Wolf

Wolf is a 289-acre lake located eight miles west of Ely. It comparable to Armstrong and Low lakes in the Tower area. Water levels were moderate during the 2024 survey and maximum depth is 28 feet. Wolf was stratified during the survey, and a thermocline had developed at 12 feet. Oxygen levels were insufficient for fish beyond this depth. Secchi visibility was 6.5 feet, and the lake had light bog stain. Most of the shoreline is privately owned, and development is relatively high for the Tower Area. A public access exists on the south side of the lake and is notably gradual in slope. Launching a large watercraft can be difficult, especially in low water. The total gillnet catch rate for all fish was 14.3 fish/net which was lower than typical. Northern pike, walleye, and yellow perch represented the bulk of the catch, with black crappie, bluegill, largemouth and smallmouth bass, and white sucker also present. Total trap net catch was 9.2 fish/net which was also average. Bluegill and northern pike represented the bulk of the trap net catch, similar to past surveys. Walleye numbers (4.0/gill net) were lower than usual. Mean length was better than average at almost 15 inches. Walleye lengths ranged from 8 to just under 24 inches. The 2021-year class made up the majority of the catch, and most walleye came from stocked year classes. Walleye fry are currently stocked most years. The northern pike catch (4.7/gill net) was slightly lower than typical. Lengths ranged from 17 to 35 inches with an average of 24 inches, which is high for Wolf. Northern pike greater than 30 inches made up 21% of the catch. Bluegill abundance (6.0/trap net) was lower than in past surveys, and low compared to similar lakes. Lengths ranged from 3 to 8.5 inches with an average of nearly 6.5 inches, slightly higher than normal. Bluegill greater than 8 inches made up 22% of the catch. Black crappie catch rate (0.6/trap net) was identical to the lake average. Lengths ranged from 10 to 12 inches with an average of 11.5 inches slightly greater than usual. Black crappie were first detected in Wolf during the 2014 assessment and have been sampled in relatively low numbers since, barring a high gill net catch during the 2019 survey. A nearly 15-inch crappie captured in a gill net was the largest sampled from Wolf to date. Four electrofishing stations were sampled, each fished for 20 minutes. One hundred and forty-six total bass were captured in 80 minutes of on-time for a catch rate of 109.5/hour. This was greater than the catch rate of the previous survey at 68.3/ hour. Smallmouth bass catch per unit effort (45.0/hour) was greater than the previous survey (23.3/hour) and above average for the Tower area. Lengths ranged from 3 to almost 19 inches with an average length of 11 inches. Fish greater than 15 inches represented 23% of the catch. Growth was slightly faster than normal. Largemouth bass catch per unit effort (64.5/hour) was also greater than the previous survey (45.0/hour) and above average for the Tower area. Lengths ranged from 3 to 19 inches with a mean length of 14 inches. Fish greater than 15 inches represented 53% of the catch. Growth was fast for the Tower area.

