East Smith Lake

Itasca County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 31061600

East Smith Lake has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.

• East Smith Lake shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of September 2, 2026.
• Maximum depth 38 ft; surface area 152 acres, 68 littoral acres, 5.0 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 11.0 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, largemouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: August 10, 2009 (standard survey).
• Itasca County, nearest town Alder; DNR lake number (DOW) 31061600.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

DNR fish survey, 2009

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.

East Smith Lake is a 145 acre lake located five miles southeast of Marcell, MN in the Big Fork River watershed. The lake is in ecological lake class 32. Lakes in this class are small, have moderate clarity and depth, and relatively soft water. Other area lakes in this class include Big Ole, Black Island and Highland Lakes. The northern pike gill-net catch in 2009 was similar to the previous survey and within the expected range at 4.7/net. Size structure was fairly poor; sampled pike had a mean length of 19.1 inches and a mean weight of 1.9 pounds. Few pike over 25 inches have been sampled in previous surveys, although one large (36.8 inch) northern pike was captured in this assessment. Recruitment appeared fairly consistent, with ages 1 - 5 represented in the sample. Growth was similar to the lake class average for all ages, with individuals reaching 19.8 inches in 4 years. Bluegill were the most abundant species in the trap nets, with a catch rate of 8.0/net. This is down from the previous survey and below the lake class first quartile. Bluegill size structure was modest; fish ranged from 3.5 to 9.0 inches with a mean length of 7.0 inches. Recruitment appeared consistent, with ages 3, 4, and 6 - 11 represented in the sample. Growth rates were similar to the lake class average for all ages, with individuals reaching 6.4 inches in 7 years. The trap-net catch for black crappie was up from the previous assessment and near the lake class third quartile at 3.4/net. Sampled crappie ranged from 6.2 to 11.6 inches with a mean length of 9.3 inches. Ages 3 - 10 were represented in the sample and growth was below 85% of the statewide average for all ages, with individuals reaching 8.9 inches in 6 years. Yellow perch were sampled at a rate of 1.3/gill net, down from the previous assessment but within the expected range for this lake class. Largemouth bass were sampled at 0.7/gill net, up from the previous survey and within the expected range. Angler reports suggest the lake supports a fairly good bass population. Electrofishing would likely provide better information on this species.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, August 10, 2009.

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