Hartley Lake (Itasca County)

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

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 31015400

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

• Hartley Lake (Itasca County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of September 2, 2026.
• Maximum depth 49 ft, mean depth 21 ft; surface area 288 acres, 98 littoral acres, 4.7 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 9.1 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, shorthead redhorse, smallmouth bass, tullibee (cisco), and 4 more.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: June 30, 2025 (standard survey).
• Itasca County, nearest town Nashwauk; DNR lake number (DOW) 31015400.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2025

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.

Hartley Lake is a 288-acre, moderately deep lake with about 4.7 miles of shoreline. The water is brown-green and bog-stained with a clarity of about 8 feet. In midsummer, oxygen drops sharply below about 18 feet, restricting fish to shallower waters. There's a public concrete boat ramp on the east end near the outlet dam. Fish populations are maintained by natural reproduction, and the lake is not stocked. Statewide fishing seasons and limits apply. The most recent lake management plan was revised in 2020 and listed Northern Pike and Largemouth Bass as primary species with Bluegill and Black Crappie as secondary species. The current assessment was a Standard Lake Survey conducted from June 30 through July 3, 2025. Sampling included standard gill nets and trap nets to assess the status of the fish community. Hartley Lake continues to produce a quality pike fishery. Northern Pike were common in the 2025 gill nets, with a good size distribution from 16 to nearly 39 inches and an average length near 25 inches. The lake produced many fish in the 22-26-inch slot, which must be released when caught by anglers under current zone regulations. Pike showed consistent recruitment across multiple year-classes, making them the lake's main sportfish. Anglers can help maintain size quality by only harvesting pike under 22 inches. Panfish were relatively abundant compared to similar lakes, but generally small. Bluegills were common, but growth was slow, and few reached quality-size (6 inches), making this lake better for catching and harvesting numbers rather than quality sunfish. Black crappies were also abundant with catch rates above average for similar lakes, but most fish were under 10 inches. Tullibee and Yellow Perch are important prey species and were present at moderate levels. Small perch sizes likely limit the angling potential, however. Walleye were present but angling opportunities in Hartley are limited. Walleye remained scarce in 2025, likely due to high pike competition and limited perch. Overall conditions for Walleye are poor in Hartley Lake. Bass electrofishing was not completed but Largemouth Bass were sampled in gill nets with fish up to 16.8 inches present. Overall, Hartley Lake offers strong northern pike fishing, plenty of panfish action for anglers targeting numbers, and occasional Walleye. It's a classic northern lake with healthy predator-prey dynamics, rewarding anglers who enjoy active fishing rather than trophy-size catches.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, June 30, 2025.

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