Fishing Loon Lake: A Small Lake at the Quiet End of the Chain
Loon Lake is a small, sheltered water off Island Lake, and the DNR samples its fish together with Island's, so it pays to read the survey carefully.
Every chain of lakes has a corner that feels tucked away. On the Whitefish Chain, Loon Lake is one of them. At about 50 acres with a maximum depth of 30 feet, it is one of the smallest lakes on the chain, and there is no public launch. If you fish here, you most likely live here, or you idled in through the channel from Island Lake.
That smallness is the point. A lake like Loon lets you learn every weed edge and drop-off by heart. It is the kind of place where the fishing becomes part of the daily rhythm of a home on the water.
Want a dock where you can fish before coffee? Talk with David about homes on Loon and nearby lakes.
How the DNR surveys Loon
The Minnesota DNR samples Loon Lake together with Island Lake and reports the results as Island-Loon. The two are separate lakes, joined by a short channel, but the fish survey treats them as one unit. That means the DNR's catch rates describe both lakes together. They do not tell you how many fish are in Loon by itself, and the much larger, deeper Island Lake makes up most of the combined water. For that reason, we describe the findings in words only. You can read the Island side in the Island Lake fishing guide.
What the combined survey found
The most recent DNR survey summary we could verify for Island-Loon is from 2005. Across the two lakes, it found:
- Walleye at a below-average rate compared with similar lakes, but large on average, and all over 12 inches. The DNR has not stocked walleye in Island-Loon since 1967.
- Northern pike in average numbers, with a good share of larger fish.
- Largemouth bass in average numbers in trap nets.
- Black crappie at average rates.
- Bluegill in average numbers, though the lowest the DNR had recorded on these waters up to then.
- Lake whitefish and tullibee (cisco), both cool-water species.
The survey also recorded bowfin, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, longear sunfish, pumpkinseed, rock bass, white sucker, yellow bullhead and yellow perch. Because the survey covers both lakes, it does not say which species were caught in Loon specifically. Check the DNR LakeFinder for any newer survey before you plan your season.
Reading Loon's water
Loon is smaller and shallower than Island. Its maximum depth of about 30 feet is less than half of Island's 76, so it lacks the deep open water found next door. The DNR's 2011 aquatic plant survey, done for Island and Loon together, found a varied plant community, including coontail, flat-stem pondweed, northern watermilfoil, Canada waterweed and beds of white and yellow waterlilies. On a small lake, those weed beds and lily pads are where you start looking for bass, sunfish and pike.
A season on Loon
Spring. Small, shallow lakes warm quickly after ice-out. Expect panfish and bass to move toward the warming shallows early.
Summer. Fish the weed edges and lily pads, and focus on mornings and evenings when the water is calm and the boats on the bigger lakes are far away.
Fall. Cooling water and fading weeds concentrate fish on the remaining green cover.
Winter. Loon's small size makes it easy to reach on foot from shore. Follow the DNR's guidance of at least 4 inches of new, clear ice for walking and 5 to 7 inches for a snowmobile or small ATV, and stay well away from the channel to Island, where ice can stay thin.
Getting there
There is no public launch on Loon. Crow Wing County's water surface use ordinance makes the channel between Loon and Island a slow no-wake zone, and the channel between Island and Whitefish Lake is no-wake as well. The DNR's 2012 report lists the chain's public accesses on Lower Hay, Whitefish, Clamshell, Big Trout and Cross lakes. Visitors launch elsewhere and arrive by boat.
The DNR designated all 14 Whitefish Chain lakes, Loon included, as infested waters for zebra mussels in 2013 because they are connected. Clean, drain and dry boats and gear every time.
Questions
Does the DNR survey Loon Lake on its own?
No. The DNR surveys Loon together with Island Lake as Island-Loon, so its catch rates describe both lakes combined, not Loon alone.
Can I launch a boat on Loon Lake?
Loon has no public launch. Boaters usually put in elsewhere on the Whitefish Chain and come in through Island Lake and the slow no-wake channel.
How deep is Loon Lake?
Loon Lake is about 50 acres with a maximum depth of about 30 feet, much shallower than Island Lake next door.
Learn more in the Loon Lake guide, see what living on Loon Lake is like, or browse all the Whitefish Chain lakes.
David Olson has 20+ years of experience and a family cabin on the Whitefish Chain in Crosslake. Call or text 218.513.2677, email david@whitefishpropertyfinder.com, or start your search.
Sources: Minnesota DNR, Sensitive Lakeshore Survey, Whitefish Chain of Lakes (2012); Minnesota DNR 2005 Island-Loon fish survey summary, as published by Lake-Link; Crow Wing County Water Surface Use Ordinance; Minnesota DNR news release on Whitefish Chain infested waters (2013); Minnesota DNR ice safety guidance.