Little Iron

Little Iron is a 115-acre lake located 38 miles north of Grand Marais off the Gunflint Trail. Public access is through a boat landing on the northeast bay of the lake. Historically, Little Iron Lake was managed for northern pike, walleye, and bluegill. After a long history of walleye stocking efforts with little success, the lake is now managed for bluegill and northern pike. The 2023 survey was the first of two surveys scheduled to evaluate the bluegill, northern pike, and walleye populations. Walleye abundance was again low in 2023 and had been declining since the initial survey in 1969. Walleye catch rates have been poor (less than 1 fish per net) since 2000. The only walleye captured in the survey was 21 inches and was 8 years old. It was not a stocked fish. Recent surveys suggest that natural reproduction cannot maintain the walleye population at desired levels in Little Iron Lake. The northern pike catch was similar to previous surveys and exceeded the current management goal. Catch rates were slightly below average for similar area lakes. Walleye populations declined over time in Little Iron Lake while northern pike populations increased. Northern pike ranged from 10.3 to 26.9 inches with a mean of 19.1 inches. Northern pike fishing should continue to be relatively good for small to medium sized fish. Little Iron Lake is one of just a handful of lakes in Cook County that support significant numbers of bluegill. The relative abundance in standard trap nets was the highest recorded at 4.56 fish/net and exceeded the current management goal. Catch rates are much higher than area averages for similar Minnesota lakes. Bluegill ranged from 3.4 to 10.6 inches with a mean of 4.76 inches. Aging estimates indicated the presence of 4 naturally reproduced year classes with average growth rates. Good numbers of smaller sized bluegill can be found in Little Iron Lake with an opportunity to find a few large fish. Forage for game fish appeared to have been scarce in recent surveys. No yellow perch were captured in the gill net catch and only two individuals were captured in the trap nets. The white sucker and rock bass catch was also low. The large numbers of small bluegill sampled in trap nets suggested that they may have been an important forage source for the northern pike population.

Little Iron Lake is managed for Walleye, Bluegill, and Northern Pike (2007 Lake Management Plan). The long range goal for Walleye is to restore and maintain a population with a minimum gill net catch of 2.0 fish/set - a level last seen in this lake in 1977. The goal for Bluegill is to maintain a minimum catch in standard trap nets of 2.0 fish/set. The Northern Pike goal is a population with a minimum gill net catch of 2.8 fish/set, with some fish larger than 25 inches present. This was the second of three surveys scheduled in the 2007 lake management plan to determine whether the walleye stocking regime established in that plan has been effective. This survey was given a higher priority when the Section of Fisheries began an initiative in 2016 to evaluate all current Walleye fingerling stocking, on a lake-by-lake basis. Walleye catches in Little Iron Lake were never high, and have declined steadily since 1969, despite a variety of stocking efforts. The Walleye catch in 2016 was the second-lowest ever seen in this lake, with just a single fish collected in standard gill net sets. Only the 2012 catch was lower (no Walleye taken). Very low Walleye catches in 2012 and 2016 strongly indicate that Walleye fingerling stocking done in this lake since 2008 has been completely ineffective. In addition, natural reproduction of Walleye in this lake seems to have been insignificant, although a few naturally produced fish have been collected over the years. In contrast, Northern Pike gill net catches in Little Iron Lake have increased since 1969. The 2016 catch was similar to catches seen in this lake since 2000, and easily met the long range catch goal for the species. The size goal for Northern Pike from the 2007 lake management plan was not met in 2016, since none of the fish taken were 25 inches long or longer. It appeared that reproductive success had been consistently good for the past several years, since seven year classes (including some young-of-year fish) contributed to the 2016 catch. Growth rates for Northern Pike, however, had been slow. Three-year-old fish reached an average length of just 14.2 inches by the end of their third year, compared to an area average of 16.2 inches. Slow growth made it unlikely many fish would survive long enough to reach a length of 25 inches, since it took seven years for them to reach 22 inches. Little Iron Lake is one of just a handful of Cook County lakes to support significant numbers of Bluegill, and a few anglers have begun targeting the species in this lake. The 2016 Bluegill trap net catch was low, one of the lower catches seen in this lake since the species was introduced, and it included few larger fish. However, large numbers of small Bluegill were taken in small-mesh trap nets, and the catch in that gear included fish up to 9.3 inches in length. From their lengths, it appeared that most of the Bluegill taken in small-mesh trap nets were the result of reasonably strong year classes in 2015 or 2014. Aging of other Bluegill taken in this survey indicated fairly strong year classes had also been produced in 2010-2012. Growth of young Bluegill had been about average for this area; by the end of their fourth year four-year-old fish had reached an average length of 5.8 inches, compared to an area average of 6.1 inches. Forage for game fish appeared to have been scarce in 2016. The Yellow Perch gill net catch was well below the normal range for the lake class, and was the lowest ever seen in this lake historically. The White Sucker catch was also low for a lake of this class, but some were small enough to have provided forage for Northern Pike (or Walleye). A few Golden Shiner were present, and the large numbers of small Bluegill sampled in small-mesh trap nets suggested that species may have been an important forage source for smaller Northern Pike.

