Little Sturgeon Lake
St. Louis County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 69129000
DNR records show 6 stocking entries at Little Sturgeon Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (459 fish).
- Little Sturgeon Lake has 6 DNR stocking records across 6 years (2016-2025): walleye (6).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 4,166 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 22 ft; surface area 272 acres, 54 littoral acres, 3.5 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 4.5 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, golden redhorse, hybrid sunfish, northern pike, pumpkinseed, shorthead redhorse, silver redhorse, tullibee (cisco), walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- St. Louis County, nearest town Chisholm; DNR lake number (DOW) 69129000.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 459 | 27.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 567 | 27.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 405 | 27.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 861 | 26.9 |
| 2017 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 405 | 27.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 1,469 | 54.0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | Access is located on the northeast shore at the outlet. |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 5.83 | 35 | 2.11 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 2.67 | 16 | 0.18 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 1.67 | 10 | 0.16 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 1.67 | 10 | 2.11 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 0.83 | 5 | 2.99 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 4 | 0.06 |
| Tullibee (cisco) | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 0.45 |
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.
Little Sturgeon Lake is located approximately 14 miles northwest of Chisholm, MN and within the Little Fork River Watershed. The 247-acre lake has 54 littoral acres with a 22 foot maximum depth, and is moderately developed along the 3.6 mile shoreline. A public access is located on the north side of the Sturgeon River between Little Sturgeon and Side Lake with parking for five rigs. Little Sturgeon Lake is part of the larger Sturgeon Lake chain and outlets through the Sturgeon River. There are inlets from both Sturgeon and South Sturgeon Lakes. Little Sturgeon Lake has low fertility and very soft water, both of which limit fish production. The 2017 Lake Management Plan (LMP) lists Black Crappie and Bluegill as primary species for management and Walleye as a secondary species. The LMP goals were to: maintain a Black Crappie trap net or gill net catch near 2.0/net; maintain a Bluegill trap net catch near 8.0/net and increase the Walleye gill net catch to 2.0/net. A targeted survey was conducted in June of 2023 primarily to evaluate Walleye management using gill nets. Little Sturgeon Lake has a small Walleye population maintained by natural reproduction and/or immigration. The 2023 survey evaluated a period where Walleye were stocked 11 times from 2003 through 2021. Walleye were captured at a rate of 0.8/gill net. The catch was the lowest since 1990 and below what would be expected for lakes with similar habitats. Catch rates have been below the management goal of 2.0/gill net in six of seven surveys conducted since 1984. The five sampled fish ranged from 18.4 to 24.2 inches and averaged 3.0 pounds. Sample sizes were too low to evaluate growth but five age-classes ranging from 6 to 15 years old were identified. No fish corresponding to the 2021 and 2019 stockings were sampled and only one from the 2017 stocking. It appears stocking has not made a noticeable improvement to the fishery as the catches have remained very low. The Black Crappie catch of 2.7/gill net exceeded the management goals of 2.4/net. Black Crappie gill and trap net catches have been variable in previous surveys, but typical of lakes with similar habitats. Size structure in 2023 was poor: only three fish longer than 8 inches were sampled and none over 10 inches. Slow growth and harvest may hinder size structure as only one Black Crappie over 12.0 inches has ever been sampled. Bluegill are a management species but were not targeted in this survey. Generally, Bluegill trap net catch rates have been within the typical range for lakes with similar habitat. Management goals for numbers and…
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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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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