Swan Lake

How big is Swan Lake?

How deep is Swan Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Swan Lake?

Are there topographical lake maps available Swan Lake?

We have an topograpical map for online viewing near the top of this page. Lake-Link Pro users can download an print a topograpical map of Swan Lake (.pdf format) along with 2,700 more lake maps. For more information on all the benefits of Lake-Link Pro click here.

Swan Lake

Are there places to eat and drink near Swan Lake?

Swan Lake is currently managed for northern pike and lake trout, although it also supports a walleye fishery. The management goal for northern pike is to maintain a self-sustained population with some fish larger than 25 inches present. The management goal for lake trout is a self-sustained population, if lake trout are present. This was the first of two surveys scheduled in the 2012 lake management plan (LMP) to determine whether lake trout stocking succeeded in establishing a lake trout population.

Swan Lake, like several other lakes in the area, might have lost a native Lake Trout population when Walleye were introduced in the watershed in the early 1900s. Lake Trout were native elsewhere in the watershed, and conditions in the lake remain suitable for the species. Lake Trout were stocked as yearlings in 1993, 1995, and 1997 in an attempt to re-establish a population. Assessment netting in 1998 and 2014 failed to collect Lake Trout, even though some nets were set deep to target the species. Survival was apparently very poor; Lake Trout were either few or absent in Swan Lake in 2014.

The only other native game fish species known to be in Swan Lake is Northern Pike, although none were caught in this (2014) survey. Catches in past assessments (1973, 1990, and 1998) were also relatively low.

Fair numbers of above-average sized walleye were present in Swan Lake in 2014. Walleye may have originally entered Swan Lake from Brule Lake. The Walleye catch in shallow-set nets was close to the average for shallow sets in the Grand Marais area. Walleye sampled in Swan Lake have consistently been larger than the average for area lakes. Natural reproduction had occurred in most years prior to the 2014 assessment, but appeared to have produced only a small number of fish each year. Growth of Walleye appeared to have been about average for this class of lake.

Only one Smallmouth Bass was caught in 2014. The survey nets are less effective in collecting bass than Walleye, so the species might be more abundant than indicated by this low catch. There have been no angler reports on the lake's Smallmouth Bass fishery.

The most abundant large fish in Swan Lake is the Lake Whitefish, although the species is not unusually abundant for this class of lake. Their average size is also typical for the lake class. Whitefish were taken in shallow and deep net sets.

A few White Sucker were netted in 1998, but none were collected in 1973, 1990, or 2014.

Short shoreline seine hauls were made in this survey to collect minnows or young of larger species. No fish were collected, indicating either a scarcity of these small fish at the seining sites or difficult seining conditions.

Are there any state parks near Swan Lake?