Steer Lake

Lake County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 38092000

DNR records show 9 stocking entries at Steer Lake since 2016, most recently brook trout fingerlings in 2025 (500 fish).

• Steer Lake has 9 DNR stocking records across 9 years (2016-2025): brook trout (9).
• The most-stocked species by count is brook trout: 4,300 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 24 ft; surface area 4 acres, 4 littoral acres, 0.3 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 10.7 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: brook trout, white sucker.
• 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: October 2, 2023 (standard survey).
• Lake County, nearest town Isabella; DNR lake number (DOW) 38092000.

Stocking history

⁸ fish cooperatively purchased, raised, and/or stocked by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2023

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.

Steer Lake is a designated stream trout lake located approximately 11 straight line miles east of Isabella. The primary access is a half mile carry-in trail from Lake County Road 7 where a wide spot in the road allows for parking of one or two vehicles. Anglers can also access the lake from the Hogback Lake Hiking Trail System, which requires a 1.25-mile hike over hilly terrain. Steer Lake is managed for Brook Trout with 500 fingerlings stocked each fall; no fingerlings were stocked in fall of 2022 due to a hatchery shortage. A remote creel survey was completed in 2023 and documented light fishing pressure in the summer trout season and moderate fishing pressure during the winter trout season relative to similar lakes throughout the state. A fisheries survey was completed in early October to monitor the status of the Brook Trout population in Steer Lake. The Brook Trout sampled ranged from 9 to 16 inches long with an average length of 11 inches. Multiple year classes of Brook Trout were present in Steer Lake indicating that the conditions in the lake have been suitable for trout survival in recent years. Anglers may notice a few less fish during the summer of 2024 due to the missed stocking in 2022. However, based on the data collected in this survey there should still be Brook Trout present for anglers to target. The average size of those fish should be a little larger than what is normally available in Steer Lake. By 2025, we expect the numbers available to anglers to be back closer to what has historically available in the lake.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, October 2, 2023.

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