Swenson Lake (Beltrami County)
Beltrami County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 04008500
DNR records show 4 stocking entries at Swenson Lake (Beltrami County) since 2016, most recently walleye fingerlings in 2022 (4,000 fish).
- Swenson Lake (Beltrami County) has 4 DNR stocking records across 4 years (2016-2022): walleye (4).
- The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 11,491 fish on record.
- Maximum depth 76 ft, mean depth 31 ft; surface area 412 acres, 136 littoral acres, 3.6 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, tullibee (cisco), walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Beltrami County, nearest town Bemidji; DNR lake number (DOW) 04008500.
Stocking history
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 4,000 | 136.0 |
| 2020 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 3,006 | 136.0 |
| 2018 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 2,285 | 136.0 |
| 2016 | Walleye1 | fingerlings | 2,200 | 135.8 |
1 fish purchased and stocked by private citizens and sporting groups.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O | UKN |
DNR fish survey, 1993
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 62.00 | 78 | 0.58 |
| Walleye | Standard electrofishing | 0.79 | 1 | 7.72 |
| Black crappie | Standard electrofishing | 0.79 | 1 | 0.77 |
| Bluegill | Special seining | 62.00 | 310 | 0.02 |
| Brassy minnow | Special seining | 59.40 | 297 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Special seining | 40.80 | 204 | 0.01 |
| Bluntnose minnow | Special seining | 14.20 | 71 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | Special seining | 2.60 | 13 | 0.02 |
| BKF | Special seining | 1.00 | 5 | 0.00 |
| White sucker | Special seining | 0.80 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Rock bass | Special seining | 0.60 | 3 | 0.27 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 53.56 | 482 | 0.20 |
| Rock bass | Standard trap nets | 8.33 | 75 | 0.19 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 4.67 | 42 | 0.23 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 2.89 | 26 | 0.69 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.89 | 8 | 2.81 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 6 | 0.25 |
| Walleye | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 1.84 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 35.60 | 178 | 0.16 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 14.20 | 71 | 3.00 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 10.00 | 50 | 1.90 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 9.20 | 46 | 0.15 |
| Rock bass | Standard gill nets | 6.40 | 32 | 0.22 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 6.20 | 31 | 0.19 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 2.40 | 12 | 0.93 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 2.20 | 11 | 3.07 |
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.
The fish community of Swenson lake is diverse with most preferred species well represented. The exception to this is probably the apparent loss of a Smallmouth Bass fishery. One smallmouth was observed while scuba diving, though none were captured.The Walleye population is good with a history of consistant natural reproduction observed through 1990. Growth is good with many 5 year old fish reaching about 17 inches in length. The largest Walleye sampled was 27 inches in length and the smallest about 14 inches. Northern Pike are abundant with consistant natural reproduction. The largest pike captured was 36 inches in length but most were in the 18-22 inch range.Largemouth Bass are abundant and most fish were captured by means of electrofishing or trap netting. The average length is about 10 inches but a few bass greater than 14 inches in length were captured. The largest bass was 18.9 inches in length. Bluegill were also abundant with an average weight of 5 per pound. The largest Bluegill was 9.4 inches and the average was 6.4 inches in length. Pumpkinseed are also common and similar in size to Bluegills. Rock Bass are abundant, though most are small. Black Crappie are present but the only crappie captured was by electrofishing. Yellow Perch were captured in high numbers in gillnets while trap net catches were low. The average size was about 7 inches, though perch as large as 10.5 inches were observed. Some Neascus (black spot) was found on perch and other fishes in some parts of the lake.
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. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
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