Blue

Blue Lake is a two-story lake, able to support both cold-water and warm-water fish species, located in western Aitkin County two miles southwest of Aitkin. The lake has a surface area of 53 acres and maximum depth of 106 feet. The surrounding land is a mixture of rolling hills of mixed maple and oak hardwoods interspersed with wetlands. A carry-in public access is located on the south shore of the easternmost bay that requires a portage down a crushed rock path from the parking area and negotiating a steep bank with stairs near the lake. A standard survey was conducted on Blue Lake the week of 10/20/25 to assess the fishery. Blue Lake is stocked annually with Rainbow Trout yearlings in spring (4000) and in fall (900) to provide a put-and-take fishery for anglers, but is not a designated stream trout lake. Additionally, larger surplus brood stock Trout are often stocked when they are available from the hatcheries. In addition to the Rainbow Trout fishery, Splake (Brook Trout x Lake Trout hybrid) were stocked in spring 2025 to supplement a statewide shortage of Kamloop strain Rainbow Trout. Anglers can fish the lake following standard angling license requirements but can only harvest Trout if they possess a Trout stamp validation. Kamloop Rainbow Trout have been stocked since 2011, but as of 2025, Kamloop strain production has been discontinued, and Arlee strain Rainbow Trout will be stocked going forward. Rainbows are currently stocked in the spring and fall as catchable-sized fish that usually range from 9 - 11 inches. By fall, most spring-stocked fish have grown to 11 - 14 inches. Blue Lake can provide some good fishing in both the open water and ice fishing seasons, including from shore, which is a unique opportunity for the Aitkin area. Only one Rainbow Trout was captured in gill nets during the 2025 survey, and no Trout were captured in trap nets. The lone Rainbow Trout sampled was 17.0 inches long. Catch rates of other species sampled in gill nets and trap nets were minimal, with Bluegill, Hybrid Sunfish, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Pumpkinseed, and Yellow Bullhead all captured at a rate of less than 2.0 per net, regardless of gear type. Other notable captures included a 34.5 and 36.0 inch Northern Pike, an 8.6 inch Bluegill, and a 17.4 inch Largemouth Bass, indicating some fish in Blue Lake are reaching preferred and memorable sizes. It is unclear as to why more Rainbow Trout or Splake were not captured. In August 2025, a temperature and oxygen profile was collected, along with the temperature at 3 mg/l dissolved oxygen (TDO3) to determine the amount of cold-water habitat in the lake. The TDO3 was determined to be 6.5 degrees C, which is considered very good for cold-water species, including stream trout, Tullibee, and even Lake Trout.

Blue Lake is a two-story lake, able to support both cold-water and warm-water fish species, located in western Aitkin County two miles from the City of Aitkin. The lake has a surface area of close to 50 acres and a maximum depth of 106 feet. The surrounding land is a mixture of rolling hills of mixed maple and oak hardwoods interspersed with wetlands. There is a carry-in type public access located on the south shore of the easternmost bay that requires a portage of about 100 yards down a crushed rock path from the parking area and negotiating a steep bank with stairs near the lake. Blue Lake is stocked annually with Rainbow Trout yearlings to provide a put and take fishery for local anglers, but it is not a designated stream trout lake. Anglers can fish the lake following standard angling license requirements, but can only harvest trout if they possess a trout stamp validation. Kamloops Rainbow Trout have been stocked since 2011, and appear to be working better than any other strain/species used since the early 1990s. Currently they are stocked in the spring and fall as catchable-sized fish that usually range from 9 - 11 inches. By fall, most of spring stocked fish have grown to 11-14 inches. Blue Lake can provide some good fishing in both the openwater and ice fishing seasons, including from shore, which is a unique opportunity in the Aitkin area. Warm-water species available to anglers include Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass and Bluegill. Although pike are not very abundant, the lake can produce some memorable sized fish such as the 37.6 inch pike observed in this survey. Historical records show that Blue Lake was stocked with Lake Trout in 1937 and that a population existed up until at least 1954. In September of 2016 the TDO3 (temperature at 3 mg/l dissolved oxygen) was determined to be 5.7 C, which is considered good for Tullibee survival. Though there are no Tullibee present in Blue Lake, Lake Trout are a cold water species and have similar habitat requirements where optimum conditions are about 5 ppm of oxygen at 10 C. The profile shows overall oxy-thermal habitat is still sufficient for Lake Trout from about 25 -35 feet in late summer. There are no plans to stock Blue Lake with Lake Trout at this time, however they may be considered in the future as it appears habitat conditions are still favorable.

Blue Lake is a two-story lake, able to support both cold-water and warm-water fish species, located in western Aitkin County two miles from the City of Aitkin. The lake has a surface area of close to 50 acres and a maximum depth of 106 feet. The surrounding land is a mixture of rolling hills of mixed maple and oak hardwoods interspersed with wetlands. There is a carry-in type public access located on the south shore of the easternmost bay that requires a portage of about 100 yards down a crushed rock path from the parking area and negotiating a steep bank with stairs near the lake. Blue Lake is stocked annually with rainbow trout yearlings to provide a put and take fishery for local anglers, but it is not a designated stream trout lake. Anglers can fish the lake following standard angling license requirements, but can only harvest trout if they possess a trout stamp validation. Kamloops rainbow trout have been stocked since 2011, and appear to be working better than any other strain/species used since the early 1990s. They are stocked in the spring as catchable-sized fish that usually range from 9 - 11 inches. By fall, most have grown to 11-14 inches. Blue Lake can provide some good fishing in both the openwater and ice fishing seasons, including from shore, which is a unique opportunity in the Aitkin area. Warm-water species available to anglers include northern pike, largemouth bass and bluegill. Although pike are not very abundant, the lake can produce some memorable sized fish such as the 40 inch pike observed in this survey. A temperature - dissolved oxygen (TDO) profile was collected on September 9, 2016 to determine if the amount of thermal habitat available is sufficient for lake trout survival. Historical records show that Blue Lake was stocked with lake trout in 1937 and that a population existed up until at least 1954. The TDO3 (temperature at 3 mg/l dissolved oxygen) was determined to be 5.7 C, which is considered good for tullibee survival. Though there are no tullibee present in Blue Lake, lake trout are a cold water species and have similar habitat requirements where optimum conditions are about 5 ppm of oxygen at 10 C. The profile shows overall oxy-thermal habitat is still sufficient for lake trout from about 25 -35 feet in late summer. There are no plans to stock Blue Lake with lake trout at this time, however they may be considered in the future as it appears habitat conditions are still favorable.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Largemouth Bass, Hybrid Sunfish, and Pumpkinseed in Blue. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

Minnesota DNR records list public access for Blue. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for the launch type and directions before you go.

Blue has a maximum depth of 106 feet and a mean depth of 30 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Blue is from 2025.

No invasive species are on record for Blue in Minnesota DNR data. Always clean, drain, and dry your equipment to help keep it that way.