Roy Lake (Mahnomen County)
Mahnomen County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 44000100
DNR records show 8 stocking entries at Roy Lake (Mahnomen County) since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2024 (640,558 fish).
- Roy Lake (Mahnomen County) has 8 DNR stocking records across 6 years (2017-2024): walleye (8).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 2,147,965 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 16 ft; surface area 695 acres, 638 littoral acres, 4.1 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 4.3 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and 1 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Mahnomen County, nearest town Zerkel; DNR lake number (DOW) 44000100.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/18/1971 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 640,558 | 6.0 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 225,000 | 1.8 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 638,000 | 5.6 |
| 2020 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 4,347 | 378.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 638,000 | 5.5 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fingerlings | 652 | 32.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | adults | 1,020 | 474.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye | yearlings | 388 | 132.0 |
1 fish purchased and stocked by private citizens and sporting groups.
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 | TRI | Tribal-owned public access is located in NW corner of lake. |
DNR fish survey, 2023
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 53.71 | 94 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | Backpack electrofishing | 26.86 | 47 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 8.57 | 15 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 6.86 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | Backpack electrofishing | 5.71 | 10 | 0.00 |
| Central mudminnow | Backpack electrofishing | 5.14 | 9 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 4.57 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | Backpack electrofishing | 2.86 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 30.50 | 244 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | 50-ft beach seine | 28.62 | 229 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 26.88 | 215 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 6.75 | 54 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | 50-ft beach seine | 5.75 | 46 | 0.00 |
| Yellow bullhead | 50-ft beach seine | 4.25 | 34 | 0.00 |
| Blacknose shiner | 50-ft beach seine | 1.62 | 13 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | 50-ft beach seine | 1.00 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 28.00 | 56 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | 15-ft beach seine | 15.50 | 31 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | 15-ft beach seine | 3.00 | 6 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 15-ft beach seine | 2.50 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | 15-ft beach seine | 1.00 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Brook stickleback | 15-ft beach seine | 0.50 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 15-ft beach seine | 0.50 | 1 | 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 Roy Lake, which lies within the boundaries of the White Earth Reservation, was conducted on July 17-18, 2023 by Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) Program Staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at all 14 sampling stations, but four stations were sampled from the boat due to site conditions. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample eight stations, a 15-foot seine was used to sample two stations, and site conditions prevented the use of seines at four stations. Nearshore sampling captured 13 species of fish including two species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Blackchin Shiner and Iowa Darter) and one species that is tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Green Sunfish). The nearshore data was combined with gill net and trap net data from a July 2022 survey to describe the fish community and provide a Fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. In Minnesota lakes, certain fish species cannot survive without clean water and a healthy habitat (e.g., Blackchin Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Rock Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Green Sunfish). The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website.
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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