Moose Lake (St. Louis County)
St. Louis County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 69075000
DNR records show 2 stocking entries at Moose Lake (St. Louis County) since 2016, most recently walleye fry in 2018 (228,000 fish).
- Moose Lake (St. Louis County) has 2 DNR stocking records across 2 years (2016-2018): walleye (2).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 456,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 8 ft; surface area 228 acres, 228 littoral acres, 3.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 6.3 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bluegill, northern pike, pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- St. Louis County, nearest town Crane Lake; DNR lake number (DOW) 69075000.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 228,000 | 2.6 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 228,000 | 2.3 |
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.
DNR fish survey, 2019
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLH | Standard gill nets | 53.67 | 322 | 0.12 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 31.83 | 191 | 0.32 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 21.17 | 127 | 0.35 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 12.00 | 72 | 1.26 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 3.33 | 20 | 2.02 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 1.33 | 8 | 0.06 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 6 | 2.81 |
| Smallmouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 3.04 |
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.
Moose Lake is located in St Louis county approximately 9.5 miles west-northwest of the community of Crane Lake, Minnesota. Access to this remote lake is fairly difficult, including approximately 4 miles of ATV trail off of US Forest Rd 493, passing nearby Long Lake along the way. Moose is a shallow 228 acre lake with abundant vegetation and a maximum depth of just 8 feet. A standard fisheries survey was completed in Moose in July of 2019. Moose Lake has a high quality Bluegill population. Bluegill are abundant, and the size structure is impressive. The average size from the 2019 sample was 7.5 inches, and fish up to 11 inches were measured. Aging revealed Bluegill up to 10 years old were present in the system. Small lakes can be particularly vulnerable to overharvest of large, old Bluegills. Selective harvest of smaller Bluegill is encouraged to conserve the high quality size structure in this lake. Northern Pike are abundant and typically small in Moose Lake. An average Pike from the 2019 survey measured 18 inches, and the largest measured just over 25 inches. Most Northern Pike in Moose Lake were young, with the majority of the sample being two to three years old. Significantly larger individuals have been sampled in past surveys, and as these two strong year classes age there may be some larger fish in the future. Smallmouth Bass were sampled for the first time in Moose Lake during this survey. Two Smallmouth were caught in standard gill nets. Future surveys will track the expansion of this species and possible effects on other fish in Moose Lake. Yellow Perch are quite abundant in Moose Lake. Perch are also larger than expected for this type of lake, and reach sizes that should be of interest to most anglers. Perch averaged 8.6 inches and some over 12 inches were in the sample. A Walleye stocking regimen has been in place for Moose Lake since 2014. Moose had a naturally reproducing population, but catches in past surveys have been fairly low. Stocking does not appear to have increased the Walleye population as few Walleye were caught in the 2019 survey. However, the Moose Lake Walleye are fairly large in size, with an average length of over 20 inches. Other fish sampled during the 2019 survey included Bullhead, Golden Shiner, Pumpkinseed, and White Sucker.
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. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
Hear when the states we cover post stockings
One email a week in season: which waters in the states we cover were stocked, straight from the state agencies' own postings. No spam, no fishing-gear ads in the mail.
Free · double opt-in · unsubscribe anytime · we store only your email.