White Iron Lake

How big is White Iron Lake?

How deep is White Iron Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in White Iron Lake?

What are the closest cities to White Iron Lake?

Are there topographical lake maps available White Iron Lake?

We have an topograpical map for online viewing near the top of this page. Lake-Link Pro users can download an print a topograpical map of White Iron Lake (.pdf format) along with 2,700 more lake maps. For more information on all the benefits of Lake-Link Pro click here.

White Iron Lake (North)

White Iron Lake (South)

Are there boat launches on White Iron Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near White Iron Lake?

What are the fishing regulations for White Iron Lake?

There are specific fishing regulations White Iron Lake that you need to know. For complete fishing regulations visit the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. To report a violation call (800) 652-9093. Need a Minnesota fishing license?

White Iron Lake is fairly large, at 3,246 acres, and is three miles southeast of Ely. The lake has two public access with concrete boat ramps, both on the west side of the lake. White Iron Lake can also be accessed by boat from the Garden Reservoir via Farm Lake. Water levels on the lake are affected seasonally by a hydroelectric dam at the outlet of Garden Lake.

The 2018 lake management plan for White Iron Lake (White Iron) lists walleye as the primary management species and northern pike, smallmouth bass, and black crappie as secondary species. A standard survey was conducted in early fall 2023 to assess the populations of these species, especially walleye and northern pike which have special regulations, and to monitor lake quality and habitat. The survey crew sampled fish with gill nets and trap nets, and they measured water quality. White Iron was well mixed, with a water temperature of 64 F from the surface to 25 feet deep. Oxygen levels were adequate for all fish species throughout the water column. White Iron has brown, bog-stained water with visibility around 5 feet. Shoreline substrates are predominantly rocky, although some of the bays have muck bottoms and fair amounts of aquatic vegetation.

Walleye harvest by anglers on White Iron is restricted with a special regulation that requires the release of all fish from 17 to 26 inches, with only one fish over 26 inches allowed in a 6-fish limit. This regulation, which also applies to the Garden Reservoir lakes, has been in place since 2006 and the goal has been to maintain overall catch rates while increasing the number of fish over 17 inches. The gill-net catch for walleye was lower than the historic median for the lake. Walleye averaged 14.7 inches in length and 47% of the fish sampled were over 14.0 inches. The catch rate of walleye over 17 inches was 1.6 fish/net, which was slightly higher than the historic median. A few walleye were also caught in trap nets and were larger, at 22.4 inches long on average. Walleye growth was fairly slow, as it took the average fish between 5 and 6 years to reach 15 inches in length. Walleye ages ranged from 0 to 19 years old.

Northern pike (pike) harvest by anglers on White Iron is restricted with a special regulation that requires the release of all fish from 24 to 36 inches, with only one fish over 36 inches allowed in a 3-fish limit. This regulation, which applies to all the connected lakes mentioned above, has been in place since 2003 with the goal of maintaining the overall catch rate and increasing the abundance of larger pike. In this survey, the gill-net catch for pike was slightly higher than the historic median for the lake. The fish averaged 21.2 inches in length, which was smaller than the historical average for the lake and a decline from the previous three surveys. Additional pike were caught in trap nets, and these fish tended to be smaller, averaging just 18.2 inches. However, pike greater than 30 inches were sampled in both gill nets and trap nets.

Bluegill were caught at rates that were above average for the lake. However, these fish were smaller than in previous surveys with an average length of just 5.4 inches. Bluegill ages ranged from 3 to 8 years.

Black crappie were caught at rates that were below the historic median for the lake. Black crappie averaged 9.7 inches in length. The largest black crappie sampled was 13.4 inches long, and ages ranged from 3 to 9.

Additional species sampled in 2023 included cisco, golden shiner, rock bass, smallmouth bass, white sucker, and yellow perch.

What is the average air temp for White Iron Lake?

Are there any state parks near White Iron Lake?