Minnesota DNR fisheries surveys · latest October 21, 2024
Species recorded at Lake St Croix
36 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.
- bigmouth buffalo
- black bullhead
- black crappie
- bluegill
- channel catfish
- common carp
- flathead catfish
- freshwater drum
- gizzard shad
- golden redhorse
- highfin carpsucker
- hybrid sunfish
- lake sturgeon
- largemouth bass
- longnose gar
- mooneye
- muskellunge
- northern pike
- paddlefish
- quillback
- river carpsucker
- river redhorse
- rock bass
- sauger
- shorthead redhorse
- shortnose gar
- silver redhorse
- smallmouth bass
- smallmouth buffalo
- spotted sucker
- walleye
- walleye/sauger
- white bass
- white crappie
- white sucker
- yellow perch
Stocking at Lake St Croix
No stocking record for Lake St Croix 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 July 7, 2009 caught 1.12 walleye per gill net at Lake St Croix.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Lake St Croix’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 5 years of monitoring is stable. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
18 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2024-10-21 (Standard Survey).
18 surveys on file · most recent 2024-10-21 (Standard Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smallmouth Bass | 4.97 | 5–19 in 2024-10-21 | 0.9 lb |
| Common Carp | 4.04 | 19–31 in 2024-04-15 | 4.74 lb |
| Freshwater Drum | 2.99 | 5–13 in 2024-10-21 | 0.61 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.
Smallmouth Bass
Common Carp
Freshwater Drum
From the 2024-10-21 survey
A gill net survey was conducted on Lake St. Croix in 2024 and sampled 970 fish represented by 28 different species and one hybrid. Over 51% of the fish sampled were considered game fish species (those species which have defined creel limits). Composition of the top five game fish species sampled were 29.8% Yellow…
Common questions
What fish are in Lake St Croix?
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 7, 2009 caught 1.12 walleye per gill net at Lake St Croix. Minnesota DNR lists 36 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 Lake St Croix last surveyed?
The most recent fisheries survey on file for Lake St Croix is dated October 21, 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 Lake St Croix stocked?
No stocking record for Lake St Croix 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 Lake St Croix fishes?
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Lake St Croix’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 5 years of monitoring is stable. 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 Lake St Croix
Top-rated places to stay near Lake St Croix
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