Smith Lake (Itasca County)
Itasca County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 31054700
Smith Lake (Itasca County) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Smith Lake (Itasca County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 25 ft; surface area 43 acres, 36 littoral acres, 1.4 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 7.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Itasca County, nearest town Hill City; DNR lake number (DOW) 31054700.
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 | county | Gravel access off Hwy 169 on SE shore. |
DNR fish survey, 2011
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 12.00 | 24 | 1.22 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 1.50 | 3 | 2.66 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard gill nets | 1.50 | 3 | 5.25 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 2 | 0.31 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.50 | 1 | 0.51 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 3.00 | 18 | 0.43 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.83 | 5 | 1.02 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 4 | 0.34 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 4 | 0.60 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 2 | 5.07 |
| Brown bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 2 | 1.36 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 2 | 0.23 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.17 | 1 | 8.39 |
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.
Smith Lake is a 43 acre lake located 9 miles south of Grand Rapids, MN on the west side of Hwy 169. Inlets to Smith Lake include Smith Creek in the southwest corner and an unnamed, intermittent stream in the southeast corner. The outlet is located in the northwest. Smith Lake has a maximum depth of 25 ft and moderate water clarity with a Secchi disk reading of 7 ft. The primary fish species are northern pike and bluegill. A public access is located on the east shore, west of Hwy 169. The last assessment was completed in August 1981. The northern pike gill net catch rate was 12.0/net and was lower than the previous assessment at 17.3/net. Despite the decline from the previous assessment, the catch rate is higher than the expected range for similar lakes. The size structure was poor with only one fish over 20 inches. Growth was in the expected range of the statewide average with fish averaging 17.51 inches at age four. The bluegill trap net catch rate was 3.0/net and was lower than the previous assessment of 4.5/net. The catch rate was slightly higher than the lake class first quartile of 2.92/net. The size structure for bluegill was good even though low numbers of fish were caught with fish exceeding 8 inches and no fish larger than 9.5 inches. The growth rates are higher than similar lake class 33 lakes. At age five, the average length was 7.11 inches; compared to 6.1 inches at age five for other lake class 33 lakes. During the 2011 assessment, there was no black crappie sampled. In the past assessment the catch rate was 3.0/gill net and 4.8/trap net. Inconsistent recruitment of black crappie is a common life history trait for many populations which results in the "boom and bust" angling cycles. Present day growth rates are unknown, and based on the pervious assessment the size structure is poor. Other species sampled by gill nets and traps nets include bowfin (dogfish), white sucker, yellow and brown bullhead, yellow perch, hybrid sunfish, pumpkinseed sunfish, and walleye. An important factor to keep in mind is that over-harvesting of panfish can deplete the size structure in Smith Lake.
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
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