One Pine

One Pine Lake is a 354-acre lake located seven miles south of Ely. There is a public access with a gravel boat ramp located on the west side of the lake off CSAH 21. One Pine Lake is relatively shallow, with a maximum depth of just 13 feet. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline are mostly rubble, boulder, and sand. One Pine Lake does not typically stratify due to its shallow depth. On July 10, 2023, the water temperature was 71 F throughout the entire water column. Adequate oxygen levels for warmwater fish species were also retained throughout the water column. One Pine Lake has brown, bog-stained water with visibility around 4 feet. Walleye were sampled at a rate of 5.3 fish/gill net, which was slightly below the historical average for the lake. Walleye sampled in gill nets averaged just 11.9 inches in length, and 35% of the fish sampled were over 14.0 inches. Eight additional walleye were also sampled in trap nets. All trap-netted walleye were longer than 14.5 inches, and the largest walleye was 25.7 inches long. Walleye ages ranged from 1 to 10 and indicated consistent recruitment in this naturally reproducing population. Bluegill were sampled at a rate of 1.8 fish/trap net, which was higher than the historical average for the lake. Bluegill also tended to be large, with an average length of 8.1 inches. The largest bluegill sampled was 10.1 inches in length, and bluegill ages ranged from 3 to 11. Black crappie were sampled at a rate of 1.8 fish/trap net, which was slightly lower than the historical average for the lake. Black crappie averaged 9.4 inches in length in trap nets. However, the largest crappie was 11.7 inches long and was sampled in a gill net. Northern pike were sampled at a rate of 2.6 fish/gill net, which was slightly lower than previous surveys on One Pine Lake. The average length of northern pike sampled in 2023 was 20.7 inches, which was close to the historical average for the lake. Additional northern pike were sampled in trap nets at a rate of 1.1 fish/trap net. These fish tended to be larger, averaging 23.3 inches. The largest pike sampled in 2023 was 38.8 inches long and was sampled in a trap net. One smallmouth bass was sampled in a gill net and it was 16.0 inches long. No largemouth bass were sampled in 2023. Historically, bass have been rare in netting surveys of One Pine Lake. Targeted sampling of the bass population using electrofishing was conducted during the last survey in 2016. Results from that sampling indicated a relatively low-density bass population with quality-sized individuals present, including largemouth bass that were up to 16 inches long and smallmouth bass that were over 19 inches. Additional species sampled in 2023 included black bullhead, hybrid sunfish, pumpkinseed, rock bass, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and yellow perch.

One Pine Lake is located approximately 7 miles S of Ely in the Superior National Forest. There is a gravel boat ramp for public access located off the E side of CSAH 21. One Pine Lake is shallow and has bog-stained and soft (unmineralized) water. Johnson Creek and the Bear Island River are the major inlets to One Pine Lake, and the Bear Island River is the outlet. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline are dominated by rubble, boulder, and sand. Aquatic plants grow to a depth of 4 ft with wild rice the most common plant. Walleye numbers in 2016 (6.7/gill net) were slightly higher than the historic average for One Pine Lake. Walleye averaged 11 inches long and were about 4 years old. Eighty-seven percent of the walleye aged were between the ages of 1 and 4. The largest walleye sampled was in a trap net and measured 17 inches long. Only one walleye sampled from the gill nets was over 15 inches in length. Northern pike numbers in 2016 (3.3/gill net) were identical to the historic average on this lake. The average pike was 17 inches which is smaller than the historic average length of almost 19 inches. The largest pike sampled was 33.5 inches long. Only two pike over 23 inches in length were sampled from the gill nets. Bluegill numbers in 2016 (9.9/trap net) were higher than the historic average (3.4/trap net) on this lake. Bluegill averaged 7.4 inches which is slightly larger than the historic average. Forty-two percent of the bluegill sampled in the trap nets were 8 inches or larger. Black crappie numbers in 2016 (2.3/trap net) were slightly lower than the historic average for this lake. The average crappie sampled was almost 10 inches long. Sixty-two percent of the crappie sampled in the trap nets were 10 inches or larger. Smallmouth and largemouth bass were sampled in 2016 from One Pine Lake. Smallmouth bass sampled by electrofishing (n=8) averaged 16 inches and the largest smallmouth was just over 19 inches long. Three largemouth bass were sampled by electrofishing between 4.4 and 16 inches in length.

