Minnesota DNR fisheries surveys · latest August 18, 2025
Species recorded at Joe Martin Lake
8 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 Joe Martin Lake
No stocking record for Joe Martin 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 Targeted Survey on August 18, 2025 caught 3.00 northern pike per gill net at Joe Martin Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 8–26 inches.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Joe Martin Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 5 years of monitoring is improving. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
2 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2025-08-18 (Targeted Survey).
2 surveys on file · most recent 2025-08-18 (Targeted Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | 22.84 | 3–9 in 2025-08-18 | 0.16 lb |
| Largemouth Bass | 8.45 | 4–14 in 2025-08-18 | 0.7 lb |
| Pumpkinseed | 2.94 | 4–7 in 2025-08-18 | 0.21 lb |
| Northern Pike | 2.48 | 8–26 in 2025-08-18 | 1.42 lb |
| Black Crappie | 1.89 | 5–10 in 2025-08-18 | 0.32 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.
Bluegill
Largemouth Bass
Pumpkinseed
Northern Pike
From the 2025-08-18 survey
A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Joe Martin Lake, which is located within Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Nation, was conducted on August 18 - August 20, 2025 by Lake Biological Monitoring and Assessment (LBMA) Program and Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwe Natural Resources staff. Sampling sites were…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Joe Martin Lake. 2 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — MartinFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Aquatic Plant Report — Martin (0466)Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
Common questions
What fish are in Joe Martin Lake?
Minnesota DNR's Targeted Survey on August 18, 2025 caught 3.00 northern pike per gill net at Joe Martin Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 8–26 inches. Minnesota DNR lists 8 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 Joe Martin Lake last surveyed?
The most recent fisheries survey on file for Joe Martin Lake is dated August 18, 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 Joe Martin Lake stocked?
No stocking record for Joe Martin 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 Joe Martin Lake fishes?
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Joe Martin Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 5 years of monitoring is improving. 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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