Hay Lake (Carlton County)
Carlton County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 09001000
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Hay Lake (Carlton County) since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (214,000 fish).
- Hay Lake (Carlton County) has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2025): walleye (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 1,091,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 14 ft, mean depth 4 ft; surface area 140 acres, 122 littoral acres, 4.5 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, brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Carlton County, nearest town Wrenshall; DNR lake number (DOW) 09001000.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/2/1958 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 214,000 | 2.4 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 214,000 | 2.1 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 214,000 | 2.1 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 214,000 | 2.2 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 235,000 | 2.2 |
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 | county | Earthen ramp located at the extreme southern end of the lake off of County Road 4. |
DNR fish survey, 2021
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 35.17 | 211 | 0.32 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 28.50 | 171 | 0.11 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 4.67 | 28 | 1.65 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 4.00 | 24 | 2.12 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard gill nets | 2.17 | 13 | 0.33 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 4 | 0.20 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 0.01 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 0.20 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 12.33 | 111 | 0.30 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 3.00 | 27 | 0.11 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 1.89 | 17 | 0.04 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 1.56 | 14 | 0.08 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 1.33 | 12 | 3.64 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 0.33 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 0.37 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.23 |
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.
Hay Lake is a 215 acre lake with 214 acres (99.5%) of littoral area and a maximum depth of 16 feet. The lake is located southwest of Wrenshall, MN off of County Road 4. It has a county-owned earthen access located at the southern end of the lake. The current fisheries management plan for Hay directs Walleye fry stocking in odd years. Prior to 1998, Walleye had not been stocked or sampled in Hay Lake. The fish community of Hay Lake is occasionally subject to stressful oxygen conditions during extreme winters and as a result can experience wide fluctuations in the abundance of some species. Hay Lake was last assessed in 2011. Hay Lake was surveyed during the summer of 2021 to evaluate the success of the Walleye stocking program and update information about other fish populations. Walleye abundance of 4.0 per gillnet lift was up from 2011 (0.7) and was above average compared to other Minnesota lakes of similar type. Walleye average length was large at 17.6 inches. The proportion of adult Walleye that exceeded quality size (greater than 15 inches) was 79%, while the proportion that exceeded preferred size (greater than 20 inches was 17%. One-hundred percent of the Walleyes aged corresponded to stocked year-classes suggesting limited, if any natural reproduction. Young fish captured from the 2019 year-class suggests that Hay Lake will continue to provide good opportunities for Walleye angling in the future. In addition to Walleye, Hay offers quality angling opportunities for Northern Pike. Northern Pike abundance of 4.7 per gillnet lift was down from 2011 (7.3) but still average compared to other Duluth Area lakes. Northern Pike average length was 19.2 inches but several memorable size fish (greater than 34 inches) were sampled in the trapnets. Bluegill and Black Crappie abundance was below average compared to other Minnesota lakes of similar type. Yellow Perch were abundant but small.
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.
Hear when the states we cover post stockings
One email a week in season: which waters in the states we cover were stocked, straight from the state agencies' own postings. No spam, no fishing-gear ads in the mail.
Free · double opt-in · unsubscribe anytime · we store only your email.