Grassy Lake

How big is Grassy Lake?

How deep is Grassy Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Grassy Lake?

What are the closest cities to Grassy Lake?

Are there boat launches on Grassy Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Grassy Lake?

Grassy Lake is a 257 acre lake located 7 miles north of Ely. The lake has three accesses with the main access being a 1/4 mile portage from a small parking area off the Grassy Lake Rd to the northern most part of the lake. A water route access exists from Low Lake through the Range River, up Grassy Creek, and over a small portage to the southeast bay of Grassy Lake. The third access is a 200 yard portage to Tee Lake near Grassy's northwest end. The lake has a maximum depth of 15 feet and brown bog-stained water.

On July 15, 2019 Grassy Lake was thermally stratified with a surface temperature of 77 F and a bottom temperature of 60 F. Oxygen levels were adequate for gamefish to a depth of 11 feet. Grassy has five small inlets and one outlet. The inlets all drain from nearby small lakes or wetlands. Grassy Creek is the lone outlet exiting out the lake's southeast side on its way to the Range River before heading north to Range Lake and then Basswood Lake. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline are mostly boulder and ledge rock with muck in the bays. Aquatic vegetation is substantial in some of the bays and generally grows to around 5 feet deep. Remnant dead heads can be found throughout the lake but are more congregated in the outlet bay. Lake levels are prone to fluctuations due to beaver activity near the outlet. Nearly the entire lakeshore is US Forest Service owned land except for one private parcel on the lake's northeast corner. There are two Forest Service maintained campsites on the lake.

The lake has only been stocked with black crappie, largemouth bass, and smallmouth bass. The last stocking event took place in 1954.

The overall gillnet catch rate from this survey for all fish combined was 12.7 fish/net which was the second highest catch rate for Grassy Lake. Fish species sampled were northern pike, bluegill, smallmouth bass, black crappie, yellow perch, and largemouth bass. Trap nets caught fish at an overall rate of 32.2 fish/net which was the highest catch rate on record for the lake. Bluegill were the most abundant species caught in trap nets with no additional species sampled that weren't already observed in the gill nets.

The northern pike gillnet catch rate was 5.5 fish/net which was second best out of the five surveys on Grassy Lake and above average compared to other similar lakes in the state. Sizes were decent with a range from 16 to 32 inches and an average of 22 inches, which was the highest on record for the lake.

Nine smallmouth bass were captured in gill nets for a catch rate of 1.5 fish/net. This was below average compared to other similar lakes in the state, but by far the highest catch rate on record for Grassy. This catch rate was also quite good when compared to other smallmouth lakes in the Tower area. Sizes were very impressive with an average of nearly 17 inches and the largest fish measuring 18.5 inches. Ages ranged from 6 to 10 years old.

A total of six largemouth bass were captured, three from each net type. The gill net catch rate of 0.5 fish/net was better than average compared to other similar lakes. Lengths ranged from 9 to 20 inches with an average of 14 inches. The largest fish sampled in the trap nets weighed just over 5.5 pounds. Aging fish based on scales can be difficult on large old fish, so the maximum age of some of the larger bass was not known.

The bluegill trapnet catch was 25.6 fish/net which was the highest on record for the lake and well above average compared to other similar lakes, and other lakes in the area. Sizes ranged from 4 to over 9 inches with an average of just over 6 inches. Ages ranged from 2 to 11 years old with several strong year classes. Growth rates appear quite good however, it still takes 6 years for the average bluegill to reach 7 inches. Catch and release is encouraged especially on fish over 8 inches long.

The black crappie trapnet catch was 3.9 fish/net which was above average compared to other similar lakes. Lengths ranged from 5 to 12 inches with an average of 8 inches. Ages ranged from 2 to 8 years with strongest year class coming from 2015. Growth rates are average compared to other crappie lakes in the area. As is the case with bluegill, catch and release is strongly encouraged for black crappie, especially on the larger sized fish.

The yellow perch catch rate was 0.8 fish/gill net which was below average for the lake. A total of 10 perch were sampled with an average length of 6.5 inches and a max of 9 inches.

What is the average air temp for Grassy Lake?

Are there any state parks near Grassy Lake?