North Star Lake

How big is North Star Lake?

How deep is North Star Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in North Star Lake?

Are there boat launches on North Star Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near North Star Lake?

What are the fishing regulations for North Star Lake?

There are specific fishing regulations North Star Lake that you need to know. For complete fishing regulations visit the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. To report a violation call (800) 652-9093. Need a Minnesota fishing license?

What aquatic invasive species are found in North Star Lake?

The 2023 Lake Management Plan (LMP) identified Muskie as a primary management species. Muskie are difficult to sample using standard summer survey methods because they exist at such low densities. Therefore, spring surveys target Muskies when they are concentrated in the shallows, in response to warming waters and the spawn. The LMP goal for Muskie is to maintain an estimated population of 200 to 250 adults greater than or equal to 30 inches.

North Star Lake was included in broader Predator Bioenergetics and Diet projects in 2022, led by the MN DNR Fisheries Research and Bemidji State University. The Grand Rapids Area office led the large-framed trap netting, and helped with electrofishing and coordination. Three adult Muskie population estimates were calculated from the data set in 2022 (199, 241 and 284). The average of the estimates translate into one adult Muskie for every 4.7 acres.

In an attempt to evaluate or authenticate the 2022 population estimates, additional estimate methods were employed in 2023. A Year-to-Year estimate was calculated using spring, night electrofishing in 2023 as the recapture effort and the 2022 adults as the marked population. A total of 127 unique adults were sampled in 2022 and used as the marked population.

North Star Lake became ice-free on May 6, 2023. Muskie were sampled using night electrofishing on May 11, 16, 19 and 20. Because the population estimate was calculated for the entire lake, the sampling effort and the fish captured were well distributed around the lake to reduce potential biases. A total of 66 different fish were sampled, of which 6 were juveniles. A total of 60 adults were used from the recapture effort when calculating population estimates. The sex ratio was skewed toward males (N=49) compared to females (N=11).

Population estimates were calculated by combining all the sampled Muskie and by separating the sexes. The number of recaptured males was 25 of 49 Muskie sampled (51%). The number of recaptured females was 4 of 11 Muskie sampled (36%). The combining of males and females resulted in 127 marked fish in 2022, with 29 recaptures of the 60 fish sampled in 2023. The estimate was 259 adults. Calculating sex-specific estimates used 78 adult males and 36 females from 2022 as the marked populations. The sex-specific marked samples were lower than the combined sample because sex was not determined for all the fish in 2022. The male estimate was 151 while the female estimate was 88. Adding the male and female estimates resulted in 239 adults.

Including anglers can sometimes provide useful data and insight into population estimate methods. A few anglers participated in recording their Muskie catches in 2023. Angler catches throughout the season were considered the recapture effort and the 2022 adults (n = 127) were used as the marked population. The anglers captured 18 Muskies of which 8 were recaptures from the 2022 marking. The estimate was 269 adults.

Multiple year population estimates can sometimes reduce the potential for biases associated with fish movement, particularly related to the timing and seasonal weather patterns within one spring. Estimates from both years were derived for the spring 2022 population because that was the period of the marking. The estimates calculated in 2022 ranged from 199 to 284 and had a mean of 241 adults while the estimates using the 2023 recapture period ranged from 239 to 269 and had a mean of 255 adults. Results from the second year of estimates provides confidence the adult population was near 250 adults or approximately one adult for every 5 acres.

What is the average air temp for North Star Lake?

Are there any state parks near North Star Lake?