White Swan Lake

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

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 31026000

DNR records show 1 stocking entry at White Swan Lake since 2021, most recently black crappie fingerlings in 2021 (3,000 fish).

• White Swan Lake has 1 DNR stocking record across 1 year (2021-2021): black crappie (1).
• The most-stocked species by count is black crappie: 3,000 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 19 ft, mean depth 10 ft; surface area 165 acres, 119 littoral acres, 3.6 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 9.5 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, walleye, yellow perch.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: August 14, 2006 (standard survey).
• Itasca County, nearest town Bigfork; DNR lake number (DOW) 31026000.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Stocking history

¹ fish purchased and stocked by private citizens and sporting groups.

DNR fish survey, 2006

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.

White Swan Lake is 158-acre bass/panfish lake located 14 miles southeast of Bigfork, MN in northern Itasca County. The lake has a moderate amount of development but no designated public access. The walleye gill-net catch in 2006 was 1.3/net, above the lake class average but down from the catch of 2.2/net in 1996. Walleye fingerlings have been privately purchased and stocked by lake residents on several occasions, most recently in 2004. Ages 9, 10 and 13 were represented in the 2006 gill-net sample, with six of the eight walleye corresponding to stocked years. Sampled walleye ranged from 19.8 to 25.7 inches in length, and growth was similar to the statewide average. The gill-net catch rate for northern pike (6.5/net) was near the lake class average (7.0/net) and similar to previous assessments. Gill-net sampled pike ranged from 15.2 to 39.0 inches, with an average length of 23.1 inches. Average weight of pike was relatively good at 2.8 lbs. The largemouth bass gill-net catch rate (3.7/net) and trap-net catch rate (1.3/net) exceeded the expected normal ranges in 2006. The gill-net catch is the highest on record. Since gill-net catches are not a reliable indicator of largemouth bass abundance, it is difficult to say if this represents an actual increase in the population. Gill-net sampled bass ranged from 5.8 to 17.1 inches, with an average length of 11.9 inches. The gill-net catch rate for yellow perch was within the lake class normal range at 4.5/net. Gill-net sampled perch ranged from 5.8 to 7.5 inches in length. Yellow perch in White Swan Lake are more important as a prey species than as a target for anglers. The trap-net catch rate for black crappie was well above the lake class normal range at 11.6/net. Similar high catches have been observed in previous assessments. As is often the case, the high catch rate was associated with poor size structure. Trap-net sampled crappie ranged from 5.1 to 9.3 inches, with an average length of 7.3 inches. Growth was more than 15% below the statewide average. The trap-net catch for bluegill was near the lake class average at 24.7/net. Bluegill ranged from 3.5 to 7.8 inches, with an average length of 5.0 inches. Other species sampled included: golden shiner, hybrid and pumpkinseed sunfish and rock bass.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, August 14, 2006.

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