Swan

A standard survey was completed on Swan Lake as part of a standard rotation of surveys in the International Falls Management Area. Swan Lake is a small, shallow lake north of Pelican Lake, approximately 4.5 miles north-northwest of Orr, MN. The lake is 86 acres and has a maximum depth of 11 feet. Swan is a somewhat remote lake, with access being an ATV trail coming off of Slade Road to the south. Shallow lakes like Swan are often prone to winterkill; however, Swan is connected to Pelican Lake which provides a means for repopulation if a winterkill were to occur. The 2015 population assessment found that there are good populations of fish waiting for anglers willing to make the effort to get to Swan Lake. Black Crappie were the most abundant fish in Swan Lake. They were sampled at a rate much higher than expected for this lake class. Crappies had a good average size of 8.8 inches, with fish over 13 inches present in the lake. Several good year classes indicate that recruitment is fairly consistent, and fishing should be good for years to come. Largemouth Bass are best sampled by electrofishing, however the remote nature of Swan didn't allow for this sampling to take place. Several bass were captured with standard sampling equipment though, indicating that there are at least a few bass in the lake. Northern Pike were sampled in somewhat low numbers for a shallow productive lake like Swan. The average size of these fish was 23 inches and they ranged in size from 18 to 27 inches.

Swan Lake is classified as Lake Class 17. These types of lakes could be called "northern pike - yellow perch - white sucker" lakes. In the case of Swan Lake, the description is only partly true.Northern pike catch in gill nets was 8.7/set, which was good for this lake class. The average size was 20.7" in gillnets, and 23.2" in trap nets. Of pike over 15", about 70% were over 21", which is large enough to be accepted by most anglers. Most of the northern pike collected were either 4 or 5 years old, and growth rates were typical for Minnesota. Yellow perch catches were also high for this lake class, at 19.3 per gillnet. Yellow perch were small, with an average size of 6.1". All of the perch were either 3 or 4 years old. The third species that should be found in this lake class is white sucker. However, only one adult white sucker was collected. This was unusual for this lake class, and there were no obvious reasons to explain the low abundance of this species.Other species of panfish may or may not be present in this type of lake. In Swan Lake, black crappie and pumkinseeds were sampled. The crappie population consisted of relatively large fish, with an average size of 8.7" in gill nets and 9.9" in trap nets. Unfortunatley, the reason for the large average size was lack of young fish, with most of the crappie being 5 years old or older. Pumkinseeds were abundant but small. Most of the fish were only 2 years old, but several fish from 5 to 7 years old revealed slow growth. As with other species, several year classes were poor or missing. About 35% of the sunfish were identified as hybrids, but the only pure strain sunfish species was pumpkinseed.Inconsistent reproduction and survival (recruitment) seemed to be a problem with all of the common species in this lake. However, all species do not experience poor recruitment in the same year. For example, most crappie were age 5 or 7, most northern pike were 4 or 5, most pumkinseed were 2 or 5, and most perch were 3. Some of the weak or missing years can be explained. For example, crappie and sunfish reproduction was poor in many lakes in 1992 and 1993 because of cold summer weather. Perch and pike reproduction did not follow the same pattern. Explanations for these species would be purely speculative.A few brown bullhead were collected in gill nets, and blacknose shiner, golden shiner, and Iowa darter were sampled in seine hauls.

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

We don't have a confirmed public access point on record for Swan. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

Swan has a maximum depth of 11 feet and a mean depth of 7.4 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Swan is from 2015. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

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