St. Mary's Lake
St. Louis County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 69065100
DNR records show 3 stocking entries at St. Mary's Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2024 (1,170 fish).
- St. Mary's Lake has 3 DNR stocking records across 3 years (2017-2024): walleye (3).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 5,408 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 44 ft; surface area 234 acres, 78 littoral acres, 4.1 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 16.4 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, cisco species, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, tullibee (cisco), walleye, white sucker, and 2 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- St. Louis County, nearest town Spruce; DNR lake number (DOW) 69065100.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey (get source); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 1,170 | 78.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye2 | fingerlings | 2,184 | 78.0 |
| 2017 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 2,054 | 79.0 |
1 fish purchased and stocked by private citizens and sporting groups. 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 | UKN | - NONE |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 19.50 | 117 | 0.22 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 4.17 | 25 | 5.43 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard gill nets | 3.17 | 19 | 0.24 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 3.00 | 18 | 0.36 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 2.67 | 16 | 1.56 |
| Tullibee (cisco) | Standard gill nets | 2.33 | 14 | 1.36 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 1.50 | 9 | 0.16 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 1.17 | 7 | 2.47 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 18.00 | 162 | 0.16 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 12.67 | 114 | 0.29 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 2.00 | 18 | 0.27 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 1.56 | 14 | 0.93 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 1.44 | 13 | 0.42 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.89 | 8 | 4.03 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 0.16 |
| Rock bass | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 0.12 |
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.
St. Mary's is a 234-acre lake located 2 miles south of Eveleth off the Miller Trunk Road. It shares much in common with Armstrong, Bass (Biwabik), and Ely lakes in the Tower Area. The water is clear, Secchi visibility is 13 feet, and the lake is up to 44 feet deep. St. Mary's was thermally stratified on 07/21, with a surface temperature of 71 °F, a bottom temperature of 47 °F, and dissolved oxygen levels sufficient for fish to a depth of 25 feet where the temperature was 52 °F. Submerged vegetation is abundant, and bottom substrates consist mostly of sand and gravel with minimal areas of muck. The lake is highly developed for the Tower Area with a multitude of year-round homes, as well as a golf course on the western shore. The access is a steep and short gravel ramp reinforced with plastic mesh. It is often washed out and best suited to vehicles with four-wheel drive. Total catch in gill nets (39.0/net) was higher than average for St. Mary's. Bluegill and northern pike represented the bulk of the catch, with black crappie, hybrid sunfish, and largemouth bass largely rounding out the nets. Walleye and cisco were notably sparse, with low numbers of pumpkinseed, rock bass, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and yellow perch also sampled. Walleye numbers (1.2/net) continued a declining trend and were below average compared to past surveys. Conversely, average size approached 19 inches and was high for both St. Mary's and the Tower Area. Lengths ranged from 13 to 22.5 inches. Walleye aged were from 3 to 11 years old and were evenly split between stocked and non-stocked years. No year class stood out and most fish exceeded seven years in age. Fingerling walleye are stocked every other year but face stiff competition with excellent northern pike and largemouth populations present. Northern pike abundance (4.2/net) was high compared to past surveys and size structure was excellent. Lengths ranged from 14.5 to nearly 39 inches with an exceptional average length of 27.5 inches. Fish greater than 30 inches represented 44% of the catch. Cold-water habitat, cisco forage, and relatively high productivity create optimal big-pike conditions. Cisco numbers (2.3/net) were somewhat below average. Lengths ranged from 8 to 17 inches, with an average length of 15 inches the highest sampled from St. Mary's. A shift from more numerous, smaller cisco to fewer larger fish is common in warming lakes. Seven cisco aged were from 7 to 12 years old. Age-7 fish were predominant. Total catch in trap nets (37.3/net) was slightly below average. Bluegill and hybrid sunfish dominated the…
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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