Buck Lake

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Buck Lake is a 492-acre lake in eastern Itasca County within the Mississippi River watershed. Buck Lake is located 10 miles north of Nashwauk, MN. The lake has a maximum depth of 31 ft and 180 littoral acres. There is a concrete ramp on the southwest shore. Walleye gill-net catch was 3.4/net, which was within the expected range of similar lakes and was the highest catch rate ever sampled on Buck Lake. Catch rates in past assessments have varied from 0 to 2.3/net. Size structure was good with fish up to 27 inches sampled. Growth was higher than the statewide average for ages 1 to 5 and similar to the average for ages 6 to 10. Fify-six percent of the walleye sampled in Buck Lake were from the 2000 year class. Walleye sampled in this assessment were the result of natural reproduction, since walleye have not been stocked since 1985. Early walleye stocking was done to establish a self-sustaining population. Based on this assessment, it appears that natural reproduction is sustaining a quality walleye population. The northern pike gill-net catch declined from previous assessments to 5.8/net, which was within the expected range for similar lakes. Catch rates in the past two assessments were 11.9 and 17.6/net. It is desirable to have a decline in northern pike catch rates, because abundant northern pike populations often exhibit poor size structure, poor growth, and reduce prey abundance such as yellow perch. Size structure was poor with few fish exceeding 24 inches. Growth was similar to the statewide average with fish reaching 23 inches by age 6. The yellow perch gill-net catch was 2.8/net, which was below the expected range for similar lakes. Catch rates in past assessments have been consistently low varying from 1.1 to 10.4/net. Size structure was poor with no fish exceeding 9 inches. Low yellow perch abundance is a concern, because they are a preferred prey species for walleye and northern pike. The bluegill trap-net catch was 17.9/net, which was within the expected range for similar lakes. Catch rates in past assessments varied from 4.1 to 37.3/trap net. Size structure was very poor with only one fish exceeding 8 inches. Growth was similar to the lake class average with fish growing to 7 inches by age 7. The black crappie gill-net catch was 2.0/net, which was within the expected range for similar lakes. Catch rates in past assessments varied from 0.3 to 25.6/net. Size structure was good with fish up to 12 inches sampled. Scales were not collected for age and growth analysis. Electrofishing sampled 114 largemouth bass for a catch rate of 85.5/hour, which represents an abundant population compared to area lakes. A previous assessment in 1996 sampled 9 largemouth bass for a catch rate of 6.9/hour. The difference in catch rates is likely due to differences in electrofishing gear and timing of the survey, rather than a large increase in abundance. Size structure was moderate with a few fish exceeding 15 inches. Fish varied in length from 3 to 19 inches. Growth was similar to the statewide average with fish growing to 16 inches by age 7. Other species sampled include white sucker, rock bass, pumpkinseed sunfish, and common shiner. In order to maintain or improve fish and wildlife populations, water quality and habitat must be protected. People often associate water quality problems with large-scale agricultural, forestry, urban development or industrial practices in the watershed. In reality, the impact of land use decisions on one lake lot may be relatively small, yet, the cumulative impact of those decisions on many lake lots can result in a significant decline in water quality and habitat. For example, removing shoreline and aquatic vegetation, fertilizing lawns, mowing to the waters edge, installing beach sand blankets, failing septic systems and uncontrolled run-off, all contribute excess nutrients and sediment, which degrade water quality and habitat. Understanding these cumulative impacts and taking steps to avoid or minimize them will help to insure our quality fisheries can be enjoyed by future generations.

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