Cadotte Lake

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What kind of fish can you catch in Cadotte Lake?

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Cadotte Lake is a 325 acre lake with 230 (71%) littoral acres and a maximum depth of 18 feet. The lake is located near Fairbanks, MN and lies within the Superior National Forest. The public access is located on the west side of the lake through the U.S. Forest Service campground. Walleye is the primary management species and yellow perch is the secondary management species. Cadotte was last surveyed in 2003. Cadotte was assessed during the summer of 2011 to update information about fish populations.

Walleye abundance of 18.2 per gillnet lift was up from 2003 (14.1) and above average compared to other Minnesota lakes of similar type. Walleye average length was 14.6 inches and growth was slow compared to other Duluth Area lakes. All year-classes from 2001 through 2010 were represented with strong 2006 and 2009 year-classes. One other specimen was captured from the 1995 year-class. In conjunction with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, a walleye population estimate was derived. The estimate was 5,390 walleyes greater than 10 inches in Cadotte Lake.

Yellow perch abundance of 54.1 per gillnet lift was up from 2003 (21.8) and was above average compared to other Minnesota lakes of similar type. Yellow perch average length was 7.5 inches and growth was fast compared to other Duluth Area lakes. All year-classes from 2004 through 2010 were represented. Two other older perch were captured, one from 1997 and the other from the 2001 year-class.

Northern pike abundance of 0.9 per gillnet lift was up from 2003 (0.4) and below average compared to other Minnesota lakes of similar type. Northern pike average length was 24.8 inches but not enough individuals were sampled to evaluate stock density or growth. All year-classes from 2006 to 2009 were represented.

Bluegill abundance of 0.8 per trapnet lift was up from 2003 (0.7) and was below average when compared to other Minnesota lakes of similar type. Average length of sampled bluegills was 4.6 inches but not enough individuals were sampled to evaluate stock density or growth. Bluegill from the 2003, 2007 and 2010 year-classes were sampled.

One small largemouth bass (4.9 inches) was sampled with electrofishing equipment. The catch rate of largemouth bass was 1.5 fish per hour of electrofishing on-time. No prior largemouth bass electrofishing assessments have been conducted on Cadotte Lake. One other 7.8 inch largemouth bass was captured in a trapnet. Not enough individuals were captured to evaluate stock density or growth. Largemouth bass had not been sampled in any of the last nine investigations since 1958.

Other fish species sampled include burbot, Iowa darter, Johnny darter, mottled sculpin, common shiner, golden shiner, pumpkinseed and white sucker.

Cadotte Lake was included in an index of biotic integrity (IBI) assessment in 2011. In addition to standard gillnets and trapnets, beach seines and backpack electrofishing equipment were used to index species richness of the nearshore lake habitat.

What is the average air temp for Cadotte Lake?