Little Sand

Little Sand Lake is located two miles north of Dorset in south central Hubbard County. Little Sand has a surface area of 409 acres and a maximum depth of 80 feet. A DNR owned public access is located on the east shore of the lake off. Access is also available by small craft from Ida Lake. Little Sand provides angling opportunities for Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass and panfish. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Little Sand is in class 25. Class 25 lakes are generally deep, very clear, have hard water, and are irregularly shaped. Other class 25 lakes in the Park Rapids management include: Bad Axe, Belle Taine, Big Mantrap, Dead (Upper Ojibway), Eagle, Island, Little Mantrap, Spider, Straight, Third Crow Wing, Two Inlets, and West Crooked. Northern Pike abundance was the highest ever recorded in Little Sand. Anglers will find most northern from 16 - 22 inches in length, a great opportunity to take advantage of the current Northern Pike Regulation. There were also three Silver Pike sampled, which are Northern Pike without the normal green and white spotted coloration. Northern Pike sampled had an average length of 19.8 inches and weighed 1.8 pounds. Largemouth Bass were sampled in good numbers again in 2022, with fish averaging 11.2 inches. The longest Largemouth Bass sampled was 17.1 inches in length. Smallmouth Bass have been sampled in the past, and one small fish was again sampled in 2022. Little Sand supports a Black Crappie population and angling for them is popular year around. Only a few crappies were sampled in this survey, with the largest at 13 inches. Little Sand also provides good fishing for Bluegill and Pumpkinseed; with some nicer fish ranging from 7.0-8.5 inches. Currently, no Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) have been identified in Little Sand Lake. To avoid spreading AIS, lake users are required to remove all aquatic plants or animals from their watercraft and drain all water from their boat before leaving the access.

Little Sand Lake (29-0150-00) is a 409.51-acre lake with a maximum depth of 80 feet located two miles north of Dorset, MN. A survey targeting near shore fish species was conducted by Park Rapids Fisheries Staff on July 5, 2017 to assess populations of non-game and small sport fish. Ten 100-foot sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake shore, sampling a variety of habitat types. Each site was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot 1/8th-inch mesh seine, depending on habitat conditions. During this assessment, five sites were sampled with a 50-foot seine and two sites were sampled with a 15-foot seine. Site conditions prevented the use of seines at three sites. Backpack electrofishing was done at all ten sites, several of which were conducted from the side of the boat. Nearshore sampling captured several species of fish including two species intolerant of disturbance; Banded Killifish and Blackchin Shiner. Other species sampled during the nearshore effort included Bluegill, Central Mudminnow, Green Sunfish, Iowa Darter, Johnny Darter, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Pumpkinseed, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, and Yellow Perch. Nearshore catches will be used along with gillnet and trapnet catch data from a standard fisheries survey on June 19, 2017, to calculate a fish-based Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) score which is indicative of the health of Little Sand Lake. This survey is contributing to a watershed assessment process in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. Little Sand Lake is located in the Crow Wing River Watershed.

Little Sand Lake is located in southern Hubbard County, two miles north of Dorset. Little Sand has a surface area of 409 acres and a maximum depth of 80 feet. A public access is located on the south shore of the lake. Boating access with a small craft is also possible from the inlet channel connecting to Ida Lake. Little Sand provides multi species opportunities to the angler, with populations of Walleye, Northern Pike, Panfish, and Bass. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Little Sand is in lake class 25. Class 25 lakes are generally deep, clear, hard water lakes, with irregular shaped shoreline. Other class 25 lakes in the Park Rapids management area include: Bad Axe, Belle Taine, Eagle, West Crooked, Third Crow Wing, Island, Big Mantrap, Little Mantrap, Ojbway, Straight, and Two Inlets. Walleye abundance was down from previous surveys and below management goals. Past surveys have shown the Walleye population in Little Sand to fluctuate from moderate to high numbers for this lake class. Little Sand is currently stocked with Walleye fingerlings during even numbered years. Present and past surveys have shown low and sporadic contribution from Walleye natural reproduction. Yellow Perch abundance was up from past surveys. Yellow Perch are an important forage species for the Walleye population. Yellow Perch were small in size, with few Perch of an acceptable size for angling. Tullibee (Cisco) are present in Little Sand and have been sampled in low numbers in past surveys. Anglers can expect to find an abundant population of small-sized Northern Pike in Little Sand. Sampled Northern Pike had an average length and weight of 19.8 inches and 1.7 pounds, with fish measured up to 39.8 inches. Northern Pike abundance was low in historical surveys, and then started to explode in the late 1990's. Little Sand has both Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass populations with good numbers and sizes of both species. Little Sand has good water quality, bottom substrates, and aquatic vegetation that will help insure healthy Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass populations. While not known as a panfish lake, Little Sand does provide angling opportunities for Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, and Black Crappie. Present and past surveys have shown the Bluegill and Pumpkinseed populations to be at moderate numbers. Anglers can expect to find good numbers of Bluegill and Pumpkinseed in the 6-8 inch size range. The Black Crappie population has fluctuated from low to moderate numbers in Little Sand. Other species sampled included moderate numbers of Rock Bass, White Sucker, and Yellow Bullhead and low numbers of Black Bullhead and Hybrid Sunfish. Currently no aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been identified in Little Sand. To avoid spreading AIS, lake users are required to remove all aquatic plants or animals from their watercraft and drain all water from their boat before leaving the lake.

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

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

Little Sand has a maximum depth of 80 feet and a mean depth of 22 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Little Sand is from 2022.

Yes — Little Sand has confirmed zebra mussel. Clean, drain, and dry your equipment to avoid spreading invasives to other waters.