Whitefish Lake (Crow Wing County)
Crow Wing County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 18000100
Whitefish Lake (Crow Wing County) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Whitefish Lake (Crow Wing County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 62 ft; surface area 709 acres, 428 littoral acres, 7.8 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 11.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, and 5 more.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (targeted survey).
- Crow Wing County, nearest town Garrison; DNR lake number (DOW) 18000100.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow perch | 50-ft beach seine | 18.00 | 126 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 50-ft beach seine | 10.00 | 70 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 50-ft beach seine | 6.57 | 46 | 0.00 |
| Brook stickleback | 50-ft beach seine | 3.00 | 21 | 0.00 |
| BKF | 50-ft beach seine | 3.00 | 21 | 0.00 |
| BCS | 50-ft beach seine | 2.86 | 20 | 0.00 |
| Brassy minnow | 50-ft beach seine | 2.00 | 14 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | 50-ft beach seine | 0.71 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 13.14 | 25 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 6.31 | 12 | 0.00 |
| BCS | Backpack electrofishing | 2.10 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | Backpack electrofishing | 1.05 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | Backpack electrofishing | 1.05 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | Backpack electrofishing | 1.05 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 0.53 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Central mudminnow | Backpack electrofishing | 0.53 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 11.44 | 103 | 0.17 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 1.89 | 17 | 0.26 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 0.78 | 7 | 0.86 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.78 | 7 | 1.09 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.44 | 4 | 4.43 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 0.10 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.35 |
| Green sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.22 | 2 | 0.18 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 9.44 | 85 | 1.78 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 1.67 | 15 | 0.31 |
| Tullibee (cisco) | Standard gill nets | 1.22 | 11 | 1.57 |
| Rock bass | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 9 | 0.43 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 0.89 | 8 | 0.08 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 0.89 | 8 | 1.76 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 0.67 | 6 | 0.23 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.56 | 5 | 0.76 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 1.60 | 8 | 0.00 |
| Johnny darter | 15-ft beach seine | 1.20 | 6 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | 15-ft beach seine | 1.20 | 6 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 15-ft beach seine | 0.60 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Central mudminnow | 15-ft beach seine | 0.40 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Blacknose shiner | 15-ft beach seine | 0.20 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Yellow perch | 15-ft beach seine | 0.20 | 1 | 0.00 |
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.
A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Whitefish Lake, which is located partially within the Mille Lac Nation, was conducted on June 30-July 2, 2025, by Lake Biological Monitoring and Assessment Program (LBMA). Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at 14 sampling stations. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample seven stations, and a 15-foot seine was used at five stations. Two stations were not seined due to dense vegetation, detritus, and soft substrate made traversing difficult. Nearshore sampling captured 18 species of fish including five species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Banded Killifish, Blackchin Shiner, Blacknose Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Rock Bass) and one species that are tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Green Sunfish). A concurrent summer trap net and gill net survey was also conducted by LBMA staff. Nine trap nets were set along the shoreline in locations that encompassed multiple habitat types. Trap net sampling captured eleven species of fish. Bluegill comprised a majority of the catch by number, whereas Bowfin and Bluegill comprised the trap net majority by biomass. The trap net catch was relatively light overall. Nine gill nets were set in deeper locations that encompassed multiple habitat types. Gill net sampling captured 13 species of fish, including two that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Cisco and Rock Bass) and one species that is tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Black Bullhead). Northern Pike comprised the gill net majority by biomass, followed by Cisco and Largemouth Bass. The nearshore, trap net, and gill net data were used to describe the fish community and provide a fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. In Minnesota lakes, certain fish species cannot survive without clean water and a healthy habitat (e.g., Blackchin Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Rock Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Green Sunfish and Common Carp). The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. Temperature and dissolved…
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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