Whisper

Whisper Lake is a 46 acre lake located three miles north of Babbitt. The accesses are a 37 rod portage off Forest Road 903 and a 60 rod portage from Birch Lake. The lake has a maximum depth of 25 feet and brown bog-stained water. The entire shoreline is publicly owned Superior National Forest land. Most of the shoreline is forested and rocky, or bog fringe. A few campsites are located along the north shore of the lake past where the portage ends. Whisper Lake was thermally stratified on July 19, 2021 with a surface temperature of 77 F and a bottom temperature of 54 F. Oxygen levels were adequate for gamefish to a depth of 11 feet where the water temperature was 72 F. There are no major inlets or outlets on Whisper Lake. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline consist of sand, muck, rubble, and boulder. Aquatic vegetation is very sparse and confined mostly to the northeast and southeast bays. The overall gillnet catch rate for all fish combined was 12.5 fish/net which was tied for the second lowest on record for the lake. Fish species sampled were walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, bluegill, and white sucker. The overall trap net catch rate was 12.7 fish/net which was lower than the past two surveys that used trap nets. No additional fish species were sampled in trap nets that weren't also caught in gill nets. The walleye catch rate in 2021 (7.0 fish/gill net) was the highest on record for Whisper Lake and better than average compared to other similar lakes. Lengths ranged from 17 to just over 21 inches with an average of nearly 19 inches and an average weight of over two pounds. Growth rates were very good with the average fish measuring nearly 16 inches at age-4. However, growth was minimal after 4 years, which may indicate lack of larger prey for larger walleye. Ages ranged from 4 to 15 years old. Thirty-two largemouth bass were sampled in trap nets for a catch rate of 3.6 fish/net which was very good compared to other similar lakes and the highest on record for Whisper Lake. It also ranked 4th out of 68 surveys that sampled largemouth with trap nets in the Tower area. Lengths ranged from 5 to 14 inches with an average of just over 8 inches. Ages ranged from 1 to 7 years. Growth rates were very good with the average four year old fish measuring just over 11 inches. This was the second survey to sample smallmouth bass in Whisper Lake. Four were sampled in gill nets (2.0 fish/net) and six were caught in trap nets (0.7 fish/net). Lengths from the combined net catches ranged from 5 to nearly 15 inches with an average of 9 inches. Ages ranged from 1 to 5 years. Fifty bluegill were sampled in trap nets for a catch rate of 5.6 fish/net which was just below average compared to other similar lakes but right at the average for Whisper Lake. Lengths ranged from 4 to nearly 9 inches with an average of nearly 7 inches.

Whisper Lake is 46 acres and located three miles north of Babbitt. The accesses are a 37 rod portage off Forest Road 903 from the north and a 60 rod portage from Birch Lake, from the south. The lake has a maximum depth of 25 feet and clear water. The entire shoreline is publicly owned Superior National Forest land. Most of the shoreline is either forested and rocky or bog fringe. A few campsites are located along the north shore of the lake past where the portage ends. Whisper Lake was thermally stratified on July 11, 2016 with a surface temperature of 73 F and a bottom temperature of 48 F. Oxygen levels were adequate for gamefish to a depth of 12 feet. There are no major inlets or outlets on Whisper Lake. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline consist of sand, muck, rubble, and boulder. Aquatic vegetation is very sparse and confined mostly to the northeast and southeast bays. Since 1986 Whisper Lake has been stocked with walleye fry every other year. Prior to that the lake was stocked with sunfish, largemouth bass, crappie, and bluegill at different times. This is the seventh fisheries survey done on Whisper Lake. The overall gillnet catch rate for all fish combined was 10.5 fish/net which is low compared to other previous surveys on the lake. Fish species sampled were white sucker, walleye, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and bluegill. The overall trap net catch rate was 17.7 fish/net which is similar to the only other survey that used trap nets done in 1996. Black crappie was the only additional fish species sampled in trap nets. Walleye numbers in 2016 (1 fish/gill net) were quite low compared to historic surveys of the lake. They were also low compared to similar lakes in the state. Trap net catches did not fare much better with a catch rate of 0.7 fish/net, which was much lower than the 1996 survey at 7.8 fish/net. Sizes from the 2016 catch ranged from 13 to 18 inches with an average of 16.5 inches and nearly a pound and a half. Largemouth bass have been in Whisper Lake since the first survey in 1964. The 2016 gill net catch rate was 1 fish/net which is comparable to the historic average for Whisper Lake of 0.5 fish/net. The trap net catch was 1.1 fish/net in 2016, also comparable to the 1996 trapnet catch rate of 0.8 fish/net. Largemouth sizes ranged from 8 to 14 inches with an average near 11 inches. Ages were 2 to 4 years old and growth appeared quite good. This was the first survey to sample smallmouth bass in Whisper Lake. Two were sampled in gill nets and 20 were caught in trap nets (2.2 fish/net). Lengths ranged from 7 to nearly 15 inches with an average of 9.5 inches. Ages ranged from 2 to 6 years old with a four year old fish averaging a little over 11 inches. Like the largemouth, the smallmouth growth appears to be quite good in Whisper Lake. Trap nets captured bluegill at the rate of 11.3 fish/net which is better than average compared to other similar lakes. Sizes ranged from 4 to nearly 9 inches with an average of 6 inches. Bluegill ages ranged from two to five. On average, a four year old bluegill was 7 inches long. This is very good growth compared to other lakes with bluegill populations in the area. Six black crappie were sampled in trap nets for a catch rate of 0.7 fish/net. Like the smallmouth, this is the first survey to sample black crappie. Sizes were small ranging from 6 to 7 inches. Sucker numbers in 2016 (7.0 fish/gill net) were higher than normal compared to other similar lakes, but lower than average for Whisper Lake. Sucker sizes were quite impressive with an average length of 18 inches and over two and a half pounds per fish. Some of the smallmouth bass were infested with neascus (black spot) although the bluegill were all relatively clean.