Wolf Lake is a 289 acre lake located eight miles west of Ely. It is accessed by a shallow ramp on the south side of the lake from an access road off of Highway 169. This Ecological Lake Class 5 lake has a maximum depth of 28 feet and brown bog-stained water. Wolf was thermally stratified on July 29, 2019 with a surface temperature of 73 F and a bottom temperature of 55 F. Oxygen levels were adequate for gamefish to a depth of 15.0 feet where the temperature was 70 F. There is one inlet, a drainage on the south side of the lake, and one outlet which drains out of the northeast corner to the Burntside River and then to Shagawa Lake. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline are mostly boulder, with some areas of gravel, sand, and muck in some of the bays. Aquatic vegetation grows to a depth of around 8.0 feet. Only a small section of shoreline on the north shore and the outlet bay is held in public ownership by the state. The remainder of the lake shore is privately owned. The overall gillnet catch rate for all fish combined was 34.0 fish/net which was the second highest on record for the lake. Yield was 42.3 lbs/net which was the highest on record. Fish species sampled were yellow perch, black crappie, northern pike, walleye, bluegill, smallmouth bass, white sucker, and largemouth bass. Trap nets catch was 43.0 fish/net which was the highest on record for the lake. Yield was 14.1 lbs/net which was also the highest on record. Fish species sampled in trap nets were mostly bluegill and northern pike. No additional species were sampled in trap nets that weren't also captured in gill nets. Walleye fry are currently stocked in Wolf Lake every other year. The 2019 walleye gillnet catch rate was 5.7 fish/net, which was above average compared to other similar lakes and better than most past surveys on Wolf Lake. Walleye lengths ranged from 8 to nearly 26 inches with an average of nearly 17 inches which was the highest on record for all surveys. Growth rates were good compared to other walleye lakes in the area with the average fish reaching 17 inches by age-5. Ages ranged from 1 to 16 with no exceptionally strong year classes. Just over 88% of the 2019 catch came from stocked year classes. This does not mean all of these fish were stocked as there is no way to account for the naturally produced fish that also exist within those stocked year classes. Thirty-five northern pike were sampled in gill nets for a catch rate of 5.8 fish/net which was slightly above average compared to past surveys on Wolf and quite good when compared to other similar lakes. Lengths ranged from 18 to just over 33 inches with an average of 25 inches. The average weight was nearly 4 pounds. Electrofishing was used for the first time on Wolf Lake for largemouth and smallmouth bass sampling. On the night of June 13th, four electrofishing stations were sampled with each station being fished for 20 minutes. Combining both species, the catch rate was 68.3 bass/hour. Sixty largemouth bass were captured for a catch rate of 45.0 largemouth/hour. This was very good compared to other largemouth lakes in the area. Lengths ranged from just over 2 to nearly 19 inches with an average of nearly 12 inches. Growth was similar to other area largemouth lakes with the average fish taking 4 years to grow to 10 inches. Thirty-one smallmouth were captured while electrofishing for a catch rate of 23.3 smallmouth/hour. This was above average compared to other area smallmouth lakes. Lengths ranged from 5 to nearly 20 inches with an average of 9 inches. Growth was slower than what was shown by largemouth with the average fish reaching nearly 8 inches by age-4. Nine black crappie were sampled in trap nets for a catch rate of 1.0 fish/net which was below average compared to other similar lakes, however the gillnet catch of crappie was very good. This was only the second survey to capture crappie in Wolf Lake, the first sample came in 2014. Fish averaged nearly 8 inches however some over 13 inches were sampled. Ages ranged from 1 to 7 and fish showed very good growth rates. The average crappie took 4 years to reach nearly 9 inches long. The bluegill trapnet catch was 39.1 fish/net which was very good compared to other similar lakes and the highest on record for Wolf Lake. Bluegill averaged 5.5 inches although fish over 8 inches were also sampled. Ages ranged from 3 to 9 years with strong representation coming from the 2015 year class. Growth was slightly below average with most fish taking 6 years to reach 6 inches long. Fifty-three yellow perch were sampled in gill nets for a catch rate of 8.8 fish/ net which was above average compared to other similar lakes and right around average for Wolf Lake. Fish were generally small ranging from 5.5 to just over 8 inches with an average of a little over 6 inches. These sizes are comparable to perch from past surveys.

Wolf Lake is located approximately 8 miles southwest of Ely in the Superior National Forest. The water clarity is lightly bog stained and submerged aquatic vegetation can be commonly seen in the shallow waters. This lake is moderately developed for the size and the north shore has the least development. There is a public access located on the south shore off Highway 169. A concrete boat ramp with a small dock can be found there. Parking space is limited to no more than 4 vehicles with trailers. Fish sampling during the 2014 population assessment consisted of 6 gill nets and 9 trap nets. Eight species of fish were sampled with bluegill, northern pike and yellow perch sampled in above average numbers. Walleye, smallmouth bass, rock bass and white sucker were also sampled. Black crappie were sampled for the first time in low numbers. Walleye numbers in 2014 (4.5/gill net) were similar to the long term average for all assessments on this lake. The average walleye sampled was 15.7 inches long and about 5 to six years old. Walleye sizes were slightly larger than in past surveys but slow growing. The largest walleye sampled was 25.4 inches long. Wolf Lake is stocked with walleye fry. Bluegill numbers in 2014 (13.8/trap net) were higher than average for assessments for this lake. Bluegill sizes averaged 5.0 inches which is similar to past assessments. The largest bluegill sampled was 8.4 inches long. Northern pike numbers in 2014 (5.3/gill net) were average compared to past surveys. Pike sizes averaged 23.1 inches long. The average size of pike is improved compared to past assessments and the number of larger pike is above average for smaller lakes in the Tower Area. The largest pike sampled was 38.7 inches long. Anglers are encouraged to release larger pike in order to maintain this size quality as it takes many years for a pike to grow large and they are few in number. A 24 inch long pike is likely age 7 or even older in this lake. Yellow perch numbers in 2014 (17.5/gill net) were high for Wolf Lake. Perch sizes averaged 6.1 inches long which is similar to past assessments. The largest perch sampled was 7.5 inches long. Black crappie were sampled in low numbers up to 11.6 inches long. Three smallmouth bass were sampled averaging 17.4 inches long and about 9 years old.

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

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

Wolf has a maximum depth of 28 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Wolf is from 2024.

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