Obscure Lakes in Minnesota

Minnesota is known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes. According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources there are 11,842 lakes greater than 10 acres and 5,493 lakes are "fishable". So far I have fished 75 Minnesota lakes. If I were able to fish six days a week and visit a new lake each of those days, I could get through that "fishable" list in about 18 years. While I am up for the challenge, funding such an undertaking would be difficult. In addition, some of those lakes are remote and can only be reached by canoe and several days of travel. For now I will be content to add a few new waters to my list each year.

Some of the lakes I've fished, such as Vermilion and Mille Lacs, are well known to Minnesotans. Others such as Carlos, Shetek and Shagawa, are well known in their respective regions. There are other lakes that few people have heard of. Some of these obscure lakes have surprised me or provided fond memories and it is my hope to revisit them someday. So here is my "work in progress" list of obscure lakes in Minnesota. I offer this simply as a way to share some of my unexpected findings that others may find helpful. I hope I can add to this periodically, perhaps during a blizzard when I'm stuck at home.

Perent Lake

I read about Perent Lake in the Spring 2008 edition of the Boundary Waters Journal and later saw a few posts on it at hotspotoutdoors.com. It sounded like a relatively easy trip – a few miles down Hog Creek with some canoe pushing over beaver dams. That turned out to be true. The most difficult part of the journey was the lengthy drive over gravel roads to get to the access point.

Perent lake is over 1,500 acres with stained water. As I had read, the walleye fishing was good even though our trip was in early August. We also hooked into some allegedly large pike although I never got a chance to see them. My next trip will include some heavier tackle and leaders. I found this lake has numerous rock piles and large boulders that make for great walleye spots but we also needed to keep a constant watch to ensure the canoe didn't hit any that often came within inches of the water surface.

We examined two of the campsites and found plenty of room for tents, presumably due to high levels of use over the years. Our group had eight people in three tents and we had no problems finding space.

I've got some good fishing spots in the GPS now so I'll be going back to Perent Lake someday.

Hatchet Lake

I had seen Hatchet Lake on the map as an appendage to Hatchet Creek between Ima and Thomas Lake but never thought of it as a potential destination. A few years ago, we set out on a four night trip with the goal of camping on Ima, Thomas, or perhaps even Sagus Lake. By the time we reached Ima Lake it was mid afternoon and we had only passed one open campsite. It was also apparent that lots of other people were looking for campsites and the word from returning canoeists was that Thomas Lake campsites might also be full. As we portaged into Hatchet Creek from Ima, we sent our fastest paddlers out in front to try and secure a campsite on Hatchet Lake. As it turned out, they made it there just in time to grab one of the two sites.

While I wouldn't give the campsite more than three stars, it did have a nice location on the lake. A later examination of the other campsite revealed we had the better of the two. The other campsite would have been like pitching a tent on the moon, but with lots of wind.

The next day, a cool wind was steady from the west and we didn't want to chance trying to get across Thomas Lake or back into Ima so we decided to remain on Hatchet. My favorite camping activity is walleye fishing and I did not have high hopes of finding anything on Hatchet. However, a few minutes after trolling a Berkley Flicker Shad, my son provided our first glimmer of hope. It wasn't a large walleye, and the rest of the fish we caught were all in a 12 to 14 inch range.

According to the DNR Lake Finder, Hatchet is 126 acres with a maximum depth of 40 feet. The lake hasn't been surveyed since 1972, but apparently has a high number of walleye. It certainly wasn't a fishing bonanza, but there was enough action to keep me interested. Hatchet may not be a destination lake, but I will plan on using it as a stopover on future trips.

Nels Lake

Several years ago, I had planned to enter the BWCAW via Snowbank, camp on Disappointment Lake for three nights and then exit. This is usually a nice trip for families with young children. As we made our way to the north end of Disappointment Lake, we passed four other groups who indicated they were also seeking a campsite. They all reported that the campsites all the way to Ima Lake appeared filled. After some discussion, we decided to exit the BWCAW and look for other camping options.

The following day we received a good tip from the Kawishiwi Ranger District staff in Ely about a nice campsite on Nels Lake. Located north of Ely on the Echo Trail, Nels Lake is outside of the BWCAW and does not require a permit. There is a road to the lake and a short paddle to each of the three campsites.

This is a small lake at about 180 acres and a maximum depth of 30 feet. My recollection is that the main bay is mostly shallow at around 15 feet deep. The deeper water is in the east bay. Most of our fishing time was spent in the west bay. However, I passed over the deeper water and marked suspended fish on the sonar. I could never get them to bite and I suspect they were bluegills. Day time fishing was generally slow with morning and evenings providing good action. We caught and released several large bluegills along the lily pads. Fishing with leeches produced walleyes mostly in the 12 to 13 inch range. There was an excellent bite in the evening along areas of reeds using slip bobbers and leeches. The largest walleye was about 18 inches. The lake is periodically stocked with walleyes, according to the DNR Lake Finder.

The lake provided a nice alternative after our failed BWCAW trip. It wasn't a true wildreness experience though as motor boats appeared in the evening (an indication that the fishing must be worth the rugged drive in) and someone lit fireworks one night. I will plan to head back here with a canoe someday to further explore the bluegill and walleye action. I would recommend this as a good lake for introducing people to tent camping. The parking lot is just a quick paddle away.

Lake Sarah

With thousands of lakes in Minnesota, it's common to have several lakes all with the same name. There are five lakes named "Sarah" in Minnesota but the one I visited during February 2012 is located in Murray County. At 1,093 acres, this small lake is much like many other shallow lakes in southern Minnesota. What brought me to the lake was a desire to find lakes away from large population areas. Some research at the DNR's Lake Finder site revealed that Lake Sarah had a decent population of walleye and perch. The ice was about 9 inches thick so my exploring was all on foot and limited to the western side. There is not an over-abundance of lakeshore development and there are county parks at each end of the lake. The morning of my visit had been just below freezing temperature with a heavy fog. When the fog lifted at about noon I was treated to frost-covered trees rimming the lake.

The fishing proved to be worthwhile for a small lake although the majority of fish were small. Best of all, with only about a dozen other people on the lake...it was quiet.

Horse Lake

Horse Lake is located north of Ely in the BWCAW. It's an easy trip from the Mudro entry point with the exception of the first portage from Mudro Lake to Sandpit Lake. That portage is about 80 rods and has one of the steepest descents (or climbs depending on your direction) I have encountered. As is often the case, the report of walleye in this lake is what attracted me to it and I was able to find good action along several of the points. The lake is surrounded by steep hills and rock faces giving it an added sense of remoteness and ruggedness. A day trip up the Horse River provided an opportunity to wade through rapids and enjoy some gorgeous scenery. While we didn't travel the full distance, the river proceeds up to the Canadian border. Horse Lake is nearly three miles long so it "feels" quite a bit larger than its actual 680 acres.