Stanton

Stanton Lake is a 95-acre reservoir near the town of Willow River in Pine County. A public campground and boat access is located on the northeast end of the lake in General Andrews State Forest. Stanton Lake is a small, turbid, shallow lake with a relatively long shoreline. The lake is bordered to the southeast by homes and to the northwest by forest. Historically, fish abundance has been low. In 2016 the dam washed out leaving the reservoir in essentially a riverine state until the dam was replaced in 2021. The scheduled biennial stocking of walleye fry was suspended during this time. To monitor the status of the post dam replacement fish population, Stanton Lake was netted in August 2022. Catch rates for Bluegill, Black Crappie, Northern Pike and Walleye were all higher than in any of the pre-washout assessments with the Walleye catch meeting the management goal for the first time. While none of the advances were significant statistically, they do show that the gamefish populations tolerated the five years of low water levels. Although harvestable sizes are present, anglers can expect smaller sizes of pike, sunfish and crappie. Walleye and bass (based on angler reports) were larger overall. Other fishes present included Golden Redhorse, Pumpkinseed Sunfish, Shorthead Redhorse, White Sucker, Yellow Bullhead and Yellow Perch.

Stanton Lake is a 95 acre reservoir bordering the town of Willow River in Pine County. A campground and boat access is located on the northeast end of the lake in General Andrews State Forest. Minnesota lakes managed for fishing are grouped into classes based on physical, chemical, and biological similarities. Stanton Lake is a small, turbid, shallow lake with a relatively long shoreline, which places it in lake class 42. Historically, fish abundance has been low. The lake's management plan calls for biennial stocking of walleye fry. In order to compare the present fish population to others in the lake class and to assess the stocking protocol, Stanton Lake was netted in June of 2012. Three gillnet lifts and nine trapnet lifts failed to capture any walleye. Since 1982, catch rates for walleye have ranged from 0.5 to 1.0 per gillnet, below the normal range for the lake class and below the long-range management goal of 2.0 per gillnet. Catch rates for northern pike and black crappie were also below the lake class norm. Although the yellow perch catch rate reached the normal range for the first time since the 1992 assessment, perch size remains too small to garner much angler interest. Both largemouth bass and bluegill were more abundant than in previous assessments. Electrofished bass averaged over two pounds while netted bluegill had a mean length near 6.5 inches. These two species currently provide the bulk of the lake's angling opportunity. Other fish species sampled during the survey included shorthead redhorse, pumpkinseed sunfish, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and brown bullhead.

Stanton Lake is a 95 -acre reservoir bordering the town of Willow River in Pine County. Minnesota lakes managed for fishing are grouped into classes based on physical, chemical, and biological similarities. Stanton Lake is a small, turbid, shallow lake with a relatively long shoreline, which places it in lake class 42. Historically, fish abundance has been low. In 1993 the lake's management plan was amended to include biennial stocking of walleye fry. In order to compare the present fish population to others in the lake class and to assess the stocking protocol, Stanton Lake was netted in June of 2007. Three gillnet lifts sampled 2 walleye for a catch rate of 0.67 per gillnet. Since 1982, catch rates for walleye ranged from 0.5 to 1.0 per gillnet. As in the 2002 sample, one walleye was captured in the 9 trap net lifts for a catch rate of 0.1 per trap net. Catch rates for both sampling gears were below the normal range for the lake class and below the long-range management goal of 2.0 per gillnet. Despite fry stocking in the spring of 2007, young of the year walleye were not sampled in the September night electro-fishing. Northern pike abundance and size increased since the 2002 sampling. Both moved into the normal range for the lake class. Overall, 9 northerns were sampled by the gillnets and trapnets. These fish averaged 23.3 inches and 3 pounds, a big improvement since 2002. Catch rates for black crappie and yellow perch were both below the normal for the lake class. Five perch were sampled by the gillnets while the trap nets once again caught only four black crappies. Bluegill were sampled by the trap nets at rate of 7.4 per net. This catch rate is within the normal range for the lake class and high compared to historic netting data for Stanton Lake. While bluegill ranged from 3.3 to 8.4 inches, only 11% of the sample exceeded 7 inches. Other fish species sampled during the survey included golden redhorse, shorthead redhorse, pumpkinseed sunfish, largemouth bass, and white sucker. Bullheads were not present in the sample.

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

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

Stanton has a maximum depth of 12 feet and a mean depth of 4 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Stanton is from 2022.

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