Nels Lake

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

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 69008000

DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Nels Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2024 (44,000 fish).

• Nels Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2024): walleye (5).
• The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 275,000 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 30 ft; surface area 182 acres, 88 littoral acres, 5.8 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 7.3 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, burbot, largemouth bass, northern pike, rock bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
• 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: June 27, 2023 (targeted survey).
• St. Louis County, nearest town Ely; DNR lake number (DOW) 69008000.

Stocking history

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2023

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.

Nels Lake is a 182-acre lake located nine miles northwest of Ely. There is a concrete boat ramp at the end of FR 1881. The lake has a maximum depth of 30 feet and brown bog-stained water. On June 27, 2023, Nels Lake was thermally stratified with a surface temperature of 72 F and a bottom temperature of 41 F. Oxygen levels were adequate for gamefish throughout the entire water column. Lake substrates along the shoreline are mostly boulder and ledge rock with muck in the shallow bays. This survey targeted walleye with gill nets to evaluate walleye fry stocking, which occurs in even years. The walleye catch rate was 2.7 fish/net, which was slightly above average for Nels Lake. However, sizes were generally small, with lengths ranging from 7.1 to 19.0 inches and averaging only 11.3 inches. The walleye catch was driven by the 2021 year class, which could provide decent angling opportunities in the coming years as those fish reach larger sizes. The northern pike catch rate was 6.5 fish/net, which was the second highest catch rate ever recorded for the lake. Lengths ranged from 14.8 to 23.0 inches and averaged 19.5 inches. Yellow perch were sampled at a rate of 4.7 fish/net and perch averaged just 6.3 inches in length. Other species sampled in 2023 included white sucker, smallmouth bass, bluegill, and black crappie. The lone black crappie was the first ever sampled by DNR staff from Nels Lake

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, June 27, 2023.

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