Hickory Lake
Aitkin County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 01017900
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Hickory Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (55,000 fish).
- Hickory Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2025): walleye (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 277,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 32 ft; surface area 212 acres, 111 littoral acres, 2.4 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 15.3 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, walleye, yellow bullhead, and 1 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Aitkin County, nearest town Aitkin; DNR lake number (DOW) 01017900.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 55,000 | 0.5 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 55,500 | 0.5 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 55,500 | 0.5 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 55,500 | 0.5 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 55,500 | 0.5 |
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 | DOT | - Canoes and other small watercraft can be used to reach Hickory Lake from the Minnesota DOT-maintained access at US 169. |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brook stickleback | 50-ft beach seine | 225.29 | 1,577 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 50-ft beach seine | 123.14 | 862 | 0.00 |
| BCS | 50-ft beach seine | 46.29 | 324 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 22.29 | 156 | 0.00 |
| Blacknose shiner | 50-ft beach seine | 10.43 | 73 | 0.00 |
| BKF | 50-ft beach seine | 7.71 | 54 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 7.14 | 50 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | 50-ft beach seine | 6.14 | 43 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | Backpack electrofishing | 135.00 | 150 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | Backpack electrofishing | 54.90 | 61 | 0.00 |
| Central mudminnow | Backpack electrofishing | 34.20 | 38 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 15.30 | 17 | 0.00 |
| Rock bass | Backpack electrofishing | 15.30 | 17 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | Backpack electrofishing | 15.30 | 17 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 10.80 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Brook stickleback | Backpack electrofishing | 3.60 | 4 | 0.00 |
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.
A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Hickory Lake was conducted on August 14-15th, 2023, by Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) Program staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at ten sampling stations. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample seven stations and no seine was used at three stations due to site conditions. Nearshore sampling captured twenty species of fish including seven species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Banded Killifish, Blackchin Shiner, Blacknose Shiner, Iowa Darter, Least Darter, Logperch, and Rock Bass) and zero that are tolerant of disturbance. The nearshore data were combined with trap net and gill net data from a June 2023 survey to describe the fish community and provide a fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. In Minnesota lakes, certain fish species cannot survive without clean water and a healthy habitat (e.g., Blackchin Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Rock Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Black Bullhead and Common Carp). The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. Results from this survey provide evidence that the fish community in Hickory Lake is Lake is healthy as indicated by an FIBI score that exceeds the exceptional use threshold determined for similar lakes. These results are similar to previous survey findings, which indicated that Hickory Lake is fully supporting for aquatic life use. The survey results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Mississippi River - Brainerd Watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency.
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. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
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