North Shady

North Shady Lake is a small, 33-acre lake with a maximum depth of 20 feet. It is located approximately 25 miles northeast of Grand Marais off Shoe Lake Road (FR 313). Access to the lake is moderate via a short portage from nearby Greenwood Lake or a 0.1-mile trail from FR 313. North Shady Lake has historically been managed for stream trout since the 1970s. Multiple lake rehabilitation attempts have been made over the years to remove unwanted species and continue stream trout management and has had varying success. In 2024, a standard survey was conducted using gillnets and mini-fyke nets to evaluate brook trout stocking efforts and assess the current yellow perch population within the lake. The 2024 survey was the second survey conducted on North Shady Lake since the lake rehabilitation effort in 2016. Brook trout catches were low (1.0 fish/net) and did not meet the management goal of 5.0 fish/net. Only four brook trout were caught during the survey and all fish were smaller than 12.0 inches. North Shady Lake is not known to produce good numbers of big brook trout, but the 2024 catch was poor compared to historical records. Temperature and dissolved oxygen profiles observed in 2021 and 2024 indicated habitat limitations for brook trout that likely resulted in poor growth and survival. This has been common in recent surveys and suggests concerns for future stream trout management. It is highly unlikely that another lake rehabilitation effort will prevent North Shady Lake from being taken over by yellow perch in future years. Therefore, management for stream trout in North Shady Lake is no longer advised. Yellow perch were not completely removed from the lake during the last rehabilitation effort and abundance has increased significantly. The yellow perch catch rates were extremely high in both gill nets and mini-fyke nets. Yellow perch lengths ranged from 4.3 to 13.1 inches and averaged 6.7 inches. Yellow perch size structure was good, with 27% of the fish larger than 8.0 inches and 15% greater than 10.0 inches. Anglers looking to target yellow perch in North Shady Lake should find good numbers of catchable fish with the opportunity to catch jumbo sized perch as well. Golden shiners, green sunfish, and white suckers are also present in the lake at the time of the 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.

North Shady Lake lies within the Lake Superior North watershed, discharging to the Brule River via Greenwood Lake and the Greenwood River. The lake was first rehabilitated for stream trout management in 1969, and has been stocked with Brook Trout or Rainbow Trout since that time. Additional rehabilitations were done in 1988, 2003, and 2016, each targeting dense Yellow Perch populations. Brook Trout were stocked following the 2016 rehabilitation. The 2018 lake management plan (LMP) established a goal of maintaining a minimum gill net catch of Brook Trout of 5.0 fish/set, with some fish over 14 inches in length present. Standard surveys were scheduled for 2020, 2024, and 2028 to monitor the lake for the recurrence of any undesirable fish species. The 2020 survey was rescheduled to 2021 due to restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic. Yellow Perch have already become re-established in North Shady Lake, and they appear to have become abundant. An angling party reported catching several Yellow Perch in the lake in the fall of 2019. Those fish were large enough to suggest Yellow Perch had present for some time. This survey confirmed the presence of Yellow Perch, apparently in fairly high numbers. White Sucker, another species that is undesirable in a stream trout lake, were also found. Yellow Perch taken in gill nets in 2021 ranged in length from 5.9 to 10.6 inches. Large numbers of Yellow Perch were also taken in small-mesh mini-fyke trap nets; that catch included fish 3.0 to 13.0 inches in length. Yellow Perch and White Sucker compete with stocked trout for forage, and their presence in high numbers typically results in slow growth and poor survival of trout, with Yellow Perch producing the most severe effects. Brook Trout were also taken during the 2021 survey, and may have supported a fair trout fishery, with a few larger fish available. The gill net catch (4.00 fish/set) was similar to catches seen in this lake during past periods of high Yellow Perch abundance. Prior to this survey Brook Trout fingerlings had been stocked in 2017 and 2019. Both stockings contributed to the 2021 catch. Growth appeared to have been slow; two-year-old fish reached a mean length of just 7.4 inches at the end of their second year, compared to an area average 9.0 inches. Slow growth would have been the result of intense competition for forage with Yellow Perch, although poor summer temperature-oxygen conditions may have been a contributing factor. North Shady Lake has often exhibited marginal summer temperature-oxygen conditions for Brook Trout. The temperature-oxygen profile measured during this survey showed that by late June surface water temperatures had reached stressful levels for Brook Trout, while dissolved oxygen in the lake's colder, deeper waters had already declined significantly. A late-summer temperature-oxygen profile measured in 2020 on this lake failed to find conditions suitable for Brook Trout (water temperature 5 ppm) at any depth. Tolerable conditions (water temperature 5 ppm) were limited to depths of about five to nine feet. Our continued ability to manage this lake for stream trout is in doubt. The Brook Trout population observed in this survey would have provided some angling opportunity, but high numbers of Yellow Perch would have limited the growth and survival of stocked trout. Anglers would have to deal with high numbers of perch, while encountering few, and generally small, Brook Trout. Swift recoveries of the Yellow Perch population after the last two rehabilitations suggest that further attempts to reclaim the lake would not be cost-effective.

North Shady Lake was rehabilitated to remove yellow perch in 2003, and has been managed for rainbow trout since that time. Since 2004 the lake has been managed as a trophy trout lake. As such, it has been closed to winter fishing, and anglers in the summer have been limited to the use of artificial lures and flies only, with a single hook only (no live baits allowed). Few fishing reports have been received since 2004, but one of those (in 2007) indicated that fishing was poor and that yellow perch had returned. An assessment in 2011 found large numbers of yellow perch, and collecting just one rainbow trout. Yellow perch and white sucker were apparently abundant in North Shady Lake in 2014. Both species compete with rainbow trout for forage, and the larger yellow perch would have been capable of preying on the small rainbow trout fingerlings stocked in this lake in the spring. No rainbow trout were collected in 2014. Both access trails appeared to have seen little use, suggesting little use of the lake by anglers. North Shady Lake still seems to provide cool enough waters to support trout through the summer months. A temperature-oxygen profile measured on this lake in late August found conditions suitable for brook and rainbow trout from the surface to a depth of about nine feet, with dissolved oxygen dropping rapidly at depths below nine feet. Excellent temperature-oxygen conditions observed in North Shady Lake in 2014 may have been the result of generally cool air temperatures seen across NE Minnesota that year; however, a profile measured in late July 2011 also found conditions suitable for trout. Results of 2011 and 2014 assessments indicated management goals for this lake (and for the trophy trout program) were not met in North Shady Lake. The rainbow trout catch in 2011 consisted of a single age-1 fish, while no rainbow trout were taken in 2014. Rainbow trout can be difficult to sample, but catches in this lake in 2011 and 2014 were well below normal for fall assessments of stream trout lakes in this area. Survival of rainbow trout stocked since 2006 seemed to have been low, approaching zero. The strategy of stocking small spring fingerlings in this lake is not viable, given the presence of so many yellow perch. Management strategies for this lake will be reviewed; options for future management include stocking larger fish, stocking more frequently, discontinuing trout management, or another rehabilitation. Until a new strategy can be put in place, anglers on this lake should expect very poor rainbow trout fishing. Anglers willing to target perch may find better luck, since the lake supported some nice-sized fish of that species in the fall of 2014.

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

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

North Shady has a maximum depth of 20 feet and a mean depth of 9.2 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in North Shady is from 2024.

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