Kitchi Lake
Beltrami County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 04000700
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Kitchi Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (750,000 fish).
- Kitchi Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2025): walleye (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 4,228,551 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 50 ft; surface area 1,865 acres, 714 littoral acres, 14.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 7.8 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, shorthead redhorse, and 4 more.
- 3 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Beltrami County, nearest town Pennington; DNR lake number (DOW) 04000700.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 1/1/1900 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye3 | fry | 750,000 | 6.6 |
| 2023 | Walleye3 | fry | 729,551 | 6.2 |
| 2021 | Walleye3 | fry | 801,000 | 6.8 |
| 2019 | Walleye3 | fry | 828,000 | 6.6 |
| 2017 | Walleye3 | fry | 1,120,000 | 8.9 |
3 fish cooperatively purchased, raised, and/or stocked by Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | USF | - Knutson Dam on Cass Lake |
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | - Cass Lake by state hwy 2 rest area |
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | - Norway Beach |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MMS | 15-ft beach seine | 872.50 | 3,490 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 9.75 | 39 | 0.00 |
| Rock bass | 15-ft beach seine | 5.50 | 22 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | 15-ft beach seine | 2.25 | 9 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 15-ft beach seine | 2.25 | 9 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | 15-ft beach seine | 1.50 | 6 | 0.00 |
| BKF | 15-ft beach seine | 1.25 | 5 | 0.00 |
| BCS | 15-ft beach seine | 1.25 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 50.17 | 301 | 0.00 |
| Blacknose shiner | 50-ft beach seine | 38.17 | 229 | 0.00 |
| BCS | 50-ft beach seine | 16.00 | 96 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 13.17 | 79 | 0.00 |
| Rock bass | 50-ft beach seine | 5.67 | 34 | 0.00 |
| Spottail shiner | 50-ft beach seine | 5.33 | 32 | 0.00 |
| MMS | 50-ft beach seine | 4.33 | 26 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 4.00 | 24 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | Backpack electrofishing | 7.07 | 13 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 7.07 | 13 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 6.53 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | Backpack electrofishing | 5.44 | 10 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | Backpack electrofishing | 3.26 | 6 | 0.00 |
| Central mudminnow | Backpack electrofishing | 1.63 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Rock bass | Backpack electrofishing | 1.63 | 3 | 0.00 |
| BCS | Backpack electrofishing | 1.09 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 5.12 | 82 | 0.31 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 3.50 | 56 | 0.15 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 1.69 | 27 | 0.13 |
| Rock bass | Standard trap nets | 0.62 | 10 | 0.34 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 9 | 0.21 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.44 | 7 | 1.53 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.31 | 5 | 3.28 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.31 | 5 | 0.96 |
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 Kitchi Lake, which is located wholly within the Leech Lake Nation, was conducted on July 29 - August 1, 2024, 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 or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at 18 sampling stations. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample six stations, and a 15-foot seine was used at four stations. Deep, soft sediments, dense emergent vegetation, and deep water prevented the use of seines at eight stations. Nearshore sampling captured 21 species of fish including seven species that are intolerant of disturbance (Banded Killifish, Blackchin Shiner, Blacknose Shiner, Iowa Darter, Mimic Shiner, Muskellunge, and Rock Bass) and one that is tolerant of disturbance (Black Bullhead). A concurrent summer trap net survey was also conducted by IBI Program staff. Sixteen trap nets were set along the shoreline in locations that encompassed multiple habitat types. Trap net sampling captured 14 species of fish, including one that is intolerant of disturbance, Muskellunge. Bluegill (38%) and Pumpkinseed (26%) comprised a majority of the catch by number, whereas Bluegill (23%), Muskellunge (18%), and Bowfin (15%) comprised a majority by biomass. Overall, the numbers of fish captured per net was relatively low with only 14 fish and 7 pounds per net. The nearshore and trap net were combined with gill net data from an August 2019 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). 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. Temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) measurements were collected from the deepest basin in Kitchi Lake, which is located wholly within the Leech Lake Nation, on July 29th, 2024, to evaluate the quantity and quality of cold…
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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