Namakan Lake

St. Louis County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 69069300

Namakan Lake has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.

• Namakan Lake shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of September 2, 2026.
• Maximum depth 150 ft, mean depth 44 ft; surface area 24,066 acres, 5,026 littoral acres, 319.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 10.7 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, burbot, cisco species, lake sturgeon, lake trout, lake whitefish, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rainbow smelt, redhorse, and 6 more.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: September 22, 2025 (standard survey).
• St. Louis County, nearest town Ray; DNR lake number (DOW) 69069300.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 7/17/1973 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2025

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.

Namakan Lake is a class 2 lake located on the Minnesota-Ontario border within Voyageurs National Park (VNP). The total surface area is 24,066 acres, of which 49% or 11,755 acres lie within Minnesota. Namakan Lake is typical of lakes within the Canadian Shield with soft, oligotrophic water and intermediate productivity. The mean depth is 45 feet, with a maximum-recorded depth of 150 feet. Only 20% of the lake is less than 15 feet deep (littoral zone), although its shoreline stretches for more than 146 miles. Namakan Lake is part of the Namakan Reservoir, which also includes Kabetogama, Sand Point, Crane, and Little Vermilion lakes. Namakan Lake has road access on the Canadian side (Namakan River via Flanders Road), but access on the Minnesota side is by water only. A mechanical portage from Rainy Lake is available at Kettle Falls. The nearest road access on the Minnesota side is located on the east end of Kabetogama Lake at VNP's Ash River Visitor Center. Namakan has been sampled annually since 1983. Current fishing regulations on Namakan Lake follow the border waters (Canada-Minnesota) regulations. For Walleye and Sauger, the limit is six (not more than four can be Walleye), Walleye from 18"-26" must be immediately released, and only one Walleye over 26" allowed in possession limit. Walleye gill net catch rate was 8.0 fish per net, which was above average compared to similar lakes. Total length ranged from 3.4 to 24.1 inches and the average length was 13.0 inches. Average weight was 0.8 pounds, which was below average compared to similar lakes. A total of 14 year-classes were present, and ages ranged from 0 to 15 years. Age-3 and age-4 Walleye were the most common ages in the 2025 gill nets. Average length at age-4 was 12.7 inches, which was below average compared to other lakes in the International Falls Management Area. Overall, there are good numbers of Walleye in Namakan Lake, with the chance to catch Walleye over 26 inches. Namakan Lake offers a good Walleye fishing opportunity Northern Pike gill net catch rate was 2.0 fish per net, which was above average compared to similar lakes. Total length ranged from 15.3 to 34.0 inches and the average length was 22.3 inches. Average weight was 2.5 pounds, which was below average compared to similar lakes. A total of 7 year-classes were present, and ages ranged from 2 to 9 years. Northern Pike from the 2022 (age-3) and 2020 (age-5) year-classes accounted for 55 percent of the total catch. Average length at age-4 was 20.3 inches, which was below average compared to other lakes in the International Falls…

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, September 22, 2025.

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