Regenbogen

Regenbogen Lake is located 9 miles north of Ely. There is one access which is a carry-in (0.3 mile portage) off the Echo Trail, which does cross private land. Regenbogen Lake is a ten acre lake with a maximum depth of 34 feet. A mix of rainbow trout and brook trout were stocked in Regenbogen from 1956 to 1983. From 1983 to 2010 only brook trout were stocked. Brook trout stocking was discontinued after 2010 due to a reduction in the stream trout program. Recently, there has been a renewed push in the program with some previously stocked stream trout lakes potentially being added back to the stocking list. This survey was done with the anticipation that Regenbogen Lake may at some point be stocked again. Only one large brook trout was sampled in two gillnet sets in 2015. The 18 inch fish weighed 3.2 pounds and is the biggest brook trout sampled from Regenbogen Lake. Twenty-one white suckers were sampled for a catch rate of 10.5 fish/net. This is the highest catch rate on record for sucker on the lake. Sizes were small with an average of 8 inches and the largest being 12.5 inches.

Regenbogen Lake is in Ecological Lake Class 9, which consists of 48 lakes in northeast Minnesota that are small, shallow, and round, and have very soft (unmineralized) water. Regenbogen Lake was thermally stratified on 05/26/2004 with a surface temperature of 54 F and a bottom temperature of 41 F. Adequate oxygen for trout (more than 5 ppm) was retained to a depth of 14 ft, where the temperature was 45 F. Adequate oxygen for warmwater fish (more than 2 ppm) was retained to a depth of 15 ft, where the temperature was 44 F. Under-ice oxygen has dropped below 2 ppm in severe winters, the most recent of which was in 1996 when a maximum of 1.5 ppm was found. Two small inlets drain local swamps and there is no outlet. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline are mostly sand, with some muck, ledgerock, and boulder. Aquatic vegetation is sparse and consists mostly of shoreline fringe plants and waterlilies.Regenbogen Lake was poisoned with rotenone in 1955, which removed indigenous populations of northern pike, yellow perch, largemouth bass, and minnows. Rainbow trout were stocked annually from 1958 through 1983, and brook trout fingerlings were stocked annually from 1984 to the present. Eleven trout stocking assessments from 1977 through 2004 used 1-4 gillnets, set mostly in late May or early June.Two 6" brook trout were caught in the 2004 assessment. Both of these trout had been stocked the previous fall as fingerlings. One of these trout had insect remains in its stomach, the other had an empty stomach. By weight, the trout catch of 0.1 lb/gillnet in 2004 was lower than the median catch of 1.0 lb/gillnet in all previous assessments on this lake and was lower than the median trout catch (all species combined) of 2.5 lbs/gillnet in recent assessments of 25 stream trout lakes in the Tower Fisheries Management Area.White sucker (3.5/gillnet, averaging 13" in length) were also captured in the 2004 assessment. Low numbers of sucker (0.5-5.0/gillnet) have been captured in most assessments since they were first observed in 1980.

Regenbogen Lake is in Ecological Lake Class 9, which consists of 48 lakes in northeast Minnesota that are small, shallow, and round, and have very soft (unmineralized) and fairly clear water. Regenbogen Lake was thermally stratified on 5/17/2000 and retained good oxygen (5 ppm) close to the bottom. Typically, however, midsummer oxygen levels drop below 5 ppm at about 15 ft and below 2 ppm at about 17 ft. Under-ice oxygen has dropped below 2 ppm in severe winters, the most recent of which was in 1996 when a maximum of 1.5 ppm was found. Two small inlets drain local swamps and there is no outlet. Shoal substrates are mostly sand, with some muck, ledgerock, and boulder. Aquatic vegetation is sparse and consists mostly of shoreline fringe plants and waterlilies.Regenbogen Lake was reclaimed in 1955 with rotenone, which removed indigenous populations of northern pike, yellow perch, largemouth bass, and minnows. Rainbow trout fingerlings were stocked from 1958-1983, the remainder of the annual stockings were of brook trout fingerlings. Ten trout stocking evaluations from 1977 through 2000 used 1-4 gillnet sets, mostly in late May or early June.Thirteen brook trout were caught in the 2000 assessment. Twelve of these had been stocked the previous fall as 29/lb fingerlings averaging 4.5" and had grown to 6.7-7.5" when recaptured eight months later. One 8.9" trout was either a larger individual of this stocked cohort or had been stocked in the fall of 1998. Trout stomachs in 2000 contained winged midges (10), sticklebacks (4), dragonfly nymphs (2), fatheads (2), and unidentified fish (1). No stomachs were empty.By weight, the 2000 brook trout catch of 0.6 lb/net was lower than the median catch of 1.0 lb/gillnet of trout (range: 0.0-13.0 lb/gillnet) in previous investigations on this lake, and was lower than the median catch of 5.4 lb/gillnet (all trout species) in recent investigations on 25 stream trout lakes in the Ely area.No white sucker were captured in 2000. Previous investigations from 1980-1996 had captured 0.3-3.0 sucker/gillnet.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Rainbow Trout and Brook Trout in Regenbogen. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Regenbogen has a maximum depth of 34 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Regenbogen is from 2015. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

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