I was watching some footage of my 2019 end of June trip, and on this trip, I spent two nights on Long Island Lake and there was a group that had a canoe with a gas motor on it. They where buzzing around the lake at 8:00am because they had a few minnow traps around my site in the bays on both sides.

I could be wrong, but does Long Island even allow motors? And the easiest way in would probably be from Cross Bay entry, but with a small motor and gas, it seems a bit cumbersome. Is there possibly an easier way into Long?

Anyway, I have been wondering about this for a while, but I can’t find a definitive answer.

No motor allowed!

Yeah I didn’t think so and I found it very odd how open they were about it. It is a larger lake but it doesn’t seem worth the hassle of carrying in, I guess it does come in handy when trapping minnows tho.

Long Island Lake is 100% and well within the boundary of the BWCA and not in an area where either gas or electric motors are allowed. It seems like a pretty far in area for anyone to haul a motor in. The only thing I can think of, and perhaps others can shed more light, is that occasionally exceptions are allowed for emergency or research purposes. I know firefighters are granted exceptions to use gas motors, and think sometimes researchers like DNR folks may be allowed for certain reasons but am not sure.

Ya I thought maybe they were doing some sort of research because of all the minnow traps, I did walk in on there site because I thought it was open and they had all kinds of coolers and what not, but it was pretty weird.

I'd bet it was DNR. They were in Otter Track a couple of years ago. I was paddling the border route, with many long days. Way up ahead of me, I saw a canoe cross the lake. It was going way too fast to have been paddled. I thought I was hallucinating, that maybe I had just seen Benny's ghost. When I got there I could see it was DNR netting fish. Met 2 guys on Swamp L. and they confirmed it. They had given them a fish.

Voyager: "I'd bet it was DNR. They were in Otter Track a couple of years ago. I was paddling the border route, with many long days. Way up ahead of me, I saw a canoe cross the lake. It was going way too fast to have been paddled. I thought I was hallucinating, that maybe I had just seen Benny's ghost. When I got there I could see it was DNR netting fish. Met 2 guys on Swamp L. and they confirmed it. They had given them a fish."

I bet your right. Why would anyone trap minnows on a remote lake? They must have been Fryke nets, which the DNR uses for sampling fish.

I dont know but it was a minnow trap because I pulled it out of the water, they had them close to shore on several spots and they checked them at about 8 am in the morning and left them after. But you are right It’s doesn’t make sense to want minnows to fish on a lake where you can easily catch pike with a spoon or spinner, I have heard there are Lakers in long but I have yet to catch one.

Mn DNR Fisheries did a lake-fish survey on the lake the week of June 25, 2019

Bingo that was the day, and my camp mate said he did also see them maybe pulling up a net by the island so that explains that. The minnow traps are probably part of research as well, but I was still not a fan of a 8 am motor! The trip was already a challenge as the bugs we’re at full force that week lol!

Mobwca12: "Bingo that was the day, and my camp mate said he did also see them maybe pulling up a net by the island so that explains that. The minnow traps are probably part of research as well, but I was still not a fan of a 8 am motor! The trip was already a challenge as the bugs we’re at full force that week lol! "

here are the results

No I would not like the motor either, but the last time they surveyed it was in 1995.

^^Well this might be my new go to lake for fishing, every time I'm in the mood for burbot!

Jaywalker: "^^Well this might be my new go to lake for fishing, every time I'm in the mood for burbot!"

I love to eat burbot in the winter. In the summer I rarely hear people catching them. Might be more muddy tasting than. Will say burbot I caught up the Gunflint in the winter are much better tasting than Mille lacs burbot. Not that muddy taste in Gunflint burbot.

Pinetree: "

Jaywalker: "^^Well this might be my new go to lake for fishing, every time I'm in the mood for burbot!"

I love to eat burbot in the winter. In the summer I rarely hear people catching them. Might be more muddy tasting than. Will say burbot I caught up the Gunflint in the winter are much better tasting than Mille lacs burbot. Not that muddy taste in Gunflint burbot."

Do you have to catch them yourself, of do other fishermen just willingly give them to you? :)

I'm surprised they must have gotten some sort of exception to use motors. Years ago I was a DNR fisheries intern in Grand Marais and all our BWCA lake survey work was paddle and portage, with the exception of a Sept fly-in trip to strip lake trout eggs on Little Sag. Setting deep gill nets out of a canoe isn't the easiest thing in the world to do but it's definitely possible.

thistlekicker: "I'm surprised they must have gotten some sort of exception to use motors. Years ago I was a DNR fisheries intern in Grand Marais and all our BWCA lake survey work was paddle and portage, with the exception of a Sept fly-in trip to strip lake trout eggs on Little Sag. Setting deep gill nets out of a canoe isn't the easiest thing in the world to do but it's definitely possible. "

I think that has went back and forth as a issue over the years, allowed or not. I know like Isabella lake and Parent lake via hog creek have been netted via motor.

It is done very sparely and you look at the survey dates, some are 40 years ago.
Also as you know some netting is done via canoe. I know about ten years ago they were having a problem getting any crews to go back and stay for like 2 weeks plus.

They use to net and take lake trout eggs from Gillis trout, now that has switched to Mountain lake if needed. Much of this you probably know.

Back in Sept. 2016 I brought three newbies into Cherokee for a 4 day base camp. As we were sitting around the fire drinking coffee on the first morning a motorized canoe stops off shore in front of our campsite and deploys a net. The next day we ran into them on the other end of the lake and spoke to them. They were doing a fish study. A float plane dropped them off for the week and was coming back to get them at the end of the week. I can understand the need for a float plane because of all their gear but Cherokee and Long Island aren't that big where you couldn't paddle it.

Northwoodsman: "Back in Sept. 2016 I brought three newbies into Cherokee for a 4 day base camp. As we were sitting around the fire drinking coffee on the first morning a motorized canoe stops off shore in front of our campsite and deploys a net. The next day we ran into them on the other end of the lake and spoke to them. They were doing a fish study. A float plane dropped them off for the week and was coming back to get them at the end of the week. I can understand the need for a float plane because of all their gear but Cherokee and Long Island aren't hat big where you couldn't paddle it."

Depends on the gear they used to survey the fish population, some you could set from a canoe. But they were using a mini-trapnet(not sure the size of these what is needed to set them) others would take a boat-motor. I agree the less motors the better, but also on a occasion you have to make rare exceptions.

The answe don't abuse that power to use certain items like a motor>