Minnesota DNR fisheries surveys · latest September 6, 2011
Species recorded at Wind Lake
10 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 Wind Lake
No stocking record for Wind 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 Standard Survey on September 6, 2011 caught 5.22 walleye per gill net at Wind Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 12–28 inches.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Wind 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: 2011-09-06 (Standard Survey).
2 surveys on file · most recent 2011-09-06 (Standard Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Pike | 7.20 | 16–33 in 2011-09-06 | 2.71 lb |
| White Sucker | 6.39 | 7–21 in 2011-09-06 | 1.28 lb |
| Rock Bass | 3.05 | 3–8 in 2011-09-06 | 0.14 lb |
| Walleye | 2.69 | 12–28 in 2011-09-06 | 2.59 lb |
| Bluegill | 1.53 | 3–8 in 2011-09-06 | 0.13 lb |
| Smallmouth Bass | 1.22 | 7–19 in 2011-09-06 | 1.52 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.
Northern Pike
White Sucker
Rock Bass
Walleye
From the 2011-09-06 survey
Status of the Fishery Wind Lake is located approximately 14 miles NE of Ely, MN and is entirely within the BWCAW. It has a surface area of 1,009 acres and a maximum depth of 32 ft. Wind was thermally stratified on 09/06/2011, the first day of sampling, with a surface temperature of 67.6*F and a bottom temperature of…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Wind Lake. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — WindFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
Common questions
What fish are in Wind Lake?
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on September 6, 2011 caught 5.22 walleye per gill net at Wind Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 12–28 inches. Minnesota DNR lists 10 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 Wind Lake last surveyed?
The most recent fisheries survey on file for Wind Lake is dated September 6, 2011. 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 Wind Lake stocked?
No stocking record for Wind 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 Wind Lake fishes?
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Wind 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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