Cherry Lake

How big is Cherry Lake?

How deep is Cherry Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Cherry Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Cherry Lake?

Cherry Lake is located within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) within the Superior National Forest and is a non-motorized lake. It is approximately 38 miles northeast of Ely. Accesses consist of a 7 rod portage from Topaz Lake on the southwest corner, a 45 rod portage to Lunar to the north, and a 110 rod portage to Hanson on the east side. BWCAW permits are required to visit Cherry through an official entry point and there are two U. S. Forest Service maintained campsites on the lake.

Cherry has two small inlets and one outlet which flows southwest to Topaz Lake. It is a 153 acre lake with a maximum depth of 100 feet and clear water.

On September 13, 2018 Cherry was thermally stratified with a surface temperature of 66 F and a bottom temperature of 40 F. Oxygen levels were adequate for trout and other gamefish to a depth of 63 feet. The shoreline is dominated by boulder and ledgerock. Aquatic plants were very sparse.

The overall deep water gillnet catch rate for all fish combined was 3.3 fish/net. Fish species sampled were cisco, burbot, and lake trout. The overall shallow water gillnet catch rate for all fish combined was 16.8 fish/net. Additional species sampled were walleye, white sucker, smallmouth bass, and yellow perch.

Two lake trout were sampled in deep water gillnets for a catch rate of 0.5 fish/net which was average for Cherry Lake but low compared to other lake trout lakes in the area. One additional fish was caught in the shallow gill nets. Lengths from all three fish ranged from 11.5 to 21 inches with an average of nearly 15 inches. Ages ranged from 6 to 10 years.

More cisco were caught in shallow nets than deep nets. The cisco catch rate was 11.8 fish/shallow net which overall is average compared to past surveys. Sizes ranged from 10 to 16 inches with an average of nearly 14 inches. On average, cisco caught in this survey were bigger than fish caught in previous assessments.

Six burbot were sampled in all nets for a catch rate of 0.8 fish/net which was higher than any previous catches from the lake and higher than average compared to other burbot lakes in the area. Lengths ranged from 11 to 18 inches with an average of nearly 15 inches. Ages ranged from 4 to 10 years.

Nine walleye were sampled in shallow gill nets for a catch rate of 2.3 fish/net which was low compared to past surveys on Cherry. Lengths ranged from 12 to just over 31 inches with an average over 20 inches. Ages ranged from 1 to 16.

Two smallmouth were sampled for the first time on Cherry. White sucker and yellow perch were also sampled in low numbers, both species had been sampled in previous surveys.

What is the average air temp for Cherry Lake?