Pickerel Lake (Itasca County)
Itasca County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 31033900
DNR records show 1 stocking entry at Pickerel Lake (Itasca County) since 2022, most recently splake yearlings in 2022 (335 fish).
- Pickerel Lake (Itasca County) has 1 DNR stocking record across 1 year (2022-2022): splake (1).
- The most-stocked species by count is splake: 335 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 70 ft; surface area 241 acres, 52 littoral acres, 4.6 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 10.3 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, smallmouth bass, tullibee (cisco), walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and 1 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Itasca County, nearest town Effie; DNR lake number (DOW) 31033900.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Splake | yearlings | 335 | 57.4 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | The access is located on the west side of the lake off County Road 533. |
DNR fish survey, 2018
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 8.11 | 73 | 0.14 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 9 | 0.06 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.44 | 4 | 1.27 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 0.24 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 0.15 |
| Rock bass | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.13 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.11 | 1 | 3.62 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 0.11 | 1 | 0.03 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 5.67 | 34 | 1.65 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 1.50 | 9 | 1.27 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 1.17 | 7 | 0.13 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 1.17 | 7 | 0.12 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.83 | 5 | 1.07 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 0.83 | 5 | 0.50 |
| Rock bass | Standard gill nets | 0.50 | 3 | 0.24 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 0.50 | 3 | 2.97 |
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.
Pickerel Lake is a 293-acre lake located 12 miles east of Effie, MN in the Bigfork River watershed. A concrete public access is located off Highway 533 on the western shore of the lake with parking for two vehicles with trailers. Pickerel Lake has a maximum depth of 70 feet and 18% of the lake is 15 feet or less. The lake's water has lower fertility and is fairly clear, with visibility to 9.5 feet in mid-July 2018. The depth of water at which oxygen levels limited fish presence was 11 feet. The lake is the middle lake in a chain of navigable lakes including Deer and Battle. The chain has a special 10 fish bag limit sunfish regulation, implemented in 2006, to maintain the existing quality sunfish population. The sunfish regulation was reviewed and maintained in 2015. Targeted surveys for sunfish were conducted in 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2018. The chain also has a special Walleye regulation, implemented in 2005, to provide a more stable Walleye population and increase the contribution of natural reproduction. All Walleye from 17 to 26 inches must be immediately released, with only one fish over 26 inches allowed in possession. The bag limit remains six. Targeted surveys for Walleye were conducted in 2007 and 2013. Standard surveys were conducted in 2010 and 2018. The 2014 lake management plan indicated Bluegill and Walleye were primary species, while Black Crappie were a secondary species. Three surveys were conducted on Pickerel Lake in 2018 to monitor various aspects of the fish community. An early-June targeted survey to sample sunfish, an early-July Index of Biotic Integrity survey to sample the near-shore fish community and evaluate the overall lake health, and a standard survey (this report) in mid-July to monitor the fish community for changes in species composition, abundance, size structure and growth. The Bluegill population has typically had lower density and good size distribution. Past surveys described the population as having moderate recruitment with growth faster than lakes with similar habitat. The trap net catch rate was similar to past surveys. Bluegill lengths ranged from 3 to 9 inches, but the proportions of fish sampled greater than 6 and 8 inches were substantially worse than in past surveys. Size structure had been noticeably better in the spring targeted survey. The size distribution in the summer sample was influenced by a high proportion of age 2 and 3 Bluegill, less than 6 inches. These younger year classes accounted for over 70% of the sample. It is not unexpected that these fish were not as well-sampled in the spring survey…
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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