Little Bowstring Lake
Itasca County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 31075800
DNR records show 6 stocking entries at Little Bowstring Lake since 2017, most recently walleye fry in 2025 (319,000 fish).
- Little Bowstring Lake has 6 DNR stocking records across 6 years (2017-2025): walleye (6).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 2,146,000 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 33 ft; surface area 326 acres, 115 littoral acres, 3.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 6.5 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, tullibee (cisco), walleye, and 3 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Itasca County, nearest town Deer River; DNR lake number (DOW) 31075800.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 10/2/1975 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Walleye | fry | 319,000 | 3.5 |
| 2024 | Walleye | fry | 519,000 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | Walleye | fry | 319,000 | 3.2 |
| 2021 | Walleye | fry | 319,000 | 3.2 |
| 2019 | Walleye | fry | 319,000 | 3.2 |
| 2017 | Walleye | fry | 351,000 | 3.3 |
Field note · Minnesota stocks by year, not by truck day: walleye fry go in within weeks of ice-out, fingerlings and yearlings mostly in fall, and stream trout in spring and fall. A row here means the fish went in during that year; DNR adds the year's rows after the fact, so the current year can look empty until winter.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| earthen ramp | county | Mid-point on the south shore, off Co.Rd. #48 - Limited parking available and prone to flooding. |
DNR fish survey, 2022
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 454.33 | 1,363 | 0.00 |
| BKF | 50-ft beach seine | 43.67 | 131 | 0.00 |
| BCS | 50-ft beach seine | 35.33 | 106 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 34.67 | 104 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 50-ft beach seine | 14.33 | 43 | 0.00 |
| White sucker | 50-ft beach seine | 6.33 | 19 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 50-ft beach seine | 2.67 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Northern pike | 50-ft beach seine | 1.33 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | Backpack electrofishing | 131.43 | 138 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 45.71 | 48 | 0.00 |
| BKF | Backpack electrofishing | 33.33 | 35 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | Backpack electrofishing | 15.24 | 16 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | Backpack electrofishing | 8.57 | 9 | 0.00 |
| BCS | Backpack electrofishing | 7.62 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Central mudminnow | Backpack electrofishing | 4.76 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | Backpack electrofishing | 4.76 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 15-ft beach seine | 77.60 | 388 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 15-ft beach seine | 38.40 | 192 | 0.00 |
| Blacknose shiner | 15-ft beach seine | 16.20 | 81 | 0.00 |
| White sucker | 15-ft beach seine | 12.40 | 62 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 10.00 | 50 | 0.00 |
| MMS | 15-ft beach seine | 6.20 | 31 | 0.00 |
| BKF | 15-ft beach seine | 4.80 | 24 | 0.00 |
| BCS | 15-ft beach seine | 4.20 | 21 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 8.22 | 74 | 0.34 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 3.56 | 32 | 4.93 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 2.78 | 25 | 0.11 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 1.78 | 16 | 0.16 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 1.67 | 15 | 0.83 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.89 | 8 | 1.09 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.78 | 7 | 0.68 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 1.46 |
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 of nearshore fish species in Little Bowstring Lake was conducted on July 18-20, 2022 by Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) Program Staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at all 10 sampling stations, but one station was sampled from the boat due to site conditions. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample three stations, a 15-foot seine was used to sample five stations, and site conditions prevented the use of seines at two stations. Nearshore sampling captured 19 species of fish including six species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Banded Killifish, Blackchin Shiner, Blacknose Shiner, Iowa Darter, Mimic Shiner, and Rock Bass) and no species that are tolerant of disturbance. A concurrent summer trap net survey was conducted by IBI Program Staff. Nine trap nets were set along the shoreline and in shallow offshore locations that encompassed multiple habitat types. Bluegill, Black Crappie, and Bowfin comprised a majority of the trap net catch by number and Bowfin comprised a majority of the catch by biomass. The number of Bowfin sampled per net was well above the 75% quartile for similar Lake Class 31 lakes. The nearshore and trap net data were combined with gill net data from an August 2021 survey to describe the fish community and provide a Fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. In Minnesota lakes, certain fish species cannot survive without clean water and a healthy habitat (e.g., Blackchin Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Rock Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Green Sunfish). The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. Data from this survey indicates Little Bowstring Lake is healthy as indicated by an FIBI score, well above the impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. Data from this survey will contribute biological information about the health of the fish community to the Big Fork River Watershed assessment process in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency.
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
All Minnesota stockings · every Minnesota lake with a page · state CSV · this lake on DNR LakeFinder
Stocking rows, depths, accesses and survey figures are Minnesota DNR LakeFinder data as of 2026-09-02; contours are the DNR bathymetric survey. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
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