Helen Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 31002300
Helen Lake has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Helen Lake shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 33 ft, mean depth 15 ft; surface area 158 acres, 85 littoral acres, 3.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 4.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, white sucker, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Itasca County, nearest town Bengal; DNR lake number (DOW) 31002300.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey (get source); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| earthen ramp | county | good earthen access with limited parking |
DNR fish survey, 2011
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 36.00 | 36 | 1.22 |
| Bluegill | 15-ft beach seine | 30.00 | 30 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 15-ft beach seine | 8.00 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 7.00 | 7 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 15-ft beach seine | 3.00 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Brook stickleback | 15-ft beach seine | 1.00 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | 15-ft beach seine | 1.00 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 10.78 | 15 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 8.62 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | Backpack electrofishing | 5.03 | 7 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | Backpack electrofishing | 4.31 | 6 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | Backpack electrofishing | 2.87 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | Backpack electrofishing | 2.16 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Golden shiner | Backpack electrofishing | 0.72 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Rock bass | Backpack electrofishing | 0.72 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 4.67 | 28 | 0.20 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 4.00 | 24 | 1.88 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 2.67 | 16 | 0.10 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 1.17 | 7 | 2.24 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 4 | 1.43 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 0.36 |
| Golden shiner | Standard gill nets | 0.17 | 1 | 0.07 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard gill nets | 0.17 | 1 | 0.64 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 4.67 | 42 | 0.10 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 1.89 | 17 | 0.17 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 6 | 2.05 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 0.44 | 4 | 0.11 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.46 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 3.64 |
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.
Helen (Tank) Lake is located in eastern Itasca County near Goodland, MN in the St. Louis River watershed. The lake is representative of ecological lake class 32. Helen Lake has a surface area of 158 acres and a littoral area of 86 acres. The maximum depth is 32 feet and the lake has 3.8 miles of shoreline. The Sechhi disk reading was 4 feet in August of 2011 and the water color was brown due to bog stain. The MPCA lists the trophic status as mesotrophic (www.pca.state.mn.us/water). Moderate amounts of the lakeshore have been residentially developed, although much of the shoreline appeared to be undisturbed. The initial survey in 1977 described a diverse aquatic plant community with plant growth to a depth of 8 feet. The shoreline was described as primarily hardwoods with emergent vegetation dominating the shoreline. The lake has one seepage inlet on the southeast end and an inlet on the south bay that flows from Little Fowler and Dode lakes. There is one outlet which flows north to Little Island Lake. There is a public access located on the southwest end of the lake. A fisheries lake management plan (LMP) was written for Helen Lake in 2009. The LMP identified northern pike and black crappie as the primary management species and largemouth bass as the secondary management species. No special regulations exist for Helen Lake, but statewide seasons and limits apply. A population assessment was conducted on Helen Lake in 2011. Electrofishing was conducted for largemouth bass in June and test netting was conducted in August. Near shore electrofishing and seining was conducted as part of a statewide effort to produce index of biological integrity data. Electrofishing for largemouth bass produced a catch of 36 bass. Helen Lake appeared to support a quality bass population as bass ranged in length from 6.3 to 18.0 inches with an average length of 13.0 inches. Seventy-three percent of the bass exceeded the quality length of 12 inches, 20% exceeded the angler preferred length of 15. Age analysis indicated 6 year classes and fairly consistent recruitment. The growth rate was near the statewide average, as individuals typically achieved 12 inches by age 5 and nearly 15 inches by age 6. Good bass angling opportunities appear to exist given the size structure and catch rate of largemouth bass. Black crappie were the most common fish captured in the gill nets. The catch rate was high compared to lakes with similar habitats. Trap net catches of crappie were average compared to similar lakes. Size distributions were described as poor in past assessments and remained so…
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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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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