Moulton Lake
Aitkin County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 01021200
DNR records show 11 stocking entries at Moulton Lake since 2016, most recently walleye yearlings in 2025 (1,550 fish).
- Moulton Lake has 11 DNR stocking records across 9 years (2016-2025): walleye (11).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 192,777 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 24 ft; surface area 258 acres, 220 littoral acres, 4.1 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 3.2 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Aitkin County, nearest town Emily; DNR lake number (DOW) 01021200.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | yearlings | 1,550 | 163.0 |
| 2025 | Walleye | adults | 550 | 110.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye2 | yearlings | 2,649 | 164.9 |
| 2023 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 4,072 | 162.9 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fingerlings | 7,552 | 118.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 4,024 | 165.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 110,000 | 1.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 2,700 | 180.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 50,000 | 0.4 |
| 2018 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 5,060 | 220.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 4,620 | 220.0 |
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 |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Special trap nets | 37.08 | 445 | 0.28 |
| Black crappie | Special trap nets | 16.67 | 200 | 0.34 |
| Yellow bullhead | Special trap nets | 3.83 | 46 | 0.65 |
| Pumpkinseed | Special trap nets | 2.08 | 25 | 0.27 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Special trap nets | 0.92 | 11 | 0.46 |
| Brown bullhead | Special trap nets | 0.92 | 11 | 0.75 |
| Largemouth bass | Special trap nets | 0.67 | 8 | 1.78 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Special trap nets | 0.50 | 6 | 3.76 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 14.00 | 84 | 0.29 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 10.67 | 64 | 0.20 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 9.83 | 59 | 0.22 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 3.50 | 21 | 0.56 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 1.67 | 10 | 4.89 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 1.33 | 8 | 2.31 |
| Golden shiner | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 0.14 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 2.16 |
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.
Moulton Lake is a secluded lake located along the Aitkin-Crow Wing county line. Most of the shoreline is unaltered and publicly owned. There is a state-owned public access located in the northwest corner of the lake, accessible through a state forest road off of Aitkin County Road 3. The water is soft and heavily bog stained with a Secchi disc reading of only 3 feet. Anglers fishing Moulton Lake have several species to target with Walleye, Black Crappie, and Northern Pike being the most popular, but opportunities to catch Largemouth Bass and Bluegill also exist. A spring trap net survey (May 15) and gill net-only targeted survey (Aug 19) were performed on Moulton Lake to assist with review of the walleye stocking plan, assess the panfish population, and to harvest panfish spp. (Black Crappie, Bluegill, Hybrid Sunfish) for stocking at Long Lake (01-0101-00) in central Aitkin County. Long Lake had recently experienced a severe winterkill. The gill net catch rate for Walleye was 1.3 per gill net, which did not meet the management goal of 2 to 4 fish per gill net. Six year classes of Walleye, from 1 to 18 years old, were observed and all were from years that were stocked. Walleye in gill nets averaged 16.6 inches and ranged from 8.2 to 27.6 inches. Growth rates were slow compared to county and state averages, with 4-year-old Walleye averaging 13.5 inches, which is typical for Moulton Lake. Fingerling stocking supports the Walleye population in Moulton Lake and they have been stocked annually since 2022. Although trace amounts of natural reproduction have been noted in the past, it does not appear to contribute significantly to the fishery. Also, no fish were observed from the 2019 or 2021 year classes, which had been fry stocked. Northern Pike relative abundance was unchanged from 2021 (1.67 per gill net). Size structure was favorable with a mean length of 27.5 inches and individuals up to 34.9 inches were observed. Fifty percent of Pike captured were greater than 26 inches. Northern Pike ranged from 4 to 7 years old, and displayed fast growth compared to state and county averages, reaching 23 inches in 4 years. Catch rates of Black Crappie in gill nets decreased from an all-time high in 2021 (28.7 per net), to a rate of 14.0 per net. While a decrease in relative abundance was observed, the gill net catch rate of Crappie still exceeded the normal range for this type of lake, as well as the historical median prior to 2021 (5.4 per net). Black Crappie were captured at a rate of 16.7 per trap net during the spring survey, which was hgher than what is usually…
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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