Snelling Lake
Hennepin County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 27000100
DNR records show 8 stocking entries at Snelling Lake since 2018, most recently white bass in 2025 (11,000 fish).
- Snelling Lake has 8 DNR stocking records across 5 years (2018-2025): bluegill sunfish (3), white bass (1), northern pike (1), yellow perch (1), and 2 more species.
- The most-stocked species by count is white bass: 11,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 10 ft; surface area 103 acres, 101 littoral acres, 1.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 7.5 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Hennepin County, nearest town Saint Paul; DNR lake number (DOW) 27000100.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | White Bass2 | - | 11,000 | 275.0 |
| 2024 | Bluegill Sunfish | adults | 480 | 78.4 |
| 2024 | Northern Pike | adults | 19 | 63.3 |
| 2024 | Yellow Perch | adults | 300 | 37.5 |
| 2023 | Bluegill Sunfish | adults | 521 | 72.2 |
| 2022 | Black Crappie | adults | 370 | 38.8 |
| 2022 | Bluegill Sunfish | adults | 709 | 69.5 |
| 2018 | Largemouth Bass | adults | 20 | 20.0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O | Minnesota DNR | - SOUTH END OF THE LAKE. ENTIRE LAKE WITHIN FORT SNELLING STATE PARK. |
DNR fish survey, 2017
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 55.00 | 110 | 0.51 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 28.00 | 56 | 0.25 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 9.50 | 19 | 0.06 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 8.50 | 17 | 2.90 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 5.00 | 10 | 0.11 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard gill nets | 4.00 | 8 | 0.05 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 2.50 | 5 | 0.05 |
| Golden shiner | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 2 | 0.11 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 24.88 | 199 | 0.11 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 8.75 | 70 | 0.10 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 1.38 | 11 | 0.24 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 1.25 | 10 | 0.10 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.88 | 7 | 2.10 |
| Green sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.75 | 6 | 0.04 |
| Black bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.62 | 5 | 0.52 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.50 | 4 | 0.26 |
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.
Snelling Lake is located in Fort Snelling State Park, one of the most popular state parks in Minnesota. Shore fishing locations include a pier on the north end of the lake. Boat access is available on the southern end of the lake but gas engines are prohibited. This shallow class 43 lake is heavily vegetated with a variety of native aquatic plants as well as invasive aquatic plants that include curly leaf pond weed and Eurasian water milfoil. Snelling Lake is equipped with a winter aeration system to help prevent winterkill brought on by low oxygen due to ice thickness and snow cover. Snelling Lake is part of the Fishing in the Neighborhood (FiN) program, and a population assessment was conducted in June of 2017 to determine species composition and abundance of game fish in the lake. For more information on FiN, please visit http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/fin/index.html . Bluegill abundance has shown to be high in Snelling Lake, and remained well above average for similar lakes. Bluegill in Snelling Lake were small at 0.1 pounds per individual. Average length was 5.0 inches and ranged between 3.1-8.2 inches. A total of 5 Bluegill were captured by gillnet. These individuals fell within the same range calculated from Bluegill in trap nets for length and weight, though they were nearer to the lower limit. Northern Pike abundance in Snelling Lake was well above average for similar lakes. Fifty-five percent of all Northern Pike sampled were 21 inches or greater and 16 percent were 28 inches or greater. The largest Northern Pike captured in this survey measured 33.2 inches. The average weight for Northern Pike sampled in Snelling Lake was 2.9 pounds, an above-average value for similar lakes. Seven Northern Pike were captured in trap nets, ranging from 16.7 to 24.4 inches in length. Black Crappie abundance was below average. Thirteen total Black Crappie were captured and the largest was 8.4 inches in length. Pumpkinseed abundance was high in the lake. Black Bullhead abundance was below average for similar lakes, but well above average for weight (0.5 pounds). Eighty four percent of fish sampled were greater than 9 inches in length and the largest individual was 11.4 inches. Yellow Bullhead abundance was well-above average compared to similar lakes. Other species captured in low abundance included Yellow Perch, Green Sunfish, hybrid sunfish, Golden Shiner and Largemouth Bass. It should be noted that passive sampling gears such as trap nets and gillnets are not effective for capturing Largemouth Bass. Electrofishing is the typical method for Largemouth Bass…
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. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
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