Little Iron Lake is managed for walleye, bluegill, and northern pike. The long range goal for walleye is to restore and maintain a population with a minimum gill net catch of 2.0 fish/set. The goal for bluegill is to maintain a minimum catch in 0.75-in-mesh trap nets of 2.0 fish/set. The northern pike goal is a population with a minimum gill net catch of 2.8 fish/set, with some fish larger than 25 inches present. This was the first of three assessments scheduled in the 2007 lake management plan to determine whether the walleye stocking regime established in that plan has been effective. In 2012, Clean Water Legacy funding allowed areas across the state to do some nearshore fish community sampling to improve our ability to use a fish-based Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) to identify disturbed aquatic ecosystems. Little Iron Lake was selected for nearshore sampling because its accessibility allowed for use of the sampling gears required. Walleye catches in Little Iron Lake have been declining steadily since 1969, despite a variety of stocking efforts. In 2012, for the first time since 1969, no walleye were collected in any of the sampling gears used. Survival of fingerling stockings done in 2008 and 2010 must have been very low. In contrast, northern pike gill net catches in Little Iron Lake have been increasing fairly steadily since 1969. The 2012 catch was the second highest seen to date, and easily met the long range goal for the species. A few northern pike larger than 25 inches were present, as evidenced by the capture of a 33.5-inch fish in a trap net set. Several year classes contributed to the 2012 catch, and reproductive success seemed to have been fairly steady. Growth rates had been about average for the area; three-year-old fish reached a mean length of 16.9 inches at the end of their third year, compared to an area mean of 16.2 inches for similar lakes. Little Iron Lake is one of very few Cook County lakes to support a significant bluegill population. Bluegill were fairly abundant in 2012, and some large fish were present. The 2012 bluegill trap net catch was similar to catches seen in this lake since the species was introduced, and fell within the normal range for the lake class. The mean weight for bluegill collected in 0.75-in-mesh trap nets was also similar to past weights seen in this lake, but the catch included several fish larger than eight inches. Quarter-inch-mesh trap nets yielded a very high bluegill catch, consisting mainly of fish under four inches in length, but including fair numbers of six-to-ten-inch fish. Strong bluegill year classes were apparently produced in 2006, 2010, and 2011. Growth of older bluegill had been about average for this area; six-year-old fish reached a mean length of 7.9 inches at the end of their sixth year, equaling the area average. Forage for game fish appeared to have been scarce in 2012. The yellow perch gill net catch was well below the normal range for the lake class, and was one of the lower catches seen in this lake historically. Only two white sucker were taken in gill nets, and both were too large to have been taken by any but the largest northern pike. Golden shiner appeared to have been present in fairly high numbers, based on catches observed in 0.25-in-mesh trap nets. The splake collected in 2012 had moved to Little Iron Lake from its stocking site in Portage Lake. Splake from Portage Lake have been taken in small numbers in Iron and Little Iron Lakes in the past, and have appeared as far downstream in the watershed as Loon Lake. Sampling of the nearshore fish community was done using quarter-in-mesh trap nets, a 15-ft beach seine, and backpack electrofishing gear. Prior to sampling done in 2012, Little Iron Lake was known to support yellow perch, northern pike, bluegill, white sucker, walleye, rock bass, golden shiner, blacknose shiner, and splake. Nearshore sampling in 2012 added green sunfish to the list of fish species known to be present in this lake.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Bluegill, Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, and Rock Bass in Little Iron. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

Minnesota DNR records list public access for Little Iron. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for the launch type and directions before you go.

Little Iron has a maximum depth of 18 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Little Iron is from 2023.

No invasive species are on record for Little Iron in Minnesota DNR data. Always clean, drain, and dry your equipment to help keep it that way.