Whitewater

Whitewater Lake is a 2,351-acre lake located one mile west of Hoyt Lakes. There is a public access with multiple boat ramps and ample parking space located within the city campground on Fisherman's Point. Whitewater Lake is up to 73 feet deep and has a mostly gravel bottom, with isolated areas of rock along the dikes and muck bottom with dense vegetation in some of the bays. The lake is relatively clear water with around 12 feet of visibility. Aside from the campground and several homes along part of the northeast shore, the entire shoreline of Whitewater Lake is undeveloped. Whitewater Lake was thermally stratified on August 21, 2023, with a surface temperature of 68 F, a bottom temperature of 46 F, and adequate oxygen warmwater fish species down to 18 feet where the water temperature was 62 F. Walleye were sampled at a rate of 6.3 fish/gill net, which was slightly below average for the lake. The walleye were 16.2 incles long on average and 74% of the fish were over 14.0 inches, providing ample opportunities for anglers hoping to harvest walleye. Walleye ages ranged from 1 to 21 and indicated consistent recruitment in this naturally reproducing population. Northern pike were sampled at a rate of 7.2 fish/gill net, which was higher than average for Whitewater Lake. The pike were 19.6 inches long on average, which was slightly larger than the historical average for the lake. The largest pike sampled in 2023 was 41.7 inches long, which was the largest ever sampled from the lake. Bluegill abundance was well above average in this survey, with catch rates of 12.4 fish/trap net and 14.9 fish/gill net. The overall average length of bluegill was 6.0 inches, and 29% of the catch was 7.0 inches or larger. The largest bluegill sampled was 9.5 inches in length, and bluegill ages ranged from 3 to 12. Black crappie catch rates were close to the historical average for the lake, with catch rates of 0.7 fish/trap net and 1.6 fish/gill net. The average length of all sampled crappie was 8.4 inches, and the largest crappie sampled was 12.1 inches in length. Black crappie ages ranged from 3 to 7. Additional species sampled in 2023 included burbot, brown bullhead, channel catfish, golden shiner, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, pumpkinseed, rock bass, shorthead redhorse, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and yellow perch.

