Gillis Lake

How big is Gillis Lake?

How deep is Gillis Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Gillis Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Gillis Lake?

Gillis Lake is a classic deep, clear Canadian Shield lake, located deep inside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. It is considered a Class 1 with Lake Trout listed as the primary management species in the current (2016) lake management plan. Management goals for Lake Trout in this lake are to maintain a minimum gill net catch of 2.0 fish/set (deep and shallow combined), with at least three year classes of mature fish present. This was the first of two surveys scheduled in the 2016 plan to monitor fish populations in this important native Lake Trout lake. The last survey of Gillis Lake was done in 1997.

Lake Trout appeared to have been abundant in Gillis Lake in 2017, and, while very few large fish were present, plenty of 15-20 fish were found. The 2017 Lake Trout gill net catch (6.67 fish/set) easily exceeded the long range goal for the lake, as did the number of mature year classes sampled. The 2017 catch was the highest seen to date in Gillis Lake, and was above the normal range for Class 1 lakes. Lake Trout ranged in length from 9.5 to 25.3 inches, with most in the 15 to 20-inch length range. Sizes seen in 2017 were similar to those seen in this lake in past surveys. Sixteen year classes, including fish up to 22 years of age, contributed to the catch. Lake Trout growth had been slow; fish reached a mean length of 14.7 inches at the end of their seventh year, compared to an area average of 18.1 inches in Class 1 lakes. Slow growth has been common in lakes like Gillis, where cold-water forage fish are lacking and Lake Trout rely heavily on invertebrate forage.

Lake Trout taken in this survey appeared to have been feeding mostly on small aquatic invertebrates, although a few stomachs holding fish or fish remains were observed. A few Burbot and sculpin were available as cold-water forage, but few Lake Trout seemed to have found them.

White Sucker appeared to have been abundant but small in 2017. The gill net catch was the highest seen to date in this lake, while the mean weight for fish taklen in gill nets was the lowest. From the length frequency distribution of the catch it seemed that both were due to the presence of a strong recent year class that had produced an unusually large number of fish in the six-to-seven-inch size range. Smaller White Sucker could provide forage for Lake Trout at certain times of the year, although none were seen in Lake Trout stomachs during this survey.

The low Yellow Perch catch seen in 2017 was typical for this lake, and for Class 1 lakes in general. Northern Pike are also present in Gillis Lake, although none were sampled in 2017 and their numbers are likely very low. Walleye and Smallmouth Bass are not native to lakes in this area, and to date none have been found in Gillis Lake or any other lakes in its vicinity.

Six sites were selected and sampled with a 15-foot, eighth-inch-mesh seine to provide some information on the nearshore fish community in this lake. Sample sites where chosen where conditions would allow the crew to safely walk, and where the seine could be pulled over a relatively snag free bottom. In those areas, at least, small fish seemed to have been scarce. In total seining sampled 12 Iowa Darters and seven Bluntnose Minnows.