Pfeiffer Lake
St. Louis County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 69067100
DNR records show 3 stocking entries at Pfeiffer Lake since 2018, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2024 (255 fish).
- Pfeiffer Lake has 3 DNR stocking records across 3 years (2018-2024): walleye (3).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 950 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 26 ft; surface area 60 acres, 34 littoral acres, 1.6 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 10.9 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, largemouth bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- St. Louis County, nearest town Tower; DNR lake number (DOW) 69067100.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 255 | 17.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 442 | 17.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 253 | 16.9 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| gravel ramp | USF | - Aluminum dock, medium to shallow access. |
DNR fish survey, 2022
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 52.67 | 158 | 0.35 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 3.33 | 10 | 0.67 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 1.67 | 5 | 2.21 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 1.67 | 5 | 0.58 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 36.78 | 331 | 0.13 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 3.56 | 32 | 0.17 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 2.33 | 21 | 0.37 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 6 | 5.52 |
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.
Pfeiffer Lake is a 60 acre lake located 10 miles west of Tower. It is accessed by a concrete ramp and has a US Forest Service Campground located on the north and east sides of the lake. The lake is surrounded mostly by public land, except one small area on the west shore that is in private ownership. The lake has a maximum depth of 26 feet and at the time of this survey the water color was clear. On June 28, 2022, the lake was thermally stratified with a surface temperature of 70 F and a bottom temperature of 50 F. Oxygen levels were adequate for gamefish to a depth of 17 feet where the temperature was 55 F. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline are mostly rubble, gravel, and sand with muck in the bays. Pfeiffer is currently being stocked every third year with walleye fingerlings. The overall gillnet catch rate for all fish combined was 59.3 fish/net which was the second highest catch rate on record for the lake. Fish species sampled were yellow perch, largemouth bass, bluegill, and walleye. Trap nets caught fish at an overall rate of 43.3 fish/net which was very close to the average overall catch rate for the lake. Black crappie were the only additional species sampled in trap nets that weren't also sampled in gill nets. Five walleye were sampled in gill nets for a catch rate of 1.7 fish/net, which was the lowest on record for the lake but not far off the average when compared to other similar lakes. Walleye lengths ranged from 16 to 21.5 inches with an average of nearly 18 inches. Six additional walleye were captured in trap nets. Their sizes were larger than the gillnetted fish with a range from 16 to 28.5 inches and an average of just over 24 inches. Only the five fish captured in the gill nets were used for aging. Three fish were age-4 and two were age-7. All came from fingerling stocked years. Thirty-two largemouth bass were sampled in trap nets for a catch rate of 3.6 fish/net which was better than average for the lake, and quite good when compared to other similar lakes. Ten additional fish were sampled in the gill nets. Combining the catches from both gear types, lengths ranged from 5 to 15 inches with an average of nearly 8 inches. Growth rates were average with a four-year-old fish measuring 10 inches. Twenty-one black crappie were sampled in trap nets for a catch rate of 2.3 fish/net. This was just below average compared to other similar lakes but right at the average historic catch rate for Pfeiffer Lake. Lengths ranged from 4.5 to just over 10 inches with an average of over 8 inches. Ages ranged from 2 to 4 years old. Growth was…
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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