Hungry Jack Lake
Cook County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 16022700
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Hungry Jack Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (2,992 fish).
- Hungry Jack Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2025): walleye (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 38,290 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 71 ft; surface area 474 acres, 187 littoral acres, 8.4 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 15.3 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bluegill, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, northern pike, rainbow smelt, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Cook County, nearest town Grand Marais; DNR lake number (DOW) 16022700.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/12/1986 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 2,992 | 187.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 9,650 | 386.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 5,491 | 451.6 |
| 2019 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 12,437 | 384.4 |
| 2017 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 7,720 | 386.0 |
2 fish purchased by the DNR for stocking.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| CA | USF |
DNR fish survey, 2020
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 28.67 | 344 | 0.08 |
| Smallmouth bass | Standard trap nets | 1.25 | 15 | 0.28 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.92 | 11 | 0.13 |
| Green sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 8 | 0.08 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.58 | 7 | 3.21 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.50 | 6 | 0.32 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 6.33 | 57 | 0.09 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 3.89 | 35 | 1.98 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 1.22 | 11 | 4.17 |
| Smallmouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 6 | 2.46 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 0.44 | 4 | 1.57 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 0.44 | 4 | 0.27 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 3 | 0.66 |
| RBS | Standard gill nets | 0.11 | 1 | 0.06 |
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.
Hungry Jack Lake is part of a cluster of medium sized easily-accessed lakes about 30 road miles from Grand Marais. It is a moderately developed lake, with two resorts and several cabins on its shores. The lake lacks a public boat launch; public access is limited to a carry-down trail. Nevertheless, use of this lake by anglers has been fairly high, historically. In the current (2014) lake management plan (LMP) primary and secondary management species in Hungry Jack Lake are Walleye and Smallmouth Bass. The long range goal for Walleye is a population with a minimum gill net catch of 3.0 fish/set, with no size goal set. The goal for Smallmouth Bass is to maintain a minimum proportional size distribution (PSD; stock = 7 in, quality = 11 in) of 50 for fish taken by angling, with a minimum gill net catch of 1.0 fish/set. The Smallmouth Bass population in this lake has been managed under special regulations since 1996; first an 11-inch maximum size limit, then a 12-inch maximum size limit, and now (since 2018), a 14-inch maximum size limit, with the harvest of one fish over 20 inches allowed. The 2020 survey was the second of three scheduled in the 2014 LMP to determine whether an increase in the walleye stocking rate that began in 2005 had resulted in an increase in walleye gill net catches, and to evaluate the 2018 change in the Smallmouth Bass regulation. The first survey was completed as planned in 2016. Walleye numbers appeared to have been fairly high in 2020, as did the average size of Walleye taken in gill nets and trap nets. The Walleye gill net catch goal was met in 2020, as it was in 2016. Walleye taken in gill nets in 2020 ranged in length from 10.8 to 25.6 inches, with about a third of the catch over 20 inches. Nine year classes (fish 3-12 years old) were included in the catch. Natural year classes apparently produced in 2016, 2014, and 2010 contributed a few fish to the catch, but years in which fingerlings were stocked accounted for 86% of the Walleye taken in this survey. Some of those fish may have been naturally produced, but consistent higher strengths of stocked year classes indicated stocking since 2009 had contributing substantially to the walleye population. Walleye growth had been average or better for the area; fish reached a mean length of 17.6 inches at the end of their fifth year, compared to an area average of 16.5 inches. Good Walleye growth was likely due to the presence of fairly high numbers of Yellow Perch, and access to a Rainbow Smelt forage base of unknown size. This survey provided more evidence that stocking Walleye…
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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