Lax Lake

Lake County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 38040600

DNR records show 10 stocking entries at Lax Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (2,742 fish).

• Lax Lake has 10 DNR stocking records across 10 years (2016-2025): walleye (10).
• The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 39,831 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 35 ft, mean depth 10 ft; surface area 295 acres, 192 littoral acres, 3.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 9.1 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: July 21, 2025 (targeted survey).
• Lake County, nearest town Finland; DNR lake number (DOW) 38040600.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 9/10/1976 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Stocking history

² fish purchased by the DNR for stocking.

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2025

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 Lax Lake was conducted on July 21st-July 23rd, 2025, by Lake Biological Monitoring and Assessment (LBMA) program staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing, mini-fyke nets, and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at 10 sampling stations. Similarly, a 1/8" mesh mini-fyke net was used to sample 10 stations. Finally, a 50-foot seine was used to sample four stations, and a 15-foot seine was used at one station. Five stations were not seined due to steep drop-offs and heavy woody debris. Nearshore sampling captured nine species of fish, including Golden Shiner, Johnny Darter, and Mottled Sculpin. The nearshore data along with gill net and standard trap net data will be used to develop fish community models for Northeast Minnesota lakes, which will be used to measure lake health. These models may function similarly to fish IBI models developed for lakes across much of the rest of the state. For additional information, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. You can help protect the fish community in Lax Lake by reducing runoff, maintaining natural shorelines, and preventing the spread of invasive species.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, July 21, 2025.

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