Little Sand Lake (Itasca County)
Itasca County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 31085300
Little Sand Lake (Itasca County) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Little Sand Lake (Itasca County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 19 ft; surface area 353 acres, 231 littoral acres, 3.7 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, northern pike, rock bass, shorthead redhorse, silver redhorse, tullibee (cisco), walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and 1 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Itasca County, nearest town Squaw Lake; DNR lake number (DOW) 31085300.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| gravel ramp | Minnesota DNR | A State owned public access is located on the Bowstring River, north of the lake. |
DNR fish survey, 2016
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 7.83 | 47 | 0.18 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 6.00 | 36 | 1.50 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 4.00 | 24 | 2.36 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 1.67 | 10 | 0.97 |
| Shorthead redhorse | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 6 | 1.75 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 0.50 | 3 | 0.94 |
| Rock bass | Standard gill nets | 0.17 | 1 | 0.57 |
| Tullibee (cisco) | Standard gill nets | 0.17 | 1 | 0.24 |
| Shorthead redhorse | Standard trap nets | 3.22 | 29 | 2.05 |
| Silver redhorse | Standard trap nets | 2.33 | 21 | 4.76 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 1.22 | 11 | 0.12 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.78 | 7 | 1.26 |
| White sucker | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 6 | 2.51 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.44 | 4 | 4.99 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 1.44 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.11 | 1 | 0.39 |
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 Sand Lake is located approximately six miles northeast of Squaw Lake, MN, and within the Big Fork River Watershed. The 361 acre lake of which 231 acres is less than 15 feet deep, a 19 foot maximum depth and is moderately developed along the 3.6 mile shoreline. A state owned public access is located just north of Little Sand Lake on the Bowstring River, which flows north to Rice Lake. There are two inlets to Little Sand: the Bowstring River from Sand Lake and Stone Axe Creek. Water clarity has ranged from 3.9 - 11.5 feet. Neighboring Sand Lake currently has special regulations for Walleye and Northern Pike and Little Sand Lake is included in those regulations. Current regulations require: 1) Northern Pike between 22"-36" to be released with one over 36" allowed, a possession limit of nine and 2) Walleye between 17"-26" to be released with one over 26" allowed, a possession limit of six. The 2002 Lake Management Plan (LMP) lists Walleye and Yellow Perch as primary management species and Northern Pike and Black Crappie as secondary species. The LMP goals were to: maintain the Walleye gill net catch rate above 3.0 fish/net; maintain the Yellow Perch gill net catch near 21.5 fish/net; maintain the Northern Pike gill net catch near 4.8 fish/net and maintain the Black Crappie catch for gill nets or trap nets near 2.0 fish/net. A standard survey was conducted in June of 2016 to assess the status and characteristics of the fish community using six gill nets and nine trap nets. Little Sand Lake has a Walleye population maintained by natural reproduction and/or immigration. Walleye are not stocked in Little Sand Lake, but are regularly stocked in adjacent Sand Lake. Walleye were captured at a rate of 1.7/gill net, which is within the typical range for lakes with similar habitat, but was the lowest recorded in any survey. Walleye gill net catch rates had been at or above the management goal of 3.0/net in five of six previous surveys. A total of ten Walleye were captured in gill nets, ranging in length from 6.7 - 18.7 inches, with a mean weight of 1.0 pounds. Walleye growth was below the statewide average with an average length of 13.8 inches at age-4. Six age classes were represented in the sample. The Yellow Perch gill net catch rate decreased from 15.7/net in 1999 to 7.8/net, which is within the typical range for similar lakes, but is the lowest recorded catch rate. Management goals were not met. Yellow Perch gill net catch rates in previous surveys ranged from 15.7 - 33.6/net. Yellow Perch from gill nets ranged in length from 5.2 - 10.0 inches and…
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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