Big Swan Lake (Meeker County)
Meeker County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 47003800
DNR records show 3 stocking entries at Big Swan Lake (Meeker County) since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2022 (170,219 fish).
- Big Swan Lake (Meeker County) has 3 DNR stocking records across 3 years (2017-2022): walleye (3).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 679,189 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 32 ft, mean depth 11 ft; surface area 684 acres, 338 littoral acres, 6.3 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 2.2 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bigmouth buffalo, black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, channel catfish, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid crappie, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, and 11 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Meeker County, nearest town Kingston; DNR lake number (DOW) 47003800.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 7/26/1972 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Walleye | fry | 170,219 | 1.6 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 170,970 | 1.5 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 338,000 | 3.2 |
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| concrete ramp | Minnesota DNR |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walleye | Fall electrofishing | 40.00 | 40 | 0.48 |
Catch per net (CPUE) is the DNR survey's count per gill net or trap net set; higher means more of that species were sampled, not a fishing forecast. Top species per gear shown; where we have no verified common name for a DNR code, the code itself is shown.
A targeted survey (fall nighttime electrofishing) was conducted on Big Swan Lake on September 24th, 2025, to evaluate young of the year (YOY) and yearling Walleye abundance. A total of 13 YOY were sampled for a catch rate of 13.0 fish/hr., which was below the lake's historical (1994 to 2025) median (18.6 fish/hr.) and was the second lowest catch rate on record, since electrofishing resumed in 2017. This indicated that a small sized YOY year class was present. In 2025, the average length for YOY was 6.7 inches, which was below Big Swan's historical average (7.1 inches). Walleye fry were not stocked in 2025, so those fish resulted from natural reproduction. In 2025, a total of 9 yearlings were sampled for a catch rate of 9.0 fish/hr., which was below Big Swan's historical (2017 to 2025) yearling median (12.5 fish/hr.) and was tied with the lake's second lowest yearling catch rate on record. Walleye fry were not stocked in 2024, so those yearlings were the result of natural reproduction. The average length for the yearlings was 11.4 inches and was below Big Swan's historical average (12.3 inches). Due to the significant natural reproduction of Walleye at Big Swan, the lake will only be stocked with Walleye fry if two consecutive fall electrofishing catch rates drop below 20 YOY/hr. Since the 2024 and 2025 YOY catch rates were both below 20 YOY/hr., fry will be stocked in 2026. Big Swan is electrofished annually.
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
All Minnesota stockings · every Minnesota lake with a page · state CSV · this lake on DNR LakeFinder
Hear when the states we cover post stockings
One email a week in season: which waters in the states we cover were stocked, straight from the state agencies' own postings. No spam, no fishing-gear ads in the mail.
Free · double opt-in · unsubscribe anytime · we store only your email.