Horseshoe Lake (Aitkin County)
Aitkin County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 01003400
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Horseshoe Lake (Aitkin County) since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (120,000 fish).
- Horseshoe Lake (Aitkin County) has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2016-2025): walleye (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 720,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 12 ft, mean depth 7 ft; surface area 240 acres, 240 littoral acres, 3.7 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 2.3 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Aitkin County, nearest town Tamarack; DNR lake number (DOW) 01003400.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 120,000 | 1.1 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 120,000 | 1.1 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 240,000 | 2.2 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 120,000 | 1.1 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 120,000 | 1.1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| C | Minnesota DNR | - Horseshoe Lake can also be reached from the public access on Lake Minnewawa; via a channel between the two lakes. |
| gravel ramp | PRI | - boats may be launched from the tavern on the east side of the lake for a fee. |
DNR fish survey, 2022
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 20.00 | 80 | 0.09 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 11.25 | 45 | 0.10 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 8.25 | 33 | 0.75 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 6.25 | 25 | 1.76 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 2.00 | 8 | 2.71 |
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 1.75 | 7 | 1.34 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 0.50 | 2 | 0.49 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.25 | 1 | 1.43 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 11.67 | 105 | 0.38 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 5.56 | 50 | 1.02 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 4.89 | 44 | 0.35 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 3.00 | 27 | 1.51 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 1.11 | 10 | 3.75 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 1.11 | 10 | 0.35 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 1.11 | 10 | 4.15 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 2.79 |
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.
Horseshoe Lake is a 237-acre lake located in northeastern Aitkin County approximately 9 miles northeast of McGregor. The lake is shallow with a maximum depth of only 12 ft. and summer algal blooms are relatively common. The water is a tannin stained dark brown in color, limiting the secchi disk reading to only 1.5 ft. Most of the shoreline is ringed with wild rice. Shallow water areas are comprised primarily of sand, silt, and muck with occasional areas of gravel and rubble. Horseshoe Lake does occasionally suffer from partial winterkills, the most recent known was a partial kill in the winter of 2007-2008, although partial kills have probably occurred in other years as well. Access can be gained either through the channel from Lake Minnewawa or through a private access on the northeast corner of the lake . The lake is part of the Quality Sunfish Initiative and has a 10 fish bag limit for sunfish. There is a special regulation for Walleye too where anglers can keep 3 Walleye with 1 over 20 inches. Historically Walleye have been naturally occurring in Horseshoe Lake. In order to improve an apparent declining natural population, Walleye fry were stocked into Horseshoe Lake, annually from 2012 - 2016 and are now stocked in alternating years concurrent with Lake Minnewawa. The 2022 catch of 2/gill net was identical to 2015 yet below the management goal of 3/net. It appeared there was more natural reproduction in this survey than years past, but some of those may have been stocked fish from Minnewawa that migrated into Horseshoe. Northern Pike numbers were up a bit, and their size was about average for this type of lake, although overall the size structure has dropped off over the last few surveys. There are still some decent pike to be caught though, fish ranged from 18.5 inches to 30.3 inches. Lower pike densities are generally favorable for Walleye management in this type of lake. Perhaps what is most notable is the lake's panfish population. Bluegill and Black Crappie populations are healthy, and both maintain decent size structures for the area. There has been improvements in Black Crappie and Bluegill sizes in recent years. Black crappie averaged over 8 inches, while Bluegills averaged about 7.5 inches. Yellow Perch numbers are in the normal range for this lake class but are probably too small to be of interest to anglers with no fish over 8 inches sampled in 2022. With an average length of 6.2 inches, the perch should provide good forage for the lake's Northern Pike and Walleye. Although abundance is low, Largemouth Bass are present, and quality…
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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