Little Johnson Lake

St. Louis County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 69076000

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

• Little Johnson Lake shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of September 2, 2026.
• Maximum depth 28 ft; surface area 566 acres, 471 littoral acres, 10.6 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 7.3 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: lake whitefish, northern pike, rock bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
• 2 public accesses on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: August 9, 2023 (standard survey).
• St. Louis County, nearest town Crane Lake; DNR lake number (DOW) 69076000.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/25/1969 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2023

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.

Little Johnson Lake is a Class 16 lake located 10 miles northwest of Crane Lake, MN, adjacent to Voyageurs National Park. This remote lake is accessed by boat from Johnson Lake, which is connected to Little Johnson by a 2.5-mile boat ride on the Johnson River. The total surface area is 566 acres and maximum depth is 28 feet. Little Johnson Lake is relatively shallow; 83 percent of the surface area (471 acres) is less than 15 feet deep. A water chemistry analysis done in 2003 suggests a lake with low fertility and low productivity. Current fishing regulations on Little Johnson Lake for Walleye follow the statewide regulation, which is a 6-combination total possession limit with not more than one Walleye over 20". Northern Pike follows the Northeast Zone regulation, which is a possession limit of 2 with not more than 1 over 40" in possession and all Northern Pike from 30-40" must be immediately released. Bass fishing regulations follow the Northeast Zone regulation, which is six combined Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass possession limit. Walleye gill-net catch rate was 11.1 fish per net which is well above average for similar lakes. Catch rate was above the management goal of 8.0 fish per net for Little Johnson Lake. Total length ranged from 4.7 to 25.0 inches and mean length was 16.0 inches. Average weight was 1.6 pounds which is above average for similar class lakes. A total of 16 year classes were present, and ages ranged from 1-19 years. Little Johnson Lake offers a good Walleye fishing opportunity, there are good numbers of Walleyes in Little Johnson Lake. Northern Pike gill-net catch rate was 15.4 fish per net, which is well above the average for similar class lakes. Catch rate was higher than the management goal of an abundance less than 6.0 fish per gill net for Little Johnson Lake. Total length ranged from 13.4 to 31.6 inches and the mean length was 19.9 inches. Mean weight of Northern Pike captured in gill nets was 1.6 pounds which is below average for similar lakes. A total of seven year classes were present, and ages ranged from 1 - 7 years. Little Johnson Lake offers a decent fishing opportunity for Northern Pike. Smallmouth Bass gill net catch rate was 3.6 fish per net, which is above average for similar class lakes. Total Length ranged from 9.2 to 20.1 inches and the mean was 14.7 inches. Average weight was 1.9 pounds, which is above average for similar class lakes. Ten year classes were present, and ages ranged from 3-20 years. Little Johnson Lake offers a good fishing opportunity with quality Smallmouth Bass in the system. Yellow Perch…

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, August 9, 2023.

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