One Pine Lake is in Ecological Lake Class 16, which consists of 38 lakes in northeast Minnesota that are large, shallow, and have bog-stained and soft (unmineralized) water. One Pine Lake is smaller than most of the lakes in this lake class. One Pine Lake ranks as mesotrophic according to Carlson's Trophic State Index. One Pine Lake was slightly stratified thermally on 07/31/2007 with a surface temperature of 79 F and a bottom temperature of 73 F. Adequate oxygen for fish (more than 2 ppm) was retained to within a foot of the bottom. Johnson Creek and the Bear Island River are the major inlets to One Pine Lake, and the Bear Island River is the outlet. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline are dominated by rubble, boulder, and sand. Aquatic plants grow to a depth of 4 ft; wild rice is the most common plant. There were 38 homes and cabins on the lake in 1997. Three fisheries lake surveys and eight fish population assessments have been conducted on One Pine Lake, dating back to 1965. Fish sampling consisted of gillnets (2-9 nets). Trapnets (3-11 nets) were also used during six of these investigations, and shoreline seines were used in the three lake surveys. All netting was done in late summer, except that trapnetting in 1994 and 1997 was done in mid-June in an attempt to better sample panfish populations. Higher numbers of panfish were not caught and trapnetting in 2007 was moved later in the summer to coincide with gillnetting. The total catch of fish (all species combined) in the gillnets in 2007 of 31 fish/net (27 lb/net) was in the second quartile for this lake class, and was higher than the median catch of 21 fish/net (18 lb/net) in all investigations on this lake. More walleye and northern pike were caught in 2007 than is typical for this lake. Lake Class 16 is one of the most productive lake classes in northeast Minnesota, in terms of gillnet catches of fish. The total catch of fish (all species combined) in the trapnets in 2007 of 38 fish/net (13 lb/net) was higher than the median catch of 16 fish/net (13 lb/net) in all investigations on this lake. More bluegill sunfish were captured in 2007 than is typical for this lake. Fish populations in 2007 were dominated by walleye, northern pike, white sucker, and bluegill sunfish. Smallmouth bass were likely more abundant than indicated by the sampling, as bass are "net-shy" and difficult to catch in standard sampling nets. Walleye numbers in 2007 (10.0/gillnet) were in the third quartile for this lake class and were higher than the median catch of 5.7/gillnet in all investigations on this lake. Walleye sizes in 2007 averaged 11.8" (0.7 lb), which was in the first quartile for this lake class and was similar to the average size of 12.2" in all investigations on this lake. The largest walleye caught in 2007 was 24.8". Ages 1-5 walleye were all well represented in the 2007 catch. Walleye growth was somewhat slower than normal (in the second quartile) by area standards. Northern pike numbers in 2007 (5.3/gillnet) were in the third quartile for this lake class, and were higher than the median catch of 3.3/gillnet in all investigations on this lake. Pike sizes in 2007 averaged 18.8" (1.6 lb), which was in the second quartile for this lake class and was at the median size for all investigations on this lake. The largest pike caught in 2007 was 34.3". Most of the pike captured in 2007 were age 3 and 4. Pike growth was slower than normal (in the first quartile) by area standards. Bluegill sunfish numbers in 2007 (19.2/trapnet) were in the fourth quartile for this lake class, and were higher than the median catch of 3.1/trapnet in all investigations on this lake. Bluegill sizes in 2007 averaged 5.4" (0.15 lb), which was in the second quartile for this lake class and was smaller than the average size of 6.9" in all investigations on this lake. The largest bluegill in 2007 (caught in a gillnet) was 10.5". Most of the bluegill captured in 2007 were age two. Bluegill growth was faster than normal by area standards. Yellow perch and black crappie numbers in 2007 were in the normal range for this lake class and were similar to catches in previous investigations on this lake. Crappie up to 13" were caught in 2007. Many of the game fish examined in 2007 were infected with neascus (black spot). Many of the yellow perch were also infected with yellow grub. Some of the smallmouth bass had bass tapeworm larvae in their viscera. All of these parasites are common and are native to the area. They cannot infect humans, are often removed by filleting fish, and are killed at temperatures used to cook fish.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Bluegill, Smallmouth Bass, Black Crappie, Northern Pike, and Rock Bass in One Pine. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

One Pine has a maximum depth of 13 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in One Pine is from 2023.

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