Minnesota DNR fisheries surveys · latest August 14, 2020
Species recorded at Smith Lake
12 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 Smith Lake
No stocking record for Smith 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 August 14, 2020 caught 4.83 walleye per gill net at Smith Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 8–22 inches.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Smith Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is declining. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
3 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2020-08-14 (Standard Survey).
3 surveys on file · most recent 2020-08-14 (Standard Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow Perch | 14.28 | 5–8 in 2020-08-14 | 0.12 lb |
| Bluegill | 9.71 | 3–9 in 2020-08-14 | 0.2 lb |
| Rock Bass | 5.39 | 3–8 in 2020-08-14 | 0.39 lb |
| Walleye | 3.28 | 8–22 in 2020-08-14 | 1.13 lb |
| Northern Pike | 2.36 | 10–26 in 2020-08-14 | 1.72 lb |
| Pumpkinseed | 1.91 | 3–5 in 2020-08-14 | 0.13 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.
Yellow Perch
Bluegill
Rock Bass
Walleye
From the 2020-08-14 survey
Smith (Lower Pequaywan) Lake is a 193-acre lake with 74 (38%) littoral acres and a maximum depth of 51 feet. The lake is located about 14 miles northeast of Two Harbors, MN but there is no public access to the lake. Walleye is the primary management species and Northern Pike is the secondary management species. Smith…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Smith Lake. 2 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — SmithFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Aquatic Plant Report — Smith (0495)Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
Common questions
What fish are in Smith Lake?
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on August 14, 2020 caught 4.83 walleye per gill net at Smith Lake. Length samples in the latest survey that recorded them ran 8–22 inches. Minnesota DNR lists 12 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 Smith Lake last surveyed?
The most recent fisheries survey on file for Smith Lake is dated August 14, 2020. 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 Smith Lake stocked?
No stocking record for Smith 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 Smith Lake fishes?
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Smith Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 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.
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