Spider Lake (Itasca County)
Itasca County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 31053800
DNR records show 17 stocking entries at Spider Lake (Itasca County) since 2016, most recently muskellunge yearlings in 2025 (152 fish).
- Spider Lake (Itasca County) has 17 DNR stocking records across 10 years (2016-2025): walleye (10), muskellunge (7).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 646,454 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 36 ft; surface area 1,392 acres, 737 littoral acres, 20.6 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 8.9 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, smallmouth bass, tiger muskellunge, walleye, and 2 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Itasca County, nearest town Marcell; DNR lake number (DOW) 31053800.
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 | Muskellunge | yearlings | 152 | 109.0 |
| 2025 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 9,539 | 430.0 |
| 2024 | Muskellunge | yearlings | 137 | 182.7 |
| 2024 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 8,723 | 484.6 |
| 2023 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 9,824 | 480.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 10,560 | 480.0 |
| 2021 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 10,080 | 480.0 |
| 2020 | Muskellunge | yearlings | 135 | 168.8 |
| 2020 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 10,340 | 480.0 |
| 2019 | Muskellunge | fingerlings | 740 | 160.4 |
| 2019 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 11,468 | 494.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 10,080 | 480.0 |
| 2017 | Muskellunge | fingerlings | 737 | 191.4 |
| 2017 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 15,840 | 480.0 |
| 2016 | Muskellunge | yearlings | 207 | 165.6 |
| 2016 | Muskellunge | adults | 185 | 451.2 |
| 2016 | Walleye | fry | 550,000 | 5.5 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | USF | USFS owned public access; northeast corner of Section 19; on the east shore of the middle basin; off County Road 49. |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 17.00 | 51 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 50-ft beach seine | 3.00 | 9 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 2.00 | 6 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 0.67 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Rock bass | 50-ft beach seine | 0.33 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Brook stickleback | 50-ft beach seine | 0.33 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Smallmouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 0.33 | 1 | 0.00 |
| White sucker | 50-ft beach seine | 0.33 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 16.09 | 177 | 0.11 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 2.45 | 27 | 0.13 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.55 | 6 | 4.99 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.45 | 5 | 0.45 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.45 | 5 | 2.01 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.36 | 4 | 0.19 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.18 | 2 | 0.42 |
| Rock bass | Standard trap nets | 0.18 | 2 | 0.12 |
| Pumpkinseed | Backpack electrofishing | 15.31 | 35 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 11.37 | 26 | 0.00 |
| Central mudminnow | Backpack electrofishing | 7.00 | 16 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 5.25 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | Backpack electrofishing | 2.19 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Spottail shiner | Backpack electrofishing | 1.75 | 4 | 0.00 |
| BKF | Backpack electrofishing | 1.75 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Rock bass | Backpack electrofishing | 1.31 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 15-ft beach seine | 12.90 | 129 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 15-ft beach seine | 8.40 | 84 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 15-ft beach seine | 3.00 | 30 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 1.40 | 14 | 0.00 |
| BKF | 15-ft beach seine | 0.80 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 15-ft beach seine | 0.40 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Rock bass | 15-ft beach seine | 0.10 | 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.
Spider Lake is in ecological lake class 25 and is located 8 miles southeast of Marcell, MN, in the Mississippi River Watershed. The lake is 1,349 acres and has a maximum depth of 36 feet. A survey targeting nearshore fish species was conducted by Area fisheries staff beginning on 1 July, 2024. Eighteen sampling sites (100 feet long) were evenly spaced around the lake shore, sampling a variety of habitat types. Each site is sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 15-ft or 50-ft 1/8th inch mesh seine, depending on habitat condition. Shoreline seining was conducted at 10 sites using the 15-ft seine and 3 sites with the 50-ft seine. Backpack electrofishing was completed at all 18 sites. Nearshore sampling captured 16 different species: 10 species by seining and 13 species by backpack electrofishing. The species can be found in the gear-specific catch tables in this report. Nearshore catches will be used with the gill net and trap net data from targeted surveys conducted on 16 August, 2021 and 7 July, 2024, to calculate a fish-based Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) score which is indicative of lake health. The surveys will assist the watershed assessment process in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. Trap Netting: Spider Lake was scheduled for near-shore index of biological integrity (IBI) sampling in 2024 as part of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) watershed sampling rotation. Spider was previously surveyed in 2021, when a gill net only survey was conducted. The 2021 survey was within the time frame for inclusion with the IBI survey. However, the IBI survey requires a trap netting component, and that portion was conducted in 2024 to complete the requirements for the IBI survey. Twelve trap nets were set at standard locations with one net excluded due to tampering. Ageing structures were not collected in this survey. The lake management plan lists Black Crappie as a secondary management species with no management objectives. Two crappie were sampled at a rate of 0.2/trap net, below the lake class first quartile (0.8/net). Past trap net catches have been variable, ranging from 0.5 to 18.3/net. One fish was 8.9 and the other 10.5 inches. Bluegill were the most abundant species sampled, at a rate of 16.1/trap net, near the lake class median. Past catches have been mostly consistent, from 18.2 to 39.1/net, and above average for the lake type. Size structure was poor and similar to past sampling. Lengths ranged from 3.2 to 7.7 inches with an average of 5.2 inches. Other species sampled include Brown Bullhead, Hybrid Sunfish…
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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