West Pope

Walleye appeared to have been abundant in West Pope Lake in 2004, and were above average in size. Growth rates had been good so forage is apparently abundant. It appeared that natural reproduction had been good, as more than half the captured walleye were from unstocked year classes.Northern pike were present in good numbers and fairly good sizes in 2004. No fish older than four years were taken, but most were over 20 inches in length. Northern pike also exhibited good growth.

Walleye appeared to have been abundant in West Pope Lake in 2000, and were above average in size. Growth rates had been good, despite the apparent shortage of yellow perch to serve as forage. It appeared that natural reproduction had contributed substantially to the walleye population, although stocked year classes were also represented in the catch.Northern pike were present in average numbers and sizes in 2000. No fish older than four years were taken, and most were under 20 inches in length. Northern pike also exhibited good growth, even though the only food item found in the stomaches examined was crayfish.West Pope Lake continued to support a bluegill population, with some large fish present. Gill nets are not the gear of choice when determining bluegill abundance, so it is impossible to say whether bluegill were present in large enough numbers to be worth pursuing.

WAE ABUNDANCE WAS GOOD FOR LAKES OF THIS CLASS. WAE RANGED FROM 8 TO 24 IN, WITH MOST IN THE 14 TO 17 IN RANGE. SEVERAL YEAR CLASS WERE WEAK OR MISSING. WAE GROWTH WAS ABOVE AVERAGE FOR COOK COUNTY, WITH AGE V FISH AVERAGING 17.1 IN AT LAST ANNULUS FORMATION, COMPARED TO THE COUNTY MEAN OF 15.5 IN. WAE WERE EITHER STOCKED OR ENTERED THE LAKE FROM NEARBY IRON LAKE AT SOME TIME PRIOR TO THE SINCE 1986 HAS APPARENTLY BEEN SUCCESSFULLY SUPPLEMENTING A POPULATION WITH LIMITED NATURAL REPRODUCTION. ALL THE STOCKED YEAR CLASSES WERE REPRESENTED IN THE SAMPLE COLLECTED IN THIS ASSESSMENT. THERE WAS SOME NATURAL REPRODUCTION ALSO, BUT TWO OF THE FOUR UNSTOCKED YEAR CLASSES COVERED IN THIS ASSESSMENT WERE WEAK OR MISSING. YEP ABUNDANCE WAS GOOD, DESPITE THE ADDITION OF A NEW PREDATOR SPECIES (WAE) SINCE THE 1977 ASSESSMENT. YEP UP TO 12 IN WERE COLLECTED, AND THEY SHOULD BE PROVIDING SOME ANGLING OPPORTUNITIES, AS WELL AS A GOOD FORAGE BASE. NOP WERE ABUNDANT, WITH FISH UP TO 28 IN COLLECTED. SOME BLG WERE ALSO COLLECTED, ALL RANGING FROM 7 TO 8 IN. BLG GROWTH APPEARED TO BE FAST BY COOK COUNTY STANDARDS.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Walleye, Northern Pike, and Yellow Perch in West Pope. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

We don't have a confirmed public access point on record for West Pope. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

West Pope has a maximum depth of 14 feet and a mean depth of 6 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in West Pope is from 2004. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

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