Nichols Lake
St. Louis County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 69062700
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Nichols Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (8,379 fish).
- Nichols Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2017-2025): walleye (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 44,890 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 31 ft, mean depth 8 ft; surface area 419 acres, 362 littoral acres, 4.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 6.2 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- St. Louis County, nearest town Payne; DNR lake number (DOW) 69062700.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 7/9/1969 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 8,379 | 380.9 |
| 2023 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 8,298 | 360.8 |
| 2021 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 12,308 | 362.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 8,670 | 361.2 |
| 2017 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 7,235 | 361.8 |
2 fish purchased by the DNR for stocking.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | - Public access is located on the north side of the lake on County Rd. 232 |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 38.00 | 304 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 11.75 | 94 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 9.25 | 74 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 50-ft beach seine | 4.38 | 35 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | 50-ft beach seine | 0.50 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | 50-ft beach seine | 0.50 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | 50-ft beach seine | 0.12 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 28.00 | 35 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 20.80 | 26 | 0.00 |
| Central mudminnow | Backpack electrofishing | 9.60 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | Backpack electrofishing | 4.00 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | Backpack electrofishing | 2.40 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | Backpack electrofishing | 1.60 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | Backpack electrofishing | 0.80 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Trapnet - Mini Fyke | 13.90 | 139 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Trapnet - Mini Fyke | 4.80 | 48 | 0.00 |
| Brown bullhead | Trapnet - Mini Fyke | 2.90 | 29 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | Trapnet - Mini Fyke | 1.10 | 11 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | Trapnet - Mini Fyke | 0.40 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Northern pike | Trapnet - Mini Fyke | 0.30 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Yellow bullhead | Trapnet - Mini Fyke | 0.30 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Walleye | Trapnet - Mini Fyke | 0.20 | 2 | 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 nearshore fish species in Nichols Lake was conducted on August 11th-13th, 2025, by Lake Biological Monitoring and Assessment (LBMA) program staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing, mini-fyke nets, and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at 10 sampling stations. Similarly, a 1/8" mesh mini-fyke net was used to sample 10 stations. Finally, a 50-foot seine was used to sample eight stations. Two stations were not seined due to deep water and dense vegetation. Nearshore sampling captured 13 species of fish. The nearshore data along with gill net and standard trap net data will be used to develop fish community models for Northeast Minnesota lakes, which will be used to measure lake health. These models may function similarly to fish IBI models developed for lakes across much of the rest of the state. For additional information, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. You can help protect the fish community in Nichols Lake by reducing runoff, maintaining natural shorelines, and preventing the spread of invasive species.
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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