Ensign Lake

How big is Ensign Lake?

How deep is Ensign Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Ensign Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Ensign Lake?

Ensign Lake is in Ecological Lake Class 7, which consists of 41 lakes in northeast Minnesota that have very soft (unmineralized) water and very irregular shoreline shapes. Ensign Lake has clearer water than most of the lakes in this lake class.There are five inlets from other lakes; the major inlet is from Boot Lake and has rapids which prevent upstream fish movement. The outlet to Splash Lake has a rapids which is not a barrier to fish movement at high water. Lake bottom substrates in shallow-water are 60% rubble, 10% ledgerock, and 30% sand and muck. Plants are sparse and grow to a depth of 8 ft; pondweeds, waterlilies, and bulrush are the most common plants.Fish sampling in this fish population assessment consisted of 12 gillnet sets. Two previous investigations, dating back to 1974, consisted of 6-8 gillnet sets. Trapnets have not been used in this lake due to the difficult portage access.The total catch of fish (all species combined) in 2002 of 31 fish/gillnet (42.9 lb/gillnet) was in the third quartile for this lake class, and was similar to the median catch of 40.9 fish/gillnet (42.9 lb/gillnet) in all three investigations on this lake. Fish populations in 2002 were dominated by walleye, northern pike, white sucker, and cisco.Walleye numbers in 2002 (10.3/gillnet) were in the fourth quartile for this lake class and were higher than the median catch of 8.2/gillnet in all investigations on this lake. Walleye sizes in 2002 averaged 13.4" (0.9 lb), which was at the median for this lake class and was similar to the average size of 13.2" in all investigations on this lake. The largest walleye in 2002 was 24.9" (5.2 lb). Growth of walleye captured in 2002 was normal by area standards.Northern pike numbers in 2002 (5.2/gillnet) were in the fourth quartile for this lake class and were higher than the median catch of 1.6/gillnet in all investigations on this lake. Pike sizes in 2002 averaged 21.9" (2.7 lb), which was near the median for this lake class and was smaller than the average size of 26.0" in all investigations on this lake. The largest pike in 2002 was 38.6". Many of the pike captured in 2002 (54 percent) were age three, from the 1999 year class. Pike growth was normal by area standards.White sucker numbers in 2002 (5.8/gillnet) were in the third quartile for this lake class and were similar to the median catch of 5.6/gillnet in all investigations on this lake. Sucker sizes in 2002 averaged 16.5" (2.0 lb), which was in the third quartile for this lake class.Cisco numbers in 2002 (8.2/gillnet) were in the third quartile for this lake class and were lower than the median catch of 22.8/gillnet in all investigations on this lake. Cisco sizes in 2002 averaged 13.1" (1.0 lb), which was in the fourth quartile for this lake class and was larger than the average size of 11.4" in all investigations on this lake. The largest cisco in 2002 was 16.1".The fish examined in 2002 had very few parasites.Rusty crayfish (24.0/gillnet) and blue crayfish (0.8/gillnet) were reported for the first time during this investigation. No native crayfish were captured in the gillnets. Rusty and blue crayfish are native to States southeast of Minnesota. They are found in the Moose Lake chain of lakes and several other nearby lakes, and were probably introduced by anglers using them for bait. They are large and aggressive, and can destroy aquatic vegetation, displace native crayfish, eat fish and fish eggs, and make swimming unpleasant.

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