Thistledew Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 31015800
DNR records show 8 stocking entries at Thistledew Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (73,000 fish).
- Thistledew Lake has 8 DNR stocking records across 8 years (2017-2025): walleye (8).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 718,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 45 ft; surface area 326 acres, 73 littoral acres, 4.1 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 16.2 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Itasca County, nearest town Togo; DNR lake number (DOW) 31015800.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 6/19/1963 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 73,000 | 0.8 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 173,000 | 1.7 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 100,000 | 1.0 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 73,000 | 0.8 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 73,000 | 0.8 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 73,000 | 0.7 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 73,000 | 0.8 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 80,000 | 0.8 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| asphalt ramp | Minnesota DNR | State owned public access on the north end of the lake. |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 91.63 | 101 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | Backpack electrofishing | 13.61 | 15 | 0.00 |
| Rock bass | Backpack electrofishing | 8.17 | 9 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 7.26 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | Backpack electrofishing | 7.26 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | Backpack electrofishing | 3.63 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | Backpack electrofishing | 1.81 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Tadpole madtom | Backpack electrofishing | 1.81 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 53.75 | 430 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 13.75 | 110 | 0.00 |
| BCS | 50-ft beach seine | 11.00 | 88 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 50-ft beach seine | 4.25 | 34 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 1.38 | 11 | 0.00 |
| Rock bass | 50-ft beach seine | 1.12 | 9 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | 50-ft beach seine | 0.25 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 50-ft beach seine | 0.12 | 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.
A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Thistledew Lake was conducted on July 7th-8th, 2025, by Lake Biological Monitoring and Assessment Program staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at all ten sampling stations. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample eight stations, a 15-foot seine was used to sample one station, and site conditions (i.e., dense aquatic vegetation and soft substrate) prevented the use of a seine at one station. Nearshore sampling captured 13 species of fish including three species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Blackchin Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Rock Bass) and no species that are tolerant of disturbance. The nearshore data was combined with gill net and trap 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). 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 website. Results from this survey provide evidence that the fish community in Thistledew Lake is healthy as indicated by a FIBI score that exceeds the exceptional use threshold determined for similar lakes. These results are similar to previous findings, which indicated that Thistledew Lake is fully supporting aquatic life. The survey results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Little Fork River Watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. You can help protect the fish community in Thistledew Lake by reducing runoff, maintaining natural shorelines, and preventing the spread of invasive species.
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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