Mink

Mink Lake is a small, 57-acre lake with a maximum depth of 15 feet and is located approximately 12 miles northeast of Grand Marais. There is a small carry-in access located on the east side of the lake, as well as a wooden fishing pier off Trout Lake Road. Mink Lake is a designated stream trout lake and has been actively stocked with rainbow trout and splake since 1992. In 2024, a standard survey was conducted in the fall using standard trap nets to assess the current fish community and evaluate the success of rainbow trout and splake stocking efforts. Rainbow trout are the primary management species within Mink Lake and are stocked annually. Rainbow trout abundance was higher than previous surveys and above the management goal of 0.8 fish/net. Rainbow trout ranged from 11.0 to 14.7 inches with no larger fish found. Size and age information suggested that two stocked year classes of rainbow trout were present in the lake. Based on the catch rates and size structure of fish, anglers should expect to catch average amounts of eater sized rainbow trout from Mink Lake. Splake have been stocked annually in Mink Lake and catches from the 2024 survey remained high and exceeded management goals. Splake ranged between 7.2 to 19.8 inches, with the largest fish aged at 5 years old. Aging results showed five stocked year classes present within Mink Lake and specifically, strong year classes from 2022 and 2023. Mink Lake has historically been known to grow good sizes of splake and anglers looking to target splake in the lake will have the opportunity catch good numbers of eater sized fish and a chance at catching a memorable sized fish based on the results from the 2024 survey. Minnesota Lakes within Cook County continue to be susceptible to aquatic invasive species introductions. Invasive species have the potential to significantly alter fish communities and overall lake health. Anglers should clean watercraft and fishing gear, drain all water, and dispose of unused bait in the trash to prevent accidental introductions to these pristine waters within this part of the state.

Mink Lake is a small designated stream trout lake, managed for stream trout since the 1930s. It has been reclaimed several times to remove undesirable fish species, with the last reclamation done in the fall of 2014 to remove yellow perch and rock bass. The lake is currently stocked annually with yearling rainbow trout in the spring, and fingerling splake in the fall. Management goals from the current (2019) lake management plan (LMP) are to maintain a rainbow trout population with a minimum trap net catch of 0.8 fish/set, with two year classes present, and maintain a splake population with a minimum trap net catch of 1.7 fish/set, with at least two catchable-sized (over 10 inch) year classes present. This was the first standard survey completed on Mink Lake since the 2014 reclamation. It was one of three standard surveys scheduled in the 2019 LMP to determine whether goals in the lake for rainbow trout and splake could be met under the current stocking regime, and to monitor the lake for the reintroduction of any undesireable fish species. No undesirable fish species were taken in this survey, and it appeared that goals for the fishery probably could be met under the current stocking regime. Splake appeared to have been abundant in the fall of 2020, and fish as large as 20.7 inches were found. Fewer rainbow trout were captured, but rainbow trout catches in all sampling gears tend to be low. The splake trap net catch was well above the goal set in the 2019 LMP, while the rainbow trout catch fell just below the goal for that species. The splake catch was high compared to other stream trout lakes in this area, well above the normal range of 0.60 - 3.24 fish/set for stream trout lakes in this area. Although the rainbow trout catch did not meet the plan goal, it still fell within the normal range (0.40 - 2.24 fish/set) for catches in lakes in this area. Catches for both species included two or more year classes of catchable-sized fish, with splake as old as age-5 taken. Most of the rainbow trout taken were survivors from the spring 2020 yearling stocking, but one two-year-old fish stocked in 2019 was also collected. Splake growth had been fairly fast. Fish reached a mean length of 11.8 inches at the end of their second year, compared to an area average of 9.5 inches. A creel survey done on Mink Lake in January-March 2020 showed the lake supported fairly high winter fishing pressure. Winter anglers enjoyed good success, catching relatively high numbers of splake, as well as a few rainbow trout.

Mink is a designated stream trout lake, managed for Rainbow Trout and Splake. It was rehabilitated using rotenone in the fall of 2014. This targeted survey was done in response to angler reports of large numbers of minnows in the lake. All fish species should have been removed in the 2014 rehabilitation, and at the time, we were confident they were. This survey found very large numbers of minnows in Mink Lake. The catch was dominated by Fathead Minnow, at levels over 10 times higher than normal for this sampling gear in the Grand Marais area. None of the minnow species taken in this survey had been found in the last survey of this lake done using 0.25-in-mesh trap nets (September 2013), suggesting fish taken in 2016 had been introduced, probably via bait buckets, rather than surviving the rehabilitation. Use or possession of live minnows is not allowed on Mink Lake, and the violation of that rule opens the door to the possibility that other bait buckets may contain more damaging species, like Yellow Perch, Rock Bass, or Smallmouth Bass. The 2014 rehabilitation was done to remove Yellow Perch and Rock Bass, and it was encouraging that neither species was found in this survey. However, if undesirable species once again become established in Mink Lake, reduced funding for the Section of Fisheries means we may lack the ability to do another rehabilitation to remove them. Although Rainbow Trout and Splake were not targeted by this survey, it offered some insight into performance of trout stocked since the rehabilitation. Based on their lengths, Rainbow Trout taken in this survey came from yearling stockings done in 2015 and 2016. Fish stocked in 2015 (two years old in 2016) were 14-17 inches in length, and seemed to have been present in good numbers, suggesting excellent growth and good survival since they were stocked. All Splake taken in this survey had been stocked in the fall of 2015. It appeared that most would not be large enough to be of much interest to anglers until the end of the 2016 growing season, but high numbers of minnows should fuel good Splake growth.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Yellow Perch, Splake, Rainbow Trout, and Brook Trout in Mink. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

Minnesota DNR records list public access for Mink. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for the launch type and directions before you go.

Mink has a maximum depth of 15 feet and a mean depth of 10.3 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Mink is from 2013. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

No invasive species are on record for Mink in Minnesota DNR data. Always clean, drain, and dry your equipment to help keep it that way.