Scooty Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 31015000
DNR records show 1 stocking entry at Scooty Lake since 2025, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (900 fish).
- Scooty Lake has 1 DNR stocking record across 1 year (2025-2025): walleye (1).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 900 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 75 ft; surface area 167 acres, 77 littoral acres, 2.6 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, walleye, yellow bullhead.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Itasca County, nearest town Nashwauk; DNR lake number (DOW) 31015000.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 900 | 45.0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| earthen ramp | county | - Access and campground on southwest shore off County Road #53. |
DNR fish survey, 2019
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 5.56 | 50 | 0.15 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 4.89 | 44 | 0.23 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 2.11 | 19 | 0.92 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 9 | 1.07 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 1.00 | 9 | 0.24 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.44 | 4 | 0.40 |
| Rock bass | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 0.22 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 5.00 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 1.50 | 9 | 2.77 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 1.17 | 7 | 0.97 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 6 | 0.27 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.17 | 1 | 0.62 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 0.17 | 1 | 0.04 |
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.
Scooty Lake is a 160 acre lake located 15 miles north of Nashwauk, MN in the Mississippi River watershed. The lake has a maximum depth of 75 feet. The water is soft, has fairly low fertility, and is moderately stained. Scooty Lake has two small inlets draining lowland areas on the north and west sides of the lake. The lake also has one outlet that flows to Wolf Lake and the Prairie River system. The Scooty Lake fish community is typical of many small, infertile lakes in northern Minnesota. The lake is dominated by warm water species, such as Largemouth Bass, sunfish, and Black Crappie. Species diversity is limited and the lake does not support a cold water fish community. The Fisheries Lake Management Plan (LMP) was last revised in 2004. The 2004 LMP listed Largemouth Bass and Black Crappie as the primary management species, and Northern Pike and Walleye as secondary species. A fish survey consisting of trap nets and gill nets was conducted in August of 2019 to determine the status of the fish community and provide information to anglers. Trap net catches for Largemouth Bass have generally been above average compared to similar lakes, suggesting that bass are an important component of the fishery. Captured bass ranged from 10.1 to 16.1 inches and averaged 12.4 inches. Age estimates suggest an average growth rate with fish averaging 15 inches by age 6. Five year classes were present (ages 1-6) and recruitment appeared inconsistent. Electrofishing was not accomplished in 2019 due to workload constraints due to a late ice out but previous surveys suggest moderate abundance with limited size quality. Good angling opportunities appear to exist for moderate sized bass. Scooty Lake has a history of relatively low Northern Pike numbers. The 2019 catch remained low compared to similar lakes, and below average for Scooty Lake. Low pike numbers are often desirable, however. Growth is slow and size quality is typically poor when pike occur in high numbers. High pike numbers may also limit production of other gamefish, including Walleye. Size structure was relatively poor in previous surveys, despite apparently low densities, and few fish over the preferred size of 28 inches were sampled. Pike size quality was moderate in 2019, as lengths ranged from 20.6 to 29.2 inches and fish averaged 23.4 inches. Eleven percent of sampled pike exceeded 28 inches. Growth was near the statewide average as fish averaged 22.5 inches by age 4. Five year classes were present (ages 1-6) but recruitment appeared to be inconsistent as most fish belonged to the 2016 year class. Anglers…
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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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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