Pancore Lake

How big is Pancore Lake?

How deep is Pancore Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Pancore Lake?

What are the closest cities to Pancore Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Pancore Lake?

Pancore Lake has been managed for stream trout since 1956, and was last reclaimed in 1959. Many species have been stocked, including rainbow and brook trout, coho salmon, and splake. Only splake have been stocked since 2003. The long range goal for the splake population (from the 2001 lake management plan) is to maintain average or better splake abundance compared to other stream trout lakes in the Grand Marais area, with some potential to produce larger fish.

The 2012 assessment was the third of three scheduled in the 2001 management plan to monitor attainment of the long range goal, and to evaluate splake stocking success. The first assessment (in 2004) was completed as planned, but the second was canceled due to a shortage of staff and funds. Results of the 2004 and 2012 assessments will be used to review and revise the lake management plan in March 2014.

Splake were present in average numbers in Pancore Lake in 2012, with some larger fish available to anglers. The splake gill net catch fell within the normal range (2.75-14.25 fish/set) for fall assessments of stream trout lakes in the Grand Marais area, and included fish as large as 17.9 inches. The 2012 catch may have failed to meet the long range goal for this lake, in terms of numbers of fish; however, size goals for the population were met. Gill net catches can be highly variable when only two sets are used (as was the case in 2012), and the catch goal was met in the previous assessment. All of the splake collected in 2012 were two- or three-year-old fish from stockings done in 2010 or 2009. Growth of two-year-old splake had been somewhat slower than average; they reached a mean length of 8.3 inches at the end of their second year, compared to an area average of 9.6 inches. Growth of three-year-old fish seemed to have been faster. The failure to collect any one-year-old splake in this assessment may mean that the 2011 fingerling stocking failed, since some fish from that stocking should have been large enough to have been sampled by the gill nets used in the fall of 2012.

No white sucker were taken in 2012; however, the species has at times been abundant in this lake, and some were likely still present in 2012. No management actions have been taken to reduce white sucker abundance in this lake. Slow growth of splake taken in this lake may have been due in part to the presence of white sucker, which compete with splake for invertebrate forage. No other undesirable fish species were found in Pancore lake, nor were any known to have been present based on past assessment results.

Are there any state parks near Pancore Lake?