Minnesota DNR fisheries surveys · latest September 9, 2024
Species recorded at Little Saganaga Lake
5 species on the Minnesota DNR list for this lake. A species on the list has been recorded here; it does not mean it is catchable today or in every part of the lake.
Stocking at Little Saganaga Lake
No stocking record for Little Saganaga Lake appears in the Minnesota DNR material on file. That is an absence in the published record, not a confirmation that the lake is unstocked — some waters are managed as naturally reproducing and never appear in a stocking list at all.
Survey results in full
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on September 9, 2024 caught 3.80 northern pike per gill net at Little Saganaga Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 9–26 inches.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Little Saganaga Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 3 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
6 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2024-09-09 (Standard Survey).
6 surveys on file · most recent 2024-09-09 (Standard Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Sucker | 4.44 | 7–21 in 2024-09-09 | 1.56 lb |
| Northern Pike | 2.00 | 9–26 in 2024-09-09 | 2.84 lb |
| Yellow Perch | 0.63 | 3–5 in 2024-09-09 | 0.11 lb |
| Lake Trout | 0.57 | 16–21 in 2024-09-09 | 2.27 lb |
CPUE = catch per unit effort, fish caught per net per set in a standardised survey. It measures abundance, not size, and is not a weekly bite report.
Length Distributions
Number of fish caught at each inch class in the most recent survey that recorded lengths. Red dashed line marks an approximate trophy threshold for that species.
White Sucker
Northern Pike
Yellow Perch
Lake Trout
From the 2024-09-09 survey
Little Saganaga Lake is a large, 1,627-acre lake with a maximum depth of 150 ft and is primarily managed for lake trout. Little Saganaga Lake lies entirely within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWACW) and is a part of the Rainy River Headwaters watershed. Access is difficult due to multiple portages from…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Little Saganaga Lake. 1 report on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — Little SaganagaFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
Common questions
What fish are in Little Saganaga Lake?
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on September 9, 2024 caught 3.80 northern pike per gill net at Little Saganaga Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 9–26 inches. Minnesota DNR lists 5 species for the lake in total. Those are survey results, not a catch report: a net set on one date measures what was in that net.
When was Little Saganaga Lake last surveyed?
The most recent fisheries survey on file for Little Saganaga Lake is dated September 9, 2024. Survey intervals vary by lake and by species; a gap of several years between surveys is normal and does not mean the record is missing.
Is Little Saganaga Lake stocked?
No stocking record for Little Saganaga Lake appears in the Minnesota DNR material on file. That is not the same as a confirmed unstocked lake: it means no stocking document was published for it in the records this page draws on.
Do the water-quality readings tell me how Little Saganaga Lake fishes?
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Little Saganaga Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 3 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
Before you eat what you catch
Water-quality readings are not a consumption advisory. Mercury and PCB advice for Minnesota waters comes from MDH, and it is issued per species and per size class: a lake with clear, low-nutrient water can still carry a meal limit on larger predator fish.
Where to stay near Little Saganaga Lake
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