Tomash

Tomash Lake is a shallow, 96-acre lake located just off the Caribou Trail in Cook County, Minnesota. Access to the lake is considered easy, with a small pull-off parking area along the Caribou Trail and then a short hike to the water's edge. Due to its small size and relatively shallow depth, it was used as a walleye rearing pond from 1978 to 2006 to raise walleye fingerlings for stocking in surrounding area lakes. These practices were discontinued in 2006 due to increases in yellow perch and white sucker abundance. In 2017, the lake management plan proposed establishing a northern pike fishery if conditions were favorable. In 2025, a targeted survey was conducted using ¼ inch trap nets to assess the fish community and determine the feasibility of creating a northern pike fishery. Since 2000, catch rates of yellow perch and white sucker have increased significantly and were the highest recorded during 2025 survey. The yellow perch catch rate was 169.7 fish/net with an average size of 5.1 inches. White suckers averaged 6.4 fish/net with multiple size classes present. Minnow species such as northern pearl dace were also found. No other predators or game fish have been found since the ceasing of walleye fry stocking. Currently, a dense population of small sized yellow perch does not provide any desirable angling opportunities and warrants the idea of stocking northern pike. Habitat within the lake appears suitable for northern pike spawning but the species could experience winter kill events during extreme winters with heavy snow. Grand Marais area staff are currently exploring the idea of creating a new northern pike fishery within Tomash Lake based on these survey results.

The winter of 2013-2014 was long and severe. Winter dissolved oxygen was tested on several shallow Cook County lakes (including Tomash) that were considered susceptible to winterkill. Beginning in 1978 Tomash Lake was used to rear walleye to fingerling size to stock in other lakes in the area. Winterkill is a desirable feature of rearing ponds, since it removes other fish species that might prey upon, or compete with, stocked walleye fry. Tomash Lake did not always winterkill, and periodically supported holdover walleye and populations of yellow perch, white sucker, and other fish species. Walleye fry were last stocked in this lake for rearing in 2006, and walleye were last known to have been present in the spring of 2007. Winter dissolved oxygen testing was done on Tomash Lake on 9 April 2014. Oxygen levels were very low; only 0.8 ppm was found at a depth of 3.0 ft, three inches under the bottom of the ice. In many lakes, some winterkill could be expected under those conditions; however, fish in Tomash Lake had survived similarly poor conditions in the past. They did so again in 2014. Despite low oxygen concentrations measured on 9 April, June trap netting and gill netting revealed that yellow perch remained abundant, white sucker were common, and northern redbelly dace and central mudminnow were present. Most of the yellow perch present were small; the average length for fish taken in gill nets was 7 inches and just 11% of the perch caught exceeded 8 inches. The lack of walleye suggested that a self-sustained walleye population did not develop after stocking was discontinued, possibly because walleye were more susceptible to winterkill than the remaining species. Northern pike, known to have some resistance to winterkill, are found in the next lake downstream (Cascade Lake), but have never been collected in Tomash Lake.

Tomash Lake has been used since 1978 to rear walleye fingerlings to be stocked in other area lakes. Fingerlings remaining after harvest can sometimes provide angling for adult walleye in subsequent years if winterkill has not occurred.In the mid-1980s yellow perch and white sucker became abundant, causing competition and predation that made conditions unsuitable for rearing walleye. The lake was treated with rotenone to kill the fish life, and returned to use as a rearing pond. These species were again abundant in 2000, along with a few adult walleye that are also undesirable predators, and so reclamation is planned in fall 2001.

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

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

Tomash has a maximum depth of 5 feet and a mean depth of 3 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Tomash is from 2014. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

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