Madden Lake
Lake County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 38070900
DNR records show 6 stocking entries at Madden Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2023 (60,000 fish).
- Madden Lake has 6 DNR stocking records across 6 years (2017-2023): walleye (6).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 213,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 24 ft, mean depth 12 ft; surface area 34 acres, 29 littoral acres, 1.5 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 10.1 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: green sunfish, northern pike, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Lake County, nearest town Ely; DNR lake number (DOW) 38070900.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 60,000 | 0.6 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 30,000 | 0.3 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 30,000 | 0.3 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 30,000 | 0.3 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 30,000 | 0.3 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 33,000 | 0.3 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| PO | Minnesota DNR | Approx. 0.6 mile portage from Greenstone Lk. |
| CA | USF | Approx. 0.8 mile portage or drive in on rough pickup trail south off Fernberg Rd. - Cartop boat or canoe & 4wd vehicle highly recommended, a trailer is not recommended. |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 10.33 | 31 | 1.44 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 8.33 | 25 | 2.74 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 3.00 | 9 | 2.84 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 1 | 0.10 |
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.
Madden Lake is a 34-acre lake located 11 miles east of Ely. The main access is via the Madden Lake Trail, which runs 0.8 miles south off the Fernberg Road to the north side of the lake. The road is extremely rough so a 4-wheel drive vehicle with high clearance, ATV/UTV, or hiking are the only reasonable forms of transportation. A trailer is not recommended. Madden Lake can also be accessed via a 0.6-mile portage from Greenstone Lake into the south end of Madden. The lake has a maximum depth of 24 feet and brown-green water. There is one private parcel on the east shore of the lake, but much of the shoreline is publicly owned, forested, and rocky. Madden Lake was thermally stratified on July 5, 2023, with a surface temperature of 74 F and a bottom temperature of 43 F. Adequate oxygen for most fish was retained to a depth of at least 12 feet where the temperature was 53 F. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline consist of mostly ledge rock with areas of rubble, sand, and muck. Aquatic vegetation is confined mostly to the northeast and southeast bays and grows to a maximum depth of 7 feet. The 2023 survey of Madden Lake was a targeted survey using three gill nets to evaluate the success of walleye fry stockings that began in 2013 after no stockings took place from 1994-2013. Since 2013, walleye fry have been stocked almost annually, with the only missed years in 2016 and 2020. The walleye catch rate was 3.0 fish/net, which was double the catch rate of the only other survey since walleye fry stocking resumed (1.5 fish/net in 2017). Walleye lengths ranged from 17.0 to 24.9 inches and averaged 20.3 inches. Ages of walleye ranged from 3 to 8 years, and half of the walleye came from non-stocked year classes, indicating that some amount of natural reproduction is occurring in the lake. Northern pike were sampled at a rate of 8.3 fish/net, which was relatively high compared to previous surveys on Madden Lake and other similar lakes in the Tower area. Pike ranged in size from 18.9 to 29.3 inches. The average length of pike sampled was 23.3 inches, which is also slightly higher than the historical average for the lake. White sucker and yellow perch were also sampled in gill nets. White sucker were sampled at a rate of 10.3 fish/net, and yellow perch had a catch rate of 0.3 fish/net. These species both likely serve as important prey for the walleye and northern pike populations in Madden Lake.
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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