Black Bass

A spring trap net assessment was conducted on Black Bass Lake to evaluate the fish community composition. The lake is a small, twenty-six acre basin entirely within Mille Lacs Kathio State Park. Designated as a Heritage Lake in 2005, special regulations were implemented that prohibits the use of gas and electric motors, augers, and any fish-finding electronics. Additional regulations include catch and release only for bass and northern pike and a five fish limit on sunfish. Snowmobile, hiking, horseback riding, and cross-country ski trails can be used to access the lake. There is also a backpack-in campsite on the south shore of the lake. Five standard lake survey trap nets were set and lifted twice for a total of nine sets. A quarter inch mesh trap net was used to check for forage fish as the lake was difficult to seine. Seven fish species were sampled in the standard nets used for the 2012 trap net assessment which included bluegill, brown bullhead, golden shiner, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed sunfish, and yellow bullhead. Bluegill were the most numerous of the species with 110 fish (12.2/TN) caught. The fish ranged from 3.5 to 10.9 inches in length with a mean length of 7.2 inches. Bluegill exceeding seven inches accounted for 52% (n=57) of the catch with 36% (n=39) more than eight inches, 15% over nine inches, and 4% (n=4) exceeding ten inches in length. Ages 1 through 10, 12, and 14 were represented in the 2012 trap net catch. All age groups up to Age 10 showed fast growth when compared to an Area Mean Back-calculated Length table. No comparisons are available for the two older age groups. The 2008 year class (Age 4) dominated the trap net catch, comprising 37% of the sample. Year class strengths suggest consistent, moderate recruitment. A spring trap net assessment was conducted in late April of 2002 which had only four trap net lifts. Six fish species were sampled which included bluegill, golden shiner, largemouth bass, northern pike, white sucker, and yellow bullhead. Bluegill were also the most abundant species in this assessment with 38 (9.5/TN) caught. The bluegill ranged from 4.6 to 9.3 inches in length with a mean length of 7.2 inches. Fish more than seven inches comprised 60% (n=23) of the sample with 34% (n=13) more than eight inches, and 8% (n=3) exceeding nine inches. Both trap net assessments met the lake management goals of maintaining a bluegill trap net catch of ten or more per trap net and 50% or more of the fish exceeding seven inches in length. Northern pike were the third most abundant species caught in the 2012 trap net assessment. The 21 pike (2.3/TN) caught were between 13.9 and 29.2 inches in length with a mean length of 21.9 inches. Twenty-eight percent of the pike (n=6) were more than 24 inches in length. The 2002 trap net assessment captured 12 northern pike (3/TN) that ranged from 14.8 to 24.7 inches in length with a mean length of 19.7 inches. Eight percent of the pike (n=1) exceeded 24 inches in length. Both assessments failed to capture northern pike in excess of thirty inches. Maintaining the presence of pike exceeding thirty inches is a management goal. The initial survey in 1986 did catch a 33-inch plus pike and a spring assessment in 1981 caught 91 pike, five of which were over thirty-three inches and up to 38+ inches indicating the lake has the potential to produce larger pike. Ages 2 through 8 were represented in the 2012 northern pike catch. The single Age 1 pike showed slow growth while the remaining age groups displayed normal growth when compared to an Area Mean Back-calculated Length table. Year class strengths suggest consistent recruitment. Only one largemouth bass was sampled in the 2012 trap nets, but the fish was 18.5 inches in length. Catching the bass met the management goal of maintaining the presence of bass more than 16 inches in length in netting samples. One smaller bass, 3.6 inches, was sampled in the quarter inch mesh trap net, indicating some natural reproduction. Bass exceeding 21 inches were documented in both the 1986 initial lake survey and 1981 spring assessment. A sixteen and eighteen inch bass were caught in the 2002 spring assessment. Electrofishing would be needed to adequately assess largemouth bass. Quality size bullhead were present in both the brown and yellow bullhead samples in 2012. Brown bullhead up to 16.3 inches were measured and yellow bullhead up to 14.6 inches. Yellow bullhead were the more numerous of the two species and the second most abundant species in the 2012 trap net assessment. Quality size pumpkinseed sunfish were also observed in the 2012 trap net assessment with fish measured up 9.2 inches in length. Mean length for the sample (n=18), however, was 6.1 inches. A golden shiner was also caught in the 2012 trap net assessment. Two additional fish species that were sampled in the quarter inch mesh trap net were two tadpole madtom and a single yellow perch.

NORTHERN PIKE TRAPNET CATCHES WERE SLIGHTLY ABOVE THE THIRD QUARTILE. NONE WERE TAKEN IN GILLNETS. ALL DATA AVAILABLE WOULD SEEM TO INDICATE A LOW POPULATION. YELLOW BULLHEAD NUMBERS WERE AVG. BLUE GILL TRAPNET CATCHES (42.75) WERE ABOVE THE THIRD QUARTILE (37.525) INDICATING A HIGHER THAN AVG POPULATION FROM THE REGIONAL MEDIAN. ONLY ONE LARGEMOUTH BASS WAS TAKEN IN THE TRAPNETS. OTHER ASSESSMENT METHODS ARE NEEDED TO DETERMINE THE POPULATION. TIS BEING AN INITIAL SURVEY, NO COMPARABLE DATA IS AVAILABLE. NORTHERN PIKE SHOWED AGES II, III AND V PRESENT. FISH GREW AT AVG FOR ALL AGES. LENGTHS RANGED FROM 15.0 TO 33.9 INCHES WITH A MEAN WEIGHT OF 3.4 PDS. BLUEGILL SIZES RANGED FROM 3.0 TO 8.4 INCHES WITH A MEDIAN LENGTH GROUP OF 6.0 - 6.4 INCHES. GROWTH RATES WERE AVG FOR ALL AGES PRESENT, II THROUGH VIII. TWENTY-THREE PERCENT OF THE BLUEGILLS MEASURED WERE OVER 7.0 INCHES OR GREATER IN LENGTH. THOUGH GROWTH RATES APPEARED TO BE AVG POOR CONDITION FACTOR WAS EVIDENT ON ALL SPECIES SAMPLED.

Musk.-stckng does not appr to have survived. NP- abund. but of only fair cndtn. BG-abund. with some vry lrg fsh. LMB-Lrg avg. size. Three lrg Wae, 2 male & one fml, were tkn. Blk Blhds-lrg in size, but few in number. Yel Blhds-sml, num., & half had Yel Grub. Nine Gldn Shiners tkn. YP- not taken in this srvy, but one was caught in a previous net check in 1978.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Bluegill, Walleye, Northern Pike, and Pumpkinseed in Black Bass. 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 Black Bass. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

Black Bass has a maximum depth of 23 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Black Bass is from 2012. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

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