Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Fishing Forum :: MN Lakefinder - how useful is it, anyway?
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foxfireniner |
The lake depth and clarity charts are useful. I don't take a depth finder with me so even when the depths may not line up exactly, I don't know if its me just floating in the wrong spot or the map. They are generally good enough to find holes, reefs, and sharp drop-offs within the paddlers' margin of error. I mean, its not like I am calling in an airstrike on Bin Laden...I'm in a canoe! |
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egknuti |
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Hammertime |
The survey results will help for species available, although I will always cross reference by searching reports to see if anything else is in the lake. The most common fish missed (especially on surveys done in the 70s) is smallmouth bass. Surveys done within the last decade seem to hold up fairly well in my experience. |
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cyclones30 |
So I use it to kind of gauge which type of lake it is. But yes, the size and numbers aren't a great representation especially if they're older surveys. Smallies are notorious for being hard to net so they get under counted often. I just look at it to see if a fish exists there or not. Also, if you buy the Voyageur brand maps (sold on this site) the back has some simple fishing info for each lake in that specific area. |
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timatkn |
As others stated many surveys are old and limited due the remote nature of the lakes. SMB don’t survey well in the methods that can be used on remote lakes. So they can often be present but not be on a survey. The other thing to remember is SMB are not native to the area. They were stocked in a few areas…I believe in the 40’s?? And have spread into other areas of the BWCA and Quetico. They continue to spread to this day. As they have spread and invaded other lakes the dynamics of those lakes have changed. for example, Prior to SMB, Large mouth bass used to be present in higher numbers. You can still run into them in more remote lakes, but people seemed surprised when they run into them now. T |
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NEIowapaddler |
So I'm wondering, just how worthwhile is lakefinder data for a BW newbie who enjoys fishing like me? Is it a factor one should take into account when planning a trip, or is it only good for very general information, like whether a specific lake contains a given species? |
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plander |
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GunflintTrailAngler |
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scat |
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Speckled |
I can think of at least one example where we looked at the lake - two surveys were present and no pike were caught and no mention of pike in the comments. We caught two, both in the 36-40 inch range (my guess). One was only seen before it snapped the line and the other was brought alongside the canoe, but never taken out of the water or measured...just didn't seem like a great idea in a solo canoe to try and hoist up that monster of a fish. I still enjoy looking at the survey results and do check it for nearly lake i've been to or plan to go to and sometimes it's helped me cross a few lakes off the list. |
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shock |
as others have brought up many years may have gone bye since it's last survey and when that survey was done how much time were they really able to put in on any of the given lakes/surveys. weather can be a big factor by just being able to get out on the lake with the nets. and time of year. metro or wilderness most surveys are conducted in the months of june-july-august and many species of fish(brook trout) maybe belly on the bottom at those times of the year , thus not really getting a good indication on population or stocking survival . the best 1 i experienced was Jasper lake , a survey was done in 1972 and 1992 1972 : 5 lake trout 1 pike 4 walleyes 1992 : 5 lake trout 2 walleyes 0 pike doesnt sound like a very good lake at all, and for the most part after the fire it has turned into more of a 1 night camping/pass through lake then a destination to fish. but i/we did a trip into jasper 2013 and i quit counting lakers after we had caught like 40 of them (all about that same size #2 1/2-3lbs range) , one 40" pike. and a group i know went in like june ?? and didnt catch a lot of walleyes but the one's they caught were respectable size and all they did was jig around the only island on the lake. So take the information for what it is (a tool) and sometimes it can just be bad timing like a cold front moved in a shut down all fishing. it does happen even on primo lakes. and as far as size of lake trout in the BWCA , lakes that dont have a good forage base like knife-seagull-basswood , lakers just dont get very big , most of them are feeding off of Crustacean, and their meat can become close to brook trout red , (pic included) and very tasty |
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SouthernExposure |
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