Pancore Lake
Cook County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 16047500
DNR records show 5 stocking entries at Pancore Lake since 2016, most recently splake fingerlings in 2024 (2,500 fish).
- Pancore Lake has 5 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2016-2024): splake (5).
- The most-stocked species by count is splake: 10,469 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 38 ft, mean depth 14 ft; surface area 31 acres, 18 littoral acres, 1.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 15.7 ft.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Cook County, nearest town Tofte; DNR lake number (DOW) 16047500.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Splake | fingerlings | 2,500 | 78.7 |
| 2022 | Splake | fingerlings | 2,500 | 66.1 |
| 2020 | Splake | fingerlings | 2,469 | 80.2 |
| 2018 | Splake | fingerlings | 1,500 | 73.9 |
| 2016 | Splake | fingerlings | 1,500 | 34.1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| CA | USF | Carry-in from the end of an unmaintained road off Erickson Trail (FR 338D), which is accessed from the Pancore Lake Road (FR 338). Access road starts at fire number 53. |
DNR fish survey, 2016
Pancore Lake is a designated stream trout lake, currently managed for Splake. This targeted survey was done to measure late-summer temperature-oxygen conditions to determine whether they might be limiting to Splake, which are believed to have habitat requirements similar to those for Brook Trout. Optimal conditions for Brook Trout are water temperatures of 68 F or less, with at least 5.0 ppm dissolved oxygen. Water temperatures over 68 F are stressful, and prolonged exposure to those higher temperatures can result in slower growth, particularly among larger fish. Exposure to water temperatures over 77 F can be lethal. Measurements in Pancore Lake on August 23 2016 indicated optimal conditions for Splake were present, but were limited to a narrow band of depths (about 19-20 feet). Waters at shallower depths would have been stressfully warm, while deeper waters lacked sufficient dissolved oxygen. While not lethal, warm waters observed in 2016 could have resulted in stress responses, including slower growth, among Splake in this lake. Effects of warm surface waters may have been reduced by the apparent persistence through the summer of at least some waters offering a cool-water refuge.
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.
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