Mitchell Lake (Sherburne County)
Sherburne County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 71008100
DNR records show 13 stocking entries at Mitchell Lake (Sherburne County) since 2016, most recently walleye yearlings in 2025 (235 fish).
- Mitchell Lake (Sherburne County) has 13 DNR stocking records across 7 years (2016-2025): walleye (13).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 9,608 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 33 ft, mean depth 14 ft; surface area 170 acres, 107 littoral acres, 2.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 11.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and 1 more.
- 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Sherburne County, nearest town Big Lake; DNR lake number (DOW) 71008100.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 5/8/1956 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye1 | yearlings | 235 | 107.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fingerlings | 1,605 | 107.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 2,700 | 120.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 3,210 | 107.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye | adults | 165 | 174.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye | yearlings | 31 | 6.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | adults | 41 | 62.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | yearlings | 137 | 97.5 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fingerlings | 478 | 29.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye1 | yearlings | 300 | 100.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 375 | 25.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | yearlings | 232 | 110.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fingerlings | 99 | 16.5 |
1 fish purchased and stocked by private citizens and sporting groups.
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 | city | - Access ramp on the north side of Mitchell Lake. Parking not available. |
| concrete ramp | city | - Access is within a park on the SW corner of Big Lake. Mitchell Lake can be accessed by a navigable channel. |
DNR fish survey, 2019
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 46.30 | 69 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | Backpack electrofishing | 38.92 | 58 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 32.21 | 48 | 0.00 |
| Yellow bullhead | Backpack electrofishing | 18.79 | 28 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 16.10 | 24 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | Backpack electrofishing | 5.37 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | Backpack electrofishing | 4.03 | 6 | 0.00 |
| Spotfin shiner | Backpack electrofishing | 2.01 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 50-ft beach seine | 29.50 | 177 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 18.67 | 112 | 0.00 |
| Spotfin shiner | 50-ft beach seine | 12.67 | 76 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | 50-ft beach seine | 3.33 | 20 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 0.67 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 50-ft beach seine | 0.67 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 0.50 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | 50-ft beach seine | 0.50 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 15-ft beach seine | 18.00 | 72 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 15-ft beach seine | 5.50 | 22 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 15-ft beach seine | 3.75 | 15 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 15-ft beach seine | 1.00 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | 15-ft beach seine | 0.50 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 0.50 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | 15-ft beach seine | 0.25 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | 15-ft beach seine | 0.25 | 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 the nearshore fish community was conducted on June 19, 2019 by Fisheries Lake IBI program staff. Sampling stations 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 all 10 stations. A 15-foot seine was used to sample 4 stations and a 50-foot seine was used to sample 6 stations. Nearshore sampling captured 13 native fish species including two intolerant species (Blacknose Shiner and Iowa Darter) and one species (Green Sunfish) that is tolerant of disturbance. Data from this targeted nearshore survey is combined with data from standard gill and trap netting surveys to calculate a Fish-based Index of Biological Integrity (FIBI) score that describes the overall health of the lake. 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. 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. The FIBI score for Mitchell Lake based on this survey is near the impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. Data from this survey will contribute biological information about the health of the fish community to the Mississippi River - St. Cloud Watershed assessment process in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency.
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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