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LakeQuality
The bow of a canoe on flat evening water, a spruce and birch shoreline ahead, in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

Updated August 2026

Bowen Lake Fishing

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 12, 2024 caught 2.83 walleye per gill net at Bowen Lake. In Cass County, Minnesota, Bowen Lake has nutrient and algae readings on record from state and federal monitoring. Water clarity averages 13.7 feet of visibility, and there is one public boat landing. The survey figures on this page are Minnesota DNR's own; the water-quality readings come from EPA Water Quality Portal samples. Neither is a forecast of today's bite.

Minnesota DNR fisheries surveys · latest June 12, 2024

Species recorded at Bowen Lake

14 species on the Minnesota DNR list for this lake. A species on the list has been recorded here; it does not mean it is catchable today or in every part of the lake.

Stocking at Bowen Lake

Minnesota DNR publishes a stocking history for this lake — which species went in, how many, and in which years. Read the years: a lake stocked in one year is not necessarily stocked in the next.

Getting on the water

1 public boat landing is recorded on Bowen Lake. Minnesota DNR lists the public access sites, including ramp type and parking, in the documents below.

Survey results in full

DNR fisheries survey

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 12, 2024 caught 2.83 walleye per gill net at Bowen Lake.

A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Bowen Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 2 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.

DNR Fisheries Survey Summary

9 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2024-06-12 (Standard Survey).

9 surveys on file · most recent 2024-06-12 (Standard Survey)

SpeciesCatch rate (CPUE)SizeAvg weight
Bluntnose Minnow
83.21
Yellow Perch
28.18
5–9 in
2024-06-12
0.13 lb
Golden Shiner
8.22

CPUE = catch per unit effort, fish caught per net per set in a standardised survey. It measures abundance, not size, and is not a weekly bite report.

Length Distributions

Number of fish caught at each inch class in the most recent survey that recorded lengths. Red dashed line marks an approximate trophy threshold for that species.

Yellow Perch

265 fish · 5–9 in · 2024-06-12
9548056789

From the 2024-06-12 survey

Bowen Lake (DOW # 11-0350, Lake Class 31) is 176-acres with a maximum depth of 25 feet and 49 littoral acres (less than 15 feet deep) located one mile southeast of Backus, Minnesota. Bowen Lake is on the Pine River a state Water Trail Canoe Route. There is a Minnesota DNR-owned public access on the south shore a half…

Source: MN DNR LakeFinder Fisheries Lake Survey

DNR Reports & Resources

Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Bowen Lake. 4 reports on file.

These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).

Common questions

What fish are in Bowen Lake?

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 12, 2024 caught 2.83 walleye per gill net at Bowen Lake. Minnesota DNR lists 14 species for the lake in total. Those are survey results, not a catch report: a net set on one date measures what was in that net.

When was Bowen Lake last surveyed?

The most recent fisheries survey on file for Bowen Lake is dated June 12, 2024. Survey intervals vary by lake and by species; a gap of several years between surveys is normal and does not mean the record is missing.

Is Bowen Lake stocked?

Minnesota DNR publishes a stocking history for Bowen Lake. It records which species were released, in what numbers and in which years — the source documents are linked further down this page. A lake can be stocked in some years and not others, so read the years rather than assuming an annual release.

Do the water-quality readings tell me how Bowen Lake fishes?

A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Bowen Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 2 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.

Before you eat what you catch

Water-quality readings are not a consumption advisory. Mercury and PCB advice for Minnesota waters comes from MDH, and it is issued per species and per size class: a lake with clear, low-nutrient water can still carry a meal limit on larger predator fish.

Where to stay near Bowen Lake

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