Erickson

Erickson Lake is located approximately 6 miles SW of Ely within the Superior National Forest. This small lake is mostly surrounded by a floating bog with small spruce and tamarack along its shores. The most common access is located on the north shore. This user maintained 0.8 mile portage is off USFS Road #451. The last portion of the access crosses a floating bog. There are no campsites on the lake. The only species sampled in 2019 was walleye. White sucker have been sampled in the past. Unidentified minnows were commonly observed near shore. Walleye catch in 2019 was above the historical average of 8.8/gill net for this lake and above average compared to other similar lakes in the area. The average walleye sampled was 15.1 inches long and about 5 years old. The largest walleye sampled in 2019 was 19.5 inches in length. The walleye population in Erickson Lake continues to be self-sustaining despite the poor spawning habitat that is available.

Erickson Lake is in Ecological Lake Class 14, which consists of 92 lakes in northeast Minnesota that are small, shallow, and have very soft (unmineralized) water. Erickson Lake has water that is less clear (more bog-stained) than normal for this lake class. Erickson Lake ranks as mesotrophic according to Carlson's Trophic State Index.Erickson Lake was thermally stratified on 08/11/2003 with a surface temperature of 75 F and a bottom temperature of 59 F. Adequate oxygen (more than 2 ppm) was present only in the upper 5 ft of the water column. Erickson Lake has no inlets. The outlet, a tributary to Purvis Creek, has beaver dams and flows through marshy areas that limit fish movement; there was no flow when it was examined on 08/11/2003. Typical of bog lakes, shoal water substrates on Erickson Lake were mostly muck and detritus. Aquatic plants were sparse, consisting mostly of watershield and bog-fringe plants like leatherleaf and sweetgale.Fish sampling in this fisheries lake survey consisted of two standard gillnet sets and three bread-baited metal minnow traps. Trapnets were not used due to the difficult portage access, and shoreline seines were not used due to the lack of suitable seining areas in the lake.The total catch of fish (all species combined) in the gillnets of 8.0 fish/net (9.9 lb/net) was at the first quartile for this lake class. Walleye and white sucker were the only fish species captured, although unidentified minnows were observed in the shallows.Walleye numbers in 2003 (7.0/gillnet) were at the third quartile for this lake class, and walleye sizes averaged 15.2" (1.1 lb) which was near the median for this lake class. Walleye scales collected in 2003 were somewhat difficult to read, but it appeared that walleye from seven different year classes were present and walleye growth appeared to be normal by area standards. Erickson Lake joins a number of very small lakes in the area with little or no apparent walleye spawning habitat that support self-sustaining walleye populations.Sucker numbers in 2003 (1.0/gillnet) were in the first quartile for this lake class. The two sucker that were caught averaged 17" and 2.0 lbs.

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

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

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

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Erickson is from 2019.

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