Whitewater Lake is a 1,212 acre lake located one mile west of Hoyt Lakes. There is one access but it contains two ramps, one on each side of Fisherman's Point. A large joint parking area is accessible regardless of which ramp is used. The lake has a maximum depth of 73 feet and clear water. Whitewater Lake, previously known as Partridge Lake, became an impoundment in 1955 when dikes were created on the south and west sides which raised the water level around 30 feet. The purpose for raising the water levels was to maintain higher water levels in connected Colby Lake, which Erie Mining and later LTV steel drew from for taconite mining operations. This impoundment tripled the original surface area of Partridge and the lake was renamed Whitewater. Even though it is over 60 years old, Whitewater Lake is a young reservoir and still in transition as it ages. Often newly created reservoirs have boom populations of fish that through time will settle to more typical levels of production for the given lake's size and physical characteristics. Whitewater is likely going through a transformation in its fish community that reflects some of the lake's physical changes. Whitewater was thermally stratified on August 26, 2019 with a surface temperature of 68 F and a bottom temperature of 46 F. Oxygen levels were adequate for gamefish to a depth of 23.0 feet where the temperature was 64 F. There is one inlet, a small drainage on the east side and one outlet, which is a seep of water out the south end under a manmade dike. A gate on the north end owned and operated by Minnesota Power can be used to control water level both up and down, depending on the elevation of Colby Lake. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline are mostly gravel covered clay, with some rocky areas along the dikes and muck areas in the bays. Several of the shallow bays (especially the eastern-most arm) contain thick submergent vegetation and have shorelines rimmed with cattails. Aquatic vegetation grows to a depth of around 10.0 feet. Except for part of the northeast shore, the lake is entirely undeveloped. Fisherman's Point Campground is a city run municipal campground that exists on the long southwest running peninsula. There are 93 campsites many of which have lake access. The gill nets sampled 65 walleye for a catch rate of 5.4 fish/net. This catch rate was above average compared to other walleye lakes in the Tower area but below average compared to past surveys on Whitewater. The lower walleye catch rate, coupled with increasing catch rates of pike, bass, and bluegill, may be an indication of the lake's changing ecology. Lengths ranged from 7 to just over 29 inches with an average of nearly 15 inches which was good compared to past surveys. The average weight was nearly 2 pounds which was better than other similar lakes in the state. Growth rates however were somewhat slow requiring 5 years to approach 15 inches long. Walleye reproduction was good with a wide range of age classes. Ages ranged from 1 to 20 years. Eighty northern pike were sampled in gill nets for a catch rate of 6.7 fish/net which was above average for Whitewater and considerably higher than other similar lakes. Lengths ranged from 10 to 31 inches with an average of 20 inches. The average weight was nearly 2 pounds which was on the small side compared to other similar lakes. Electrofishing was used for the first time on Whitewater Lake for largemouth bass sampling. One-hundred seventy-three largemouth were captured in the 2.0 hours of electrofishing for a catch rate of 86.5 fish/hour. This was very good compared to other recent largemouth bass electrofishing surveys in the area. Lengths ranged from 7 to 19.5 inches with an average of nearly 13 inches. Just over 65% of the catch was 12 inches or longer. Growth rates were above average for the area taking on average 5 years to reach 12 inches long. Shallow vegetated bays on the east side of the lake offer excellent largemouth habitat. Two channel catfish were caught in gill nets and one was caught in a trap net. Sizes ranged from 21 to nearly 26 inches long. Colby and Whitewater are the only two lakes in the Tower area where channel cats are semi routinely caught. The first catfish caught in Whitewater came in 1968 and there wasn't another sampled until 2012. Channel cats have now been caught in the past three surveys on Whitewater. Twelve black crappie were sampled in trap nets for a catch rate of 1.0 fish/net which was low compared to other similar lakes but average compared to past surveys on Whitewater. Fourteen additional crappie were also sampled in the gill nets for a catch rate of 1.2 fish/net which was better than average compared to other similar lakes. Lengths of the combined catch ranged from 6 to 12 inches with an average of 9 inches, which was similar to past surveys on the lake. Ages ranged from 2 to 9 with the strongest year class from 2015. Growth rates were average for the area taking on average 5 years to approach 9 inches. The bluegill trapnet catch was 33.3 fish/net which was very high compared to other similar lakes and the record high for Whitewater. Sizes from the trap nets ranged from 3.5 to just over 8 inches with an average of just over 6 inches. Ages ranged from 3 to 14 years with strong representation from the 2012 year class. Growth rates however, were slow with the average bluegill taking 6 years to get over 5 inches. The shallow and vegetated habitat that the largemouth prefer is also used by the expanding bluegill population. These two species often thrive well together in lakes with suitable habitat. The yellow perch gillnet catch rate was 2.4 fish/net which was the lowest on record for the lake and below average compared to other similar lakes. Lengths were similar to past surveys with a range from 6 to 11 inches and an average of nearly 7 inches. Perch are an important forage fish for walleye and this lower abundance may be influencing current walleye abundance. Other species sampled in low numbers (both this survey and historically) were brown bullhead, pumpkinseed, rock bass, shorthead redhorse, white sucker, and yellow bullhead. Rusty crayfish (an invasive species) were first observed in the 2012 investigation when four were caught in gill nets. Their population has not expanded much as 14 were sampled in the 2016 survey and 13 were captured in this 2019 survey. Some of the northern pike and bluegill had light to moderate neascus (black spot) infestations.

Whitewater Lake is located 1 mile W of Hoyt Lakes. Formerly known as Partridge Lake, it was impounded in 1955 for use as a water storage reservoir for a nearby mining company. There are three boat ramps located at Fisherman's Point Campground for public access. Most of the shoreline is undeveloped and cattail beds are common, particularly on the E and SE shores. Thirteen species of fish were sampled during the 2016 survey. Walleye, northern pike and largemouth bass were common. The panfish community is dominated by abundant bluegill and rock bass are common. Two large channel catfish were sampled representing the third occurrence of this species in the sampling gear. Walleye numbers in 2016 (5.9/gill net) were below the long term average (8.3/gill net) for all assessments on this lake. The average walleye sampled was 16.1 inches long and about 5 to 6 years old. Wallleye were sampled from 14 different year classes including one that was 22 years old. The largest walleye sampled was 28.2 inches long. Northern pike abundance in 2016 (9.0/gill net) was above the long term average (3.9/gill net) for all surveys on this lake. The average pike sampled was 19.7 inches long which is larger than the historic average length (18.6 inches). The largest pike sampled was 28.2 inches long. Largemouth bass in 2016 appear to be increasing in abundance and were sampled with both gear types in above average numbers. The average largemouth sampled in the gill nets was 12.1 inches long and about 5 years old. The longest largemouth sampled was 16.6 inches. Bluegill numbers in 2016 (30.5/trap net) were much higher than the long term average (6.2/trap net) on this lake. The average bluegill was 5.4 inches long and about 6 years old. Only 4 percent of the bluegill sampled were 8 inches or larger and the largest bluegill was 9.2 inches long.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Largemouth Bass, Black Crappie, Walleye, Bluegill, and Northern Pike in Whitewater. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Whitewater has a maximum depth of 73 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

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

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