Whitefish Lake (Lake County)

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

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 38006000

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

• Whitefish Lake (Lake County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of September 2, 2026.
• Maximum depth 49 ft; surface area 346 acres, 191 littoral acres, 3.6 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 16.8 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: brook trout, northern pike, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
• 3 public accesses on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: July 21, 2025 (standard survey).
• Lake County, nearest town Tofte; DNR lake number (DOW) 38006000.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 9/9/1986 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2025

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.

Whitefish Lake is located 13.5 miles northwest of Tofte off the Whitefish Lake Road also called US Forest Service (USFS) Road 348. Walleye is the primary sportfish in the lake with Northern Pike and Yellow Perch also providing limited fisheries. The lake has a short carry down access, parking area, and three site USFS rustic campground on its northwest shore. Whitefish Lake also serves as the primary access point for the Timber Frear Loop Canoe Route, a USFS administered canoe route with portages connecting several lakes with backcountry campsites. There are several water access campsites on the lake in addition to those in the campground. A survey of Whitefish Lake was conducted during July of 2025 to update information on the sportfish populations and fish community. Whitefish Lake continues to support a self-sustaining, high-density Walleye population with the gill net catch during the 2025 survey being comparable to the long-term average for the lake. Walleye had an average length of 14 inches with 21% of the fish measuring 16 inches or longer. Reproduction in Whitefish Lake is successful most years and fish survive to old ages. The fish sampled ranged from age-2 to age-17 with only age-16 fish absent from the sample. The Walleye population in Whitefish Lake continues to provide anglers with good opportunities to harvest eater-sized fish, but because of the lake's relatively clear water, anglers are likely to have the best luck fishing in low-light conditions. Northern Pike are also present in the lake with a few being sampled during the 2025 survey; however, all the pike sampled measured less than 20 inches in length. Historic survey data indicate the pike population has maintained low abundance and small size structure for many years and is likely limited by the natural habitat found in the lake. While pike may be encountered on Whitefish Lake, due to low abundance and small sizes, this population will not be of interest to most anglers. Yellow Perch gill net catch was higher than normal relative to similar lakes and higher than the last couple surveys of Whitefish Lake. The average length of Perch during the 2025 survey was just under eight inches with the largest perch being 13 inches long. This species functions primarily as a forage species for the Walleye population, but anglers may occasionally catch perch they are interested in harvesting. White Sucker were the only other fish species sampled during the survey.

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, July 21, 2025.

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