Sissabagamah Lake
Aitkin County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 01012900
DNR records show 10 stocking entries at Sissabagamah Lake since 2016, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2025 (6,160 fish).
- Sissabagamah Lake has 10 DNR stocking records across 10 years (2016-2025): walleye (10).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 44,486 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 37 ft; surface area 406 acres, 219 littoral acres, 4.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 7.9 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, walleye, and 3 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Aitkin County, nearest town Aitkin; DNR lake number (DOW) 01012900.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 6,160 | 220.0 |
| 2024 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 3,930 | 218.3 |
| 2023 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 4,136 | 219.9 |
| 2022 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 3,520 | 220.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 4,620 | 220.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 3,420 | 180.0 |
| 2019 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 5,280 | 220.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 5,500 | 220.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 3,300 | 220.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 4,620 | 220.0 |
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 | Minnesota DNR |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | 15-ft beach seine | 112.20 | 561 | 0.00 |
| Blacknose shiner | 15-ft beach seine | 27.40 | 137 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 26.80 | 134 | 0.00 |
| BCS | 15-ft beach seine | 6.40 | 32 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 15-ft beach seine | 1.40 | 7 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 15-ft beach seine | 1.00 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Central mudminnow | 15-ft beach seine | 0.60 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Black crappie | 15-ft beach seine | 0.60 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 75.00 | 225 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 33.67 | 101 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 20.67 | 62 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | 50-ft beach seine | 5.33 | 16 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 50-ft beach seine | 2.33 | 7 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | 50-ft beach seine | 1.00 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | 50-ft beach seine | 0.67 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Northern pike | 50-ft beach seine | 0.67 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 57.12 | 71 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 13.68 | 17 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 9.65 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | Backpack electrofishing | 8.85 | 11 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 7.24 | 9 | 0.00 |
| Rock bass | Backpack electrofishing | 4.02 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | Backpack electrofishing | 2.41 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Tadpole madtom | Backpack electrofishing | 2.41 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 9.89 | 89 | 0.26 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 2.78 | 25 | 0.77 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 1.89 | 17 | 0.32 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 1.44 | 13 | 0.65 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 1.33 | 12 | 0.35 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.78 | 7 | 4.10 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.78 | 7 | 0.92 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 6 | 0.68 |
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 Lake Sissabagamah, was conducted on July 7- 9, 2025, by Lake Biological Monitoring and Assessment Program (LBMA) Staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at 10 sampling stations. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample three stations, and a 15-foot seine was used at five stations. Two stations were not seined due to dense vegetation and difficulty walking through habitat. Nearshore sampling captured 18 species of fish including four species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Blackchin Shiner, Blacknose Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Rock Bass) and two species that are tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Black Bullhead and Green Sunfish). A concurrent summer trap net survey was also conducted by LBMA staff. Nine trap nets were set along the shoreline in locations that encompassed multiple habitat types. Trap net sampling captured 11 species of fish. Bluegill and Brown Bullhead comprised a majority of the catch by number, whereas Bowfin and Bluegill comprised a majority by biomass. The trap net catch was relatively light overall. The nearshore and trap net data were combined with gill net data from an August 2024 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 and Common Carp). 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 web site. Results from this survey suggest that Lake Sissabagamah is near the impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes, which was similar to results observed in 2014 and 2024. The survey results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Mississippi River Brainerd watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. You can help…
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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