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LakeQuality
The bow of a canoe on flat evening water, a spruce and birch shoreline ahead, in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

Updated August 2026

Turtle Lake Fishing

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 17, 1991 caught 11.25 northern pike per gill net at Turtle Lake. In Polk County, Minnesota, Turtle Lake has nutrient and algae readings on record from state and federal monitoring. Water clarity averages 3.0 feet of visibility, and there is one public boat landing. The survey figures on this page are Minnesota DNR's own; the water-quality readings come from EPA Water Quality Portal samples. Neither is a forecast of today's bite.

Minnesota DNR fisheries surveys · latest June 17, 1991

Stocking at Turtle Lake

Minnesota DNR publishes a stocking history for this lake — which species went in, how many, and in which years. Read the years: a lake stocked in one year is not necessarily stocked in the next.

Getting on the water

1 public boat landing is recorded on Turtle Lake. Minnesota DNR lists the public access sites, including ramp type and parking, in the documents below.

Survey results in full

DNR fisheries survey

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 17, 1991 caught 11.25 northern pike per gill net at Turtle Lake.

A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Turtle Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is stable. 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: 1991-06-17 (Standard Survey).

2 surveys on file · most recent 1991-06-17 (Standard Survey)

35 years old
SpeciesCatch rate (CPUE)SizeAvg weight
Black Bullhead
87.16
0.52 lb
Walleye
16.31
0.99 lb
Northern Pike
4.67
1.53 lb
Brown Bullhead
4.25
0.86 lb
White Sucker
2.21
2.36 lb
Yellow Perch
1.88
0.62 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.

From the 1991-06-17 survey

FOLLOWING SEVERAL YEARS OF MODERATE WINTER-KILL, TURTLE LAKE'S FISH POPULATION STATUS HAS REVERTED TO ITS ECOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION-BLH. NOP AND WTS NUMBERS REMAIN STRONG AS WELL. NOP EXHIBIT AN ABOVE AVERAGE GROWTH RATE. CEN AND PERCID SPECIES HAVE BEEN NEARLY ELIMINATED BY LOW DISSOLVED OXYGEN LEVELS DURING WINTER.

Source: MN DNR LakeFinder Fisheries Lake Survey

DNR Reports & Resources

Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Turtle Lake. 4 reports on file.

These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).

Common questions

What fish are in Turtle Lake?

Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on June 17, 1991 caught 11.25 northern pike per gill net at Turtle Lake. Those are survey results, not a catch report: a net set on one date measures what was in that net.

When was Turtle Lake last surveyed?

The most recent fisheries survey on file for Turtle Lake is dated June 17, 1991. 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 Turtle Lake stocked?

Minnesota DNR publishes a stocking history for Turtle Lake. It records which species were released, in what numbers and in which years — the source documents are linked further down this page. A lake can be stocked in some years and not others, so read the years rather than assuming an annual release.

Do the water-quality readings tell me how Turtle Lake fishes?

A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Turtle Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 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 Turtle Lake

Top-rated places to stay near Turtle Lake

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