Minnewawa Lake
Aitkin County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 01003300
DNR records show 6 stocking entries at Minnewawa Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (1,150,000 fish).
- Minnewawa Lake has 6 DNR stocking records across 6 years (2016-2025): walleye (6).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 8,050,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 21 ft, mean depth 8 ft; surface area 2,351 acres, 2,286 littoral acres, 18.6 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 4.9 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, burbot, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, and 3 more.
- 4 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Aitkin County, nearest town McGregor; DNR lake number (DOW) 01003300.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/2/1956 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 1,150,000 | 10.6 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 1,150,000 | 10.3 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 2,300,000 | 20.7 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 1,150,000 | 10.2 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 1,150,000 | 10.4 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 1,150,000 | 10.2 |
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 | - South side of lake off County Hwy 6 Two ramps available |
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | - South side of lake off 188th Ave No Dock Limited Parking |
| concrete ramp | TOW | - East side of lake off 188th Avenue. No Dock Limited Parking |
| concrete ramp | TOW | - Located on the NW side of the penninsula in the middle of the lake. 198th PL No Dock No parking allowed. |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 46.67 | 560 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 42.75 | 513 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 19.50 | 234 | 0.00 |
| Golden shiner | 50-ft beach seine | 11.67 | 140 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | 50-ft beach seine | 6.25 | 75 | 0.00 |
| Spottail shiner | 50-ft beach seine | 3.50 | 42 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | 50-ft beach seine | 2.75 | 33 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 50-ft beach seine | 1.83 | 22 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 25.00 | 100 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 15.25 | 61 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | Backpack electrofishing | 9.75 | 39 | 0.00 |
| Golden shiner | Backpack electrofishing | 7.25 | 29 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | Backpack electrofishing | 6.50 | 26 | 0.00 |
| BCS | Backpack electrofishing | 2.75 | 11 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | Backpack electrofishing | 2.00 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Yellow bullhead | Backpack electrofishing | 2.00 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 15-ft beach seine | 17.00 | 17 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 1.00 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | 15-ft beach seine | 1.00 | 1 | 0.00 |
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 Lake Minnewawa was conducted 07/22/2024 by Aitkin Area Fisheries 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 24 sampling stations, nine of which were shocked from the boat due to soft sediment. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample 13 stations, and a 15-foot seine was used at one station. Ten stations were not seined due to dense vegetation and soft sediment. Nearshore sampling captured 21 species of fish including three species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Blackchin Shiner, Blacknose Shiner, Iowa Darter) and two that are tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Bigmouth Buffalo, Black Bullhead). The nearshore data were combined with trap net and gill net data from a 07/15/2024 survey to describe the fish community and provide a fish-based index of biotic integrity (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., Green Sunfish and 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. Results from this survey provide evidence that the fish community in Lake Minnewawa is healthy as indicated by a FIBI score above the general use impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. These results are similar to previous findings which indicated that Lake Minnewawa is fully supporting aquatic life. The survey results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Mississippi River-Grand Rapids watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. You can help protect the fish community in Lake Minnewawa by reducing runoff, maintaining natural shorelines, and preventing the spread of invasive species.
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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