Wolf Lake (St. Louis County)
St. Louis County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 69016100
DNR records show 8 stocking entries at Wolf Lake (St. Louis County) since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (75,000 fish).
- Wolf Lake (St. Louis County) has 8 DNR stocking records across 8 years (2017-2025): walleye (8).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 607,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 28 ft; surface area 289 acres, 145 littoral acres, 4.5 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 8.6 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, largemouth bass, northern pike, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- St. Louis County, nearest town Ely; DNR lake number (DOW) 69016100.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 75,000 | 0.8 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 75,000 | 0.7 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 75,000 | 0.8 |
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 75,000 | 0.7 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 75,000 | 0.7 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 75,000 | 0.8 |
| 2018 | Walleye | fry | 75,000 | 0.9 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 82,000 | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR | Public access on south shore, 7.6 miles SW of Ely, MN off State Hwy. # 1 & 169 on Railroad Trail. |
DNR fish survey, 2024
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 64.50 | 86 | 1.78 |
| Smallmouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 45.00 | 60 | 1.12 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 6.00 | 54 | 0.25 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 2.11 | 19 | 1.84 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 0.88 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 2.73 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.11 | 1 | 0.11 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.11 | 1 | 2.22 |
| Golden shiner | Standard trap nets | 0.11 | 1 | 0.05 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 4.67 | 28 | 3.41 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 4.00 | 24 | 1.27 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 3.50 | 21 | 0.10 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 4 | 0.43 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 0.50 | 3 | 1.87 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 1.01 |
| Smallmouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 0.97 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 1.52 |
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.
Wolf is a 289-acre lake located eight miles west of Ely. It comparable to Armstrong and Low lakes in the Tower area. Water levels were moderate during the 2024 survey and maximum depth is 28 feet. Wolf was stratified during the survey, and a thermocline had developed at 12 feet. Oxygen levels were insufficient for fish beyond this depth. Secchi visibility was 6.5 feet, and the lake had light bog stain. Most of the shoreline is privately owned, and development is relatively high for the Tower Area. A public access exists on the south side of the lake and is notably gradual in slope. Launching a large watercraft can be difficult, especially in low water. The total gillnet catch rate for all fish was 14.3 fish/net which was lower than typical. Northern pike, walleye, and yellow perch represented the bulk of the catch, with black crappie, bluegill, largemouth and smallmouth bass, and white sucker also present. Total trap net catch was 9.2 fish/net which was also average. Bluegill and northern pike represented the bulk of the trap net catch, similar to past surveys. Walleye numbers (4.0/gill net) were lower than usual. Mean length was better than average at almost 15 inches. Walleye lengths ranged from 8 to just under 24 inches. The 2021-year class made up the majority of the catch, and most walleye came from stocked year classes. Walleye fry are currently stocked most years. The northern pike catch (4.7/gill net) was slightly lower than typical. Lengths ranged from 17 to 35 inches with an average of 24 inches, which is high for Wolf. Northern pike greater than 30 inches made up 21% of the catch. Bluegill abundance (6.0/trap net) was lower than in past surveys, and low compared to similar lakes. Lengths ranged from 3 to 8.5 inches with an average of nearly 6.5 inches, slightly higher than normal. Bluegill greater than 8 inches made up 22% of the catch. Black crappie catch rate (0.6/trap net) was identical to the lake average. Lengths ranged from 10 to 12 inches with an average of 11.5 inches slightly greater than usual. Black crappie were first detected in Wolf during the 2014 assessment and have been sampled in relatively low numbers since, barring a high gill net catch during the 2019 survey. A nearly 15-inch crappie captured in a gill net was the largest sampled from Wolf to date. Four electrofishing stations were sampled, each fished for 20 minutes. One hundred and forty-six total bass were captured in 80 minutes of on-time for a catch rate of 109.5/hour. This was greater than the catch rate of the previous survey at 68.3/ hour. Smallmouth bass catch…
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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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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