in mid-summer 2023 to assess the populations of these species and to monitor lake quality and habitat. The survey crew sampled fish with gill nets and trap nets, and they measured water quality. Garden Lake was thermally stratified, with a surface temperature of 71 F and a temperature of 52 F at 50 feet. Adequate oxygen levels for gamefish were present to a depth of about 15 feet. Garden Lake has brown, bog-stained water with visibility around 6 feet. Walleye harvest by anglers on the Garden Reservoir chain is restricted with a special regulation that requires releasing all fish from 17 to 26 inches, with only one fish over 26 inches allowed in a 6-fish limit. This regulation has been in place since 2006 with the goal of maintaining overall catch rates while increasing the number of fish over 17 inches and applies to all the connected lakes mentioned above. The gill-net catch for walleye was higher than the historic median for the lake. Walleye tended to run small, averaging just 12.8 inches long and only 27% of the fish sampled were over 14.0 inches. The largest walleye was almost 31 inches. Six additional walleye were also sampled in trap nets with a larger average size of 14.2 inches. Walleye ages ranged from 0 to 12 and indicated natural reproduction is occurring in the system. Northern pike (pike) harvest by anglers on the Garden Reservoir chain is restricted with a special regulation that requires releasing all fish from 24 to 36 inches, with only one pike over 36 inches allowed in a 3-fish limit. This regulation, which applies to all the connected lakes mentioned above, has been in place since 2003 with the goal of maintaining the overall catch rate and increasing the abundance of pike over 24 inches. Northern pike were caught at a slightly higher…
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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