Whisper Lake is in Ecological Lake Class 13, which consists of 84 lakes in northeast Minnesota that are small, shallow, and have very soft (unmineralized) water. Whisper Lake is smaller than most of the lakes in this lake class. Whisper Lake was thermally stratified on 07/25/2006 with a surface temperature of 77 F and a bottom temperature of 50 F. Adequate oxygen for fish (more than 2 ppm) was retained to a depth of 12 feet, where the temperature was 70 F. Whisper Lake has no inlets or outlets. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline are sand (37%), muck (32%), rubble (13%), ledge rock (11%), and boulder (7%). Aquatic plants are sparsely scattered along the shoreline, with concentrations in the marshy northeast and southeast corners of the lake. The 2006 fish population assessment consisted of two gillnet sets. Previous fisheries lake surveys (1964, 1984) and fish population assessments (1979, 1990, 1996) used 2-3 gillnet sets. The 1996 assessment used nine trapnet sets, but trapnets were not used in 2006 due to the portage access to the lake. All investigations on Whisper Lake have been done in July. Fish catches in 2006 were dominated by white sucker, followed by walleye and yellow perch. One largemouth bass was also captured. Largemouth numbers are probably higher than indicated by the gillnet catch, as largemouth avoid capture in fish sampling nets more than other fish species. Bluegill sunfish were captured in the trapnets in 1996 and are likely still present in the lake. Iowa darter and pumpkinseed sunfish have also been captured in minnow traps in this lake. Sucker numbers in 2006 (19.0/gillnet) were higher than normal (in the fourth quartile) for this lake class and were higher than the median catch of 13.0/gillnet in all investigations on this lake. Sucker sizes in 2006 averaged 15.6 inches. Walleye were first captured in Whisper Lake in the 1984 investigation, although walleye stocking did not begin until 1986. Walleye fry have been stocked every other year since 1986. Walleye numbers in 2006 (4.5/gillnet) were somewhat lower than normal (in the second quartile) for this lake class, and were at the median catch of 4.5/gillnet in all investigations on this lake since their first appearance in 1984. Walleye sizes in 2006 averaged 14.5 inches (0.96 lb), which was smaller than normal (in the first quartile) for this lake class, but was similar to the average walleye size of 14.1 inches in all investigations on this lake. The largest walleye captured in 2006 was 16.2 inches. All but one of the walleye captured in 2006 were from the fry-stocked years of 2002 and 2004. Based on it's size, it seems likely that the age 5 walleye was also age 4, from the 2002 year-class. Walleye growth was inconsistent, with age 2 walleye growing faster than normal (in the fourth quartile) by area standards and age 4 walleye growing somewhat slower than normal (in the second quartile). Yellow perch numbers in Whisper Lake were quite high in the initial investigation in 1964 (50/gillnet), but then declined, averaging 11/gillnet in subsequent investigations. The 2006 perch catch was 5.0/gillnet. Perch sizes in 2006 averaged 7.1 inches (0.13 lb), which is normal (near the median) for this lake class. The largest perch in 2006 was 7.6 inches. All but one perch were age four. Perch growth was somewhat faster than normal (in the third quartile) by area standards. About half of the walleye and perch examined in 2006 were infected with neascus (black spot). Neascus is a common parasite that is native to the area. It cannot infect humans, is often removed by filleting fish, and is killed at temperatures used to cook fish.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Walleye, Bluegill, Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, and Yellow Perch in Whisper. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Whisper has a maximum depth of 25 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Whisper is from 2021.

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