Minnesota DNR fisheries surveys · latest July 30, 2025
Species recorded at Disappointment Lake
6 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 Disappointment Lake
No stocking record for Disappointment Lake appears in the Minnesota DNR material on file. That is an absence in the published record, not a confirmation that the lake is unstocked — some waters are managed as naturally reproducing and never appear in a stocking list at all.
Survey results in full
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on September 17, 2024 caught 8.50 walleye per gill net at Disappointment Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 9–26 inches.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Disappointment Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 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: 2025-07-30 (Targeted Survey).
9 surveys on file · most recent 2025-07-30 (Targeted Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tullibee (Cisco) | 8.81 | 9–17 in 2024-09-17 | 0.91 lb |
| Walleye | 4.29 | 9–26 in 2024-09-17 | 2.11 lb |
| White Sucker | 2.54 | 11–20 in 2024-09-17 | 2.2 lb |
| Northern Pike | 1.84 | 22–37 in 2024-09-17 | 4.13 lb |
| Smallmouth Bass | 1.39 | 5–18 in 2024-09-17 | 0.84 lb |
| Rock Bass | 1.20 | 4–7 in 2024-09-17 | 0.24 lb |
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.
Tullibee (Cisco)
Walleye
White Sucker
Northern Pike
From the 2025-07-30 survey
Temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) measurements were collected from the deepest basin in Disappointment Lake on July 30th, 2025, to evaluate the quantity and quality of cold, oxygenated water (i.e., oxythermal habitat) available to Cisco, also known as Tullibee, the most sensitive coldwater species present in this…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Disappointment Lake. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — DisappointmentFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
Common questions
What fish are in Disappointment Lake?
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on September 17, 2024 caught 8.50 walleye per gill net at Disappointment Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 9–26 inches. Minnesota DNR lists 6 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 Disappointment Lake last surveyed?
The most recent fisheries survey on file for Disappointment Lake is dated July 30, 2025. 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 Disappointment Lake stocked?
No stocking record for Disappointment Lake appears in the Minnesota DNR material on file. That is not the same as a confirmed unstocked lake: it means no stocking document was published for it in the records this page draws on.
Do the water-quality readings tell me how Disappointment Lake fishes?
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Disappointment Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 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.
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