Coe Lake

How big is Coe Lake?

How deep is Coe Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Coe Lake?

Are there boat launches on Coe Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Coe Lake?

Coe Lake is in Ecological Lake Class 13, which consists of 84 lakes in northeast Minnesota that are small, shallow, and have very soft (unmineralized) water. Coe Lake has water that is softer and darker (more bog-stained, due to tannic and humic acids) than most of the lakes in this lake class. Coe Lake ranks as mesotrophic-to-eutrophic on Carlson's Trophic State Index, but the very low total alkalinity (3 ppm) indicates limited chemical and biological productivity.

Coe Lake has no inlets or outlets. Aquatic plants grow to a depth of 8 ft, and about 15% of the lake is covered by floating-leaf or emergent plants; bladderwort, water shield, stonewort, and burreeds are the most common plants. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline are mostly muck, followed by sand and gravel.

Coe Lake was thermally stratified on 07/07/2008 with a surface temperature of 74 F and a bottom temperature of 55 F. Adequate oxygen for fish (more than 2 ppm) was retained to a depth of 9 ft, where the temperature was 68 F. Winter dissolved oxygen testing on 04/04/2008 indicated 2 ppm oxygen was retained to a depth of 6 ft and oxygen dropped below 1 ppm at 8 ft.

Coe Lake is surrounded on the east by State School Section land and on the west by County Tax-Forfeit land. Ten state leased cabin sites on the southeast bay were sold to the owners of the cabins some time ago. Two access sites on this portion of the lake were retained, including a gravel boat ramp and a picnic area with a carry-down boat access.

Fish populations in 2008 were sampled with two gillnets, nine standard trapnets, and four small mesh trapnets for catching small fish. Six previous fisheries investigations, dating back to 1961, used 2-4 gillnets and 3-17 standard trapnets. Small fish were sampled with shoreline seines in 1961, and small mesh trapnets in 1982 and 1986.

Fish populations in 2008, as in other recent investigations on this lake, were dominated by bluegill sunfish, northern pike, and yellow perch. Largemouth bass numbers were higher in 2008 than in previous investigations, although bass are "net shy" and difficult to accurately assess with standard sampling nets.

Bluegill sunfish were absent in the initial fisheries investigation in 1961 and low numbers of sunfish were stocked in 1963 (144 adults) and 1964 (150 yearlings). These introductions were successful, as high numbers of bluegill were captured in all subsequent investigations. Also captured in subsequent investigations were pumpkinseed sunfish, making it likely they were mixed in with the stocked bluegill. Bluegill numbers in 2008 (90.9/trapnet) were very high. Unlike some previous investigations where bluegill sizes were small, bluegill captured in 2008 were nice-sized and 24% were 8" or larger. Growth of bluegill captured in 2008 was somewhat faster than normal (in the third quartile) by area standards. Good bluegill reproduction occurs in most years in this lake.

No northern pike were captured in the gillnets in 2008, down from the median pike catch of 2.7/gillnet in all investigations on this lake. Only one pike was caught in the trapnets. We have no explanation for the apparent decline of the pike population in 2008, as pike are easily caught in gillnets when they are present.

Perhaps due to the decline in pike numbers, perch numbers in 2008 (13.0/gillnet) were higher than the median perch catch of 3.0/gillnet in all investigations on this lake. Perch are a primary prey for northern pike. Perch sizes in 2008 averaged 7.4" (0.17 lb), which was in the third quartile for this lake class. The largest perch was 9.1". Perch growth was slower than normal by area standards.

Largemouth bass numbers in 2008 (1.5/gillnet, 1.4/trapnet) were higher than normal for this lake class and were higher than in previous investigations on this lake. Bass from many year-classes were present, and bass growth was somewhat faster than normal by area standards.

Many of the game fish examined in 2008 were infected with neascus (black spot), and many of the perch were also infected with yellow grub. Neascus and yellow grub are common parasites that are native to the area. They cannot infect humans, are often removed by filleting fish, and are killed at temperatures used to cook fish.

In summary, Coe Lake has developed into a classic bass-panfish lake with quality-sized fish of each species present. The relative absence of northern pike and the higher perch population may help maintain the quality of the bluegill population by perch foraging on small bluegill.

What is the average air temp for Coe Lake?

Are there any state parks near Coe Lake?