Little Swan Lake (Meeker County)

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

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 47002500

Little Swan Lake (Meeker County) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.

• Little Swan Lake (Meeker County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of September 2, 2026.
• Maximum depth 31 ft; surface area 51 acres, 20 littoral acres, 1.1 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 3.5 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: August 8, 2023 (targeted survey).
• Meeker County, nearest town Dassel; DNR lake number (DOW) 47002500.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 6/30/1971 (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 Swan is a small lake (51 acres) located north of the City of Dassel in Meeker County. A state-owned access with limited parking and a single cement boat ramp is present on the west shore. Little Swan has approximately one mile of shoreline and a maximum depth of thirty-one feet. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) has divided Minnesota's lakes into 44 different classes based on physical and chemical characteristics. Little Swan is a class 30 lake and other similar waterbodies in the Hutchinson Fisheries Management Area are Little Mud and Dunns Lakes in Meeker County. Little Swan's 2014 lake management plan listed Northern Pike, Black Crappie, Bluegill and Largemouth Bass as primary management species. Gill nets were set in 2023 to monitor the fish population. Moderate numbers of Northern Pike were netted with fish averaging 27.7 inches in length. Approximately 70% of pike netted were 26 inches or longer. Northern Pike regulations were revised at a statewide level beginning in 2018 to better accommodate regional differences in pike habitats, population abundances and size structures. Three management zones were established for Northern Pike, with their own bag limit and length limit restrictions. In the north-central zone, where Little Swan is found, anglers can keep up to ten Northern Pike, but no more than two fish can be longer than 26 inches; and all pike from 22 to 26 inches must be immediately released. Darkhouse spear fishermen are allowed to have one pike within the protected slot limit in their possession. This zone regulation is meant to reduce small pike abundance by shifting population size structure back to more medium and large sized pike. Moderate numbers of Black Crappie were netted in 2023, with fish averaging 7 inches in length. Only 1% of the gill net catch was 9 inches or longer. The longest Black Crappie sampled in the summer gill nets was 9.5 inches. Low numbers of Yellow Perch were netted and most were small. Average length was 6.5 inches, and the longest perch sampled was 7.9 inches. Perch play an important role as forage in this lake. Walleye were not sampled in 2023 or in the previous survey's (2013) gill nets, and are possibly no longer present at Little Swan Lake. Walleye were last stocked in 1997. Low numbers of Bluegill were netted, but that species typically does not sample well in gill nets. Average length was 5.9 inches and maximum length was 7.1 inches. Very low numbers of Largemouth Bass were netted, but that species typically does not sample well in gill nets. Largemouth Bass were 9 and 15…

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, August 8, 2023.

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