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| Nearest Town: 1 m N & 1 m W of Iron Junction Primary County: St. Louis |
Survey Date: 05/02/2005 Inventory Number: 69-1329-00 |
| Ownership | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| County | Carry-in | 1/2 mile portage across County land on old logging road off Co. Rd. #315 |
| County | Carry-in | 100 yard portage from Elbow Lake (County access, earthen ramp on Elbow L). |
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Lake Area (acres): 5.80 |
Dominant Bottom Substrate: N/A |
| Did you know? Habitat acquisition of lands next to lakes and streams protects spawning areas and shoreline vegetation, and it increases access to fishing waters. |
| Species | Number of fish per net | Average Fish Weight (lbs) |
Normal Range (lbs) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caught | |||||
| Rainbow Trout | Gill net | 1.5 | N/A - N/A | 1.29 | N/A - N/A |
| Species | Number of fish caught in each category (inches) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-5 | 6-8 | 9-11 | 12-14 | 15-19 | 20-24 | 25-29 | 30+ | Total | |
| Rainbow Trout | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| For the record, the largest Flathead Catfish taken in Minnesota weighed 70 lbs. and was caught:
When: 1970 |
Fish Stocked by Species for the Last Ten Years
| Year | Species | Size | Number | Pounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Rainbow Trout | yearlings | 240 | 85.4 |
| 2009 | Rainbow Trout | yearlings | 240 | 88.9 |
| 2008 | Rainbow Trout | yearlings | 240 | 85.4 |
| 2007 | Rainbow Trout | yearlings | 240 | 87.3 |
| 2006 | Rainbow Trout | yearlings | 240 | 89.9 |
| 2005 | Rainbow Trout | yearlings | 241 | 87.0 |
| 2004 | Rainbow Trout | yearlings | 241 | 73.0 |
| 2003 | Rainbow Trout | yearlings | 233 | 75.0 |
| Privately Stocked Fish |
|---|
| * indicates privately stocked fish. Private stocking includes fish purchased by the DNR for stocking and fish purchased and stocked by private citizens and sporting groups. |
| Stocking Fish Sizes |
|---|
| Fry - Newly hatched fish that are ready to be stocked usually called "swim-ups". Walleye fry are 1/3 of an inch or around 8 mm. |
| Fingerling - Fingerlings are one to six months old and can range from a size of one to twelve inches depending on the species. Walleye fingerlings range from three to eight inches each fall. |
| Yearling - Yearling fish are at least one year old. A one-year-old fish can range from three to twenty inches depending on the species. Walleye yearlings average from six to twelve inches. |
| Adult - Adult fish are fish that have reached maturity. Depending on the species, maturity can be reached at two years of age. Walleye reach maturity between the ages of four and six years. |
No fish consumption guidelines are available for this lake. For more information, see the "Fish Consumption Advice" pages at the Minnesota Department of Health.
Little Elbow Lake is in Ecological Lake Class 9, which consists of 48 lakes in northeast Minnesota that are very small and have very soft (unmineralized) water. Little Elbow Lake is thermally stratified in midsummer with surface temperatures about 70 F and bottom temperatures in the low 40's F. Good oxygen for trout (more than 5 ppm) is retained to about 13 ft, where the temperature is in the mid 50's F. Little Elbow Lake has no inlets or outlets. A bog and sweetgale fringe over a muck and silt substrate rings the shoreline. Aquatic plants are sparse.
Largemouth bass, northern pike, and yellow perch were present prior to their removal with rotenone in 1969. Rainbow trout fingerlings were stocked in 1964 and 1965. Annual rainbow trout stocking began in 1971 and continues to the present time. About 500 rainbow trout fingerlings (5" long) were stocked each fall from 1992 through 2002. About 250 rainbow trout yearlings (9" long) were stocked annually each spring from 2003 through 2005. The change from fingerling stocking to yearling stocking was done in an effort to provide larger fish for anglers and because high catches of rainbow trout were made in the 1977 and 1979 assessments after rainbow yearlings were stocked in addition to fingerlings prior to these assessments. Nine trout population assessments have been conducted on Little Elbow Lake since the 1969 rotenone treatment.
Rainbow trout numbers in 2005 (1.5/gillnet) were lower than the median catch of 4.0/gillnet in all six trout assessments following rainbow trout fingerling-only stockings on this lake. Rainbow trout weight in 2005 (1.9 lb/gillnet) was lower than the median catch of 2.7 lb/gillnet in these same six trout assessments on this lake. It should be noted that the 2005 trout assessment occurred in early May, prior to the May 19 rainbow trout yearling stocking, and almost a year after the yearling stocking the previous May. The rainbow trout captured in 2005 had survived the previous summer's angling season. Previous trout assessments on this lake, also done in late May or early June, were done seven months after the previous October rainbow trout fingerling stockings, and prior to the trout being exposed to the summer angling season.
The average size of rainbow captured in 2005 (14.4") was larger than the average size of 11.0" in all six trout assessments on this lake following rainbow fingerling-only stockings. The largest rainbow captured in 2005 (15.7") was larger than all but one of the rainbow trout captured in all eight previous trout assessments on this lake. Trout stomachs examined in 2005 contained amphipods and minnows.
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For more information on this lake, contact:
Area Fisheries Supervisor | Lake maps can be obtained from: Minnesota Bookstore |
For general DNR Information, contact: DNR Information Center 500 Lafayette Road St. Paul, MN 55155-4040 TDD: (651) 296-6157 or (888) MINNDNR Internet: www.dnr.state.mn.us E-Mail: info.dnr@state.mn.us |  Turn in Poachers (TIP):Toll-free: (800) 652-9093 |
