Minnesota DNR fisheries surveys · latest July 24, 2023
Species recorded at Pike Lake
7 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 Pike Lake
No stocking record for Pike 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.
Getting on the water
1 public boat landing is recorded on Pike Lake. Minnesota DNR lists the public access sites, including ramp type and parking, in the documents below.
Survey results in full
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 24, 2023 caught 7.78 walleye per gill net at Pike Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 3–26 inches.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Pike Lake’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
11 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2023-07-24 (Standard Survey).
11 surveys on file · most recent 2023-07-24 (Standard Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow Perch | 19.67 | 1–13 in 2023-07-24 | 0.24 lb |
| Walleye | 7.40 | 3–26 in 2023-07-24 | 1.24 lb |
| Smallmouth Bass | 4.88 | 1–18 in 2023-07-24 | 0.65 lb |
| White Sucker | 3.05 | 7–25 in 2023-07-24 | 2.22 lb |
| Northern Pike | 0.78 | 12–36 in 2023-07-24 | 2.9 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.
Yellow Perch
Walleye
Smallmouth Bass
White Sucker
From the 2023-07-24 survey
Pike Lake is an 814-acre lake located 9 miles west of Grand Marais. Public access is through a boat landing on the south side of the lake. It lies within the Lake Superior North watershed, draining to Lake Superior via Murmur Creek, Caribou Creek, and the Poplar River. Many different fish species have been…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Pike Lake. 2 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — PikeFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Public Water Access Sites — PikePublic Water Access Sites · MN DNR LakeFinder
Common questions
What fish are in Pike Lake?
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on July 24, 2023 caught 7.78 walleye per gill net at Pike Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 3–26 inches. Minnesota DNR lists 7 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 Pike Lake last surveyed?
The most recent fisheries survey on file for Pike Lake is dated July 24, 2023. 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 Pike Lake stocked?
No stocking record for Pike 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 Pike Lake fishes?
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Pike Lake’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 Pike Lake
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