Minnesota DNR fisheries surveys · latest July 31, 2025
Species recorded at Spearhead Lake
17 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 Spearhead Lake
No stocking record for Spearhead 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 8, 2023 caught 0.89 northern pike per trap net at Spearhead Lake.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Spearhead 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
8 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2025-07-31 (Targeted Survey).
8 surveys on file · most recent 2025-07-31 (Targeted Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Shiner | 27.04 | 5 in 2022-05-31 | 0.05 lb |
| Green Sunfish | 16.75 | ||
| Tullibee (Cisco) | 14.03 | 2–16 in 2022-05-31 | 0.61 lb |
| Black Bullhead | 10.87 | 4–6 in 2022-05-31 | 0.15 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.
Golden Shiner
Tullibee (Cisco)
Black Bullhead
From the 2025-07-31 survey
Temperature and dissolved oxygen measurements were collected from the deepest basin in Spearhead Lake on July 30th, 2025. This was done 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…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Spearhead Lake. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — SpearheadFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
Common questions
What fish are in Spearhead Lake?
Minnesota DNR's Targeted Survey on August 8, 2023 caught 0.89 northern pike per trap net at Spearhead Lake. Minnesota DNR lists 17 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 Spearhead Lake last surveyed?
The most recent fisheries survey on file for Spearhead Lake is dated July 31, 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 Spearhead Lake stocked?
No stocking record for Spearhead 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 Spearhead Lake fishes?
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Spearhead 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.
Where to stay near Spearhead Lake
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