Blueberry Lake

How big is Blueberry Lake?

How deep is Blueberry Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Blueberry Lake?

What are the closest cities to Blueberry Lake?

Are there boat launches on Blueberry Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Blueberry Lake?

Blueberry Lake is a 125 acre lake located 7 miles south of Ely. The lake has one access which is a ramp on the outlet of the lake with the main lake located just upstream. Blueberry has a maximum depth of 6 feet and dark brown bog-stained water.

On July 10, 2020 Blueberry Lake was thermally mixed with a surface temperature of 76 F and a bottom temperature of 75 F. Oxygen levels were adequate throughout the water column. Blueberry has been known to experience winterkills on occasion. The lake has three inlets, two of which drain local swamps and one that originates from Canary Lake to the west. Beaver dams in the inlets limit fish movement and the outlet flows to the Bear Island River. The entire lakeshore is in state or federal ownership however there are two private parcels on the lake's north tip that come close to touching the lakeshore.

The overall gillnet catch rate for all fish combined was 29.0 fish/net which was the highest catch rate on record for Blueberry Lake. Fish species sampled were yellow perch, northern pike, white sucker, brown bullhead, and bluegill. Trap nets caught fish at an overall rate of 22.1 fish/net which was also the highest catch rate on record for the lake. Additional fish species sampled in trap nets were black crappie, golden shiner, largemouth bass, and walleye.

The northern pike gillnet catch was 9.5 fish/net which was second highest out of the five surveys on Blueberry and very good compared to other similar lakes. Lengths ranged from 10.5 to 22 inches with an average of 17 inches, which was the lowest average size on record for the lake. The max length was also the lowest on record for the lake.

The bluegill trapnet catch was 6.4 fish/net which was the second highest on record for the lake and good compared to other similar lakes. Sizes were impressive with an average of 8 inches. Both the average and max length from this survey were on par with previous surveys on Blueberry Lake. Ages ranged from 4 to 9 years old with strong representation from the 2015 year class. On average, a four year old bluegill was 6.5 inches long, which was a good growth rate compared to other bluegill lakes in the Tower area.

The black crappie trapnet catch was 4.8 fish/net which was good compared to other similar lakes and the highest on record for Blueberry. Lengths ranged from 4 to nearly 13 inches with an average of nearly 8 inches. This average length was slightly below the lakes historic average of 9 inches.

The yellow perch catch rate was 13.0 fish/gill net which was above average compared to other similar lakes and similar to past surveys on Blueberry Lake. Sizes were generally small with a range of 3 to 10 inches and an average of 7.5 inches.

This survey also sampled largemouth bass and brown bullhead officially for the first time in Blueberry Lake. Largemouth bass were reported in the past by local anglers but had not been sampled in DNR nets. The one nearly 26 inch walleye sampled in a trap net was the largest walleye caught in all surveys of Blueberry Lake.

What is the average air temp for Blueberry Lake?

Are there any state parks near Blueberry Lake?