Little Spirit

Little Spirit Lake is a 643-acre, class 42 lake located on the Minnesota-Iowa border in Jackson County. Little Spirit Lake has a history of experiencing varying levels of partial winterkill and summer kill conditions due to low dissolved oxygen in the winter and severe algae blooms in the summer. Thus, Little Spirit Lake is aerated by the Jackson County Conservation League to reduce winterkill frequency and/or severity. In terms of invasive species, Little Spirit Lake is on the frontline, as Bighead and Silver Carp were sampled in Big Spirit Lake, which is hydrologically connected to Little Spirit Lake. Additionally, Zebra Mussels are established in East and West Lake Okoboji, which are connected downstream to Big and Little Spirit Lakes. Little Spirit Lake is managed primarily for Walleye and secondarily for Black Crappie and Yellow Perch. Night electrofishing was conducted on October 9, 2024 to determine if stocking by Iowa DNR in Big Spirit Lake is adequate to maintain Walleye numbers in Little Spirit Lake. Young-of-the year Walleye were captured at a rate of 47.9 per hour electrofishing, which indicates that stocking in Big Spirit Lake by Iowa DNR does create a presence of Walleye in Little Spirit Lake. The age-0 Walleyes ranged in length from 6.1 to 7.6 inches and averaged 6.8 inches in the sample. Little Spirit Lake is connected to Big Spirit Lake in Iowa, which allows passage by small fish, so Walleye fry or fingerlings did migrate from Big Spirit Lake. However, there may be some need to stock additional Walleye fry directly into Little Spirit Lake from the Lake Sarah Egg take operation (Lower Mississippi Strain Walleye) because the management goal of 10.0 Walleye per gill net was not met during gill netting in 2024. Future monitoring of the Walleye population with fall night electrofishing and summer gillnetting will be continued.

Little Spirit Lake is a 643-acre, shallow prairie lake located on the Minnesota-Iowa border in Jackson County. Little Spirit Lake has a history of experiencing varying levels of winterkill and summer kill conditions due to low dissolved oxygen in the winter and severe algae blooms in the summer. Thus, Little Spirit Lake has an aeration system to reduce winterkill frequency and/or severity. Little Spirit Lake is on the frontline of invasive species, as Bighead Carp, Silver Carp, and Zebra Mussels were sampled in Big Spirit Lake, which is hydrologically connected to Little Spirit Lake. It is managed primarily for Walleye and secondarily for Black Crappie, and Yellow Perch. A survey was conducted the week of July 22, 2024 to monitor fish populations using three gill nets and 11 trap nets. The 2024 Walleye catch rate of 5.7 per gill net is below the long-term average catch rate of 9.1 but within the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (1.0 to 7.3 per gill net). Six different year classes of Walleye were sampled, including fish from the 2014, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023 year-classes. The 2023 year-class was the most abundant, accounting for 50 percent of the sample. At least 2 of the year classes sampled were from non-stocked years, which suggests that natural reproduction occurred or a significant amount of movement occurs from Big Spirit Lake, which is stocked almost annually with Walleye fry, frylings, and fingerlings. Walleye lengths ranged from 10.3 to 22.8 inches and averaged 15.2 inches. Body condition was very good with many plump fish indicating that ample prey is available. Angling for Walleye should be fair in Little Spirit Lake over the next several years however, Black Crappie may be more common for anglers. Black Crappie catch rates in Little Spirit Lake have been variable, ranging from 0.3 per trap net in both 1993 and 2008 to 32.0 per trap net in 1985. In 2024, the Black Crappie catch rate was 7.1 per trap net, a decline from 9.9 per trap net in 2020 and just below the long-term average of 7.5 per trap net since 1985. Additionally, the 2024 catch rate was within the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (2.4 to 15.1 per trap net). The gill net catch rate was the greatest on record with 24.0 per net, nearly 6 times the long-term average of 4.4 per net. Black Crappie lengths ranged from 5.0 to 13.2 inches and averaged 6.7 inches in gill nets and 8.7 inches in trap nets, with 18 percent of them over 10.0 inches. Angling for Black Crappie should be excellent during the spring with many 10 inch or larger fish available. Since 2001, Yellow Perch catch rates have varied from 0.0 per gill net in 2012 to 39.7 per gill net in 2008. In 2024, the Yellow Perch catch rate was 13.3 per gill net, which is an increase from the 2020 catch rate of 1.6 per gill net and within the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (3.0 to 26.5 per gill net). Yellow Perch lengths ranged from 5.8 to 11.9 inches and averaged 7.8 inches in gill nets with no Yellow Perch caught in trap nets. Yellow Perch may be on the upswing in Little Spirit Lake, as with its Iowa connection to in Big Spirit Lake, IA. The Black Bullhead catch rate in 2024 was 0.5 per trap net and 21.3 per gill net. Those catch rates indicate good control by gamefish species and are low in abundance for Little Spirit Lake. The Shortnose Gar catch rate increased from 15.7 per gill net in 2020 to 19.7 per gill net in 2024. Anybody looking to add Shortnose Gar to their species list for angling should give Little Spirit a try. Other species sampled included Bigmouth Buffalo, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Common Carp, Freshwater Drum, Gizzard Shad, White Bass, and White Sucker.

Nearshore fish community sampling (hereafter IBI sampling; seine, backpack electrofishing) was conducted July 28, 2020 to assess the reproductive capacity of the fish community and the overall health of the nearshore community in Little Spirit Lake in Jackson County. Backpack electrofishing and seining was conducted at 12-100 ft. long stations around the perimeter of Little Spirit Lake. The seine hauls captured 16 species of fish, including Bigmouth Buffalo (N=1,388), Black Bullhead (N=36), Black Crappie (N=446), Bluegill (N=54), Brown Bullhead (N=1), Common Carp (N=6), Fathead Minnow (N=5), Freshwater Drum (N=87), Gizzard Shad (N=16), Golden Shiner (N=11), Johnny Darter (N=9), Largemouth Bass (N=54), Orangespotted Sunfish (N=1), Spottail Shiner (N=139), Walleye (N=1), White Bass (N=8), and Yellow Perch (N=34). Electrofishing captured 14 species of fish, including Bigmouth Buffalo (N=25), Black Bullhead (N=3), Black Crappie (N=4), Bluegill (N=311), Common Carp (N=4), Freshwater Drum (N=115), Golden Shiner (N=2), Iowa Darter (N=1), Largemouth Bass (N=51), Shortnose Gar (N=1), Spottail Shiner (N=19), Yellow Bullhead (N=5) and Yellow Perch (N=7). Natural reproduction exists for some species of fish in Little Spirit Lake, as young-of-the-year Bigmouth Buffalo, Black Bullhead, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Common Carp, Freshwater Drum, Gizzard Shad, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass and Yellow Perch were sampled. Walleye were not stocked in 2020. This is the first time that Gizzard Shad were sampled in a Windom Area Fisheries lake. The types of species and their respective abundances in nearshore IBI sampling will be used to determine the overall health of Little Spirit Lake. The IBI score will provide insight into the quality of habitat and water within the lake and could be used to indicate problems within the watershed that could adversely affect the fish community. The IBI score on Little Spirit Lake was 28, below the impairment threshold of 36.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Channel Catfish, Black Crappie, Walleye, Northern Pike, and Yellow Perch in Little Spirit. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Little Spirit has a maximum depth of 8 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Little Spirit is from 2024.

Yes — Little Spirit has confirmed bighead carp and silver carp. Clean, drain, and dry your equipment to avoid spreading invasives to other waters.