Bass

Bass is a 244-acre lake located six miles northeast of Tower in the Superior National Forest. It is shallow and productive with a maximum depth of 17 feet and green tinted water. Development is limited and much of the lake is surrounded by public land. Aquatic vegetation is abundant, especially in the west and east bays. Public access is by a 136-rod portage from Bass Bay on Lake Vermilion. Recent logging activity west of the lake has opened a 40-rod trail down a blocked logging road to the outlet. The survey crew found the portage from Vermilion to be in excellent shape from Bass Lake, but difficult to discern on private property where it terminates at Bass Bay. Total catch in gill nets (23.7/net) was below average, while yield (37.3 lb/net) was above average. Northern pike, white sucker, and yellow perch represented the bulk of the catch, with limited numbers of black crappie, bluegill, golden shiner, largemouth bass, and smallmouth bass present as well. Total trap net catch rate (69.9/net) was the highest surveyed from Bass. Yield (22.0 lb/net) was greater than normal as well. Bluegill almost entirely drive the trap net catch and hybrid sunfish rounded out most of the remainder. Low numbers of other fish were present in trap nets. Northern pike abundance (4.2/gill net) was greater than typical. Lengths ranged from 24 to 34 inches and average length was 28 inches. Bass is unique in having relatively high numbers of quality sized northern pike. Bluegill numbers (63.6/trap net) were the highest recorded from Bass Lake and atypically high for the Tower area. Lengths ranged from 3.5 to 10 inches with average length approaching seven inches. About a quarter of the catch exceeded eight inches. Growth was fast for the Tower Area and the population appeared to be thriving. A number of quality sized hybrid sunfish were also present in the catch. Black crappie numbers (0.6/trap net) were below average for Bass Lake and for the Tower Area. Lengths ranged from eight to 12 inches with an average of about ten inches. Largemouth and smallmouth bass were present in both gears. The survey gears caught 15 largemouth ranging from eight to almost 20 inches with an average length of 14.5 inches. The gill net catch of 1.7/net was the highest sampled from Bass. This was also the first survey where trap nets sampled largemouth. Seven smallmouth ranging from six to almost 17 inches, averaging 11 inches, were sampled as well. Smallmouth numbers in gill nets (0.7/net) were typical and the trap net catch (0.3/net) was below the lake average. Both species of bass are likely more abundant than this survey suggests, but targeted sampling with electrofishing is currently impossible due to the lack of an improved access. Yellow perch abundance (8.5/gill net) was lower than normal but higher than the previous survey. Lengths ranged from about six to seven inches with an average of almost 6.5 inches.

Bass Lake is 238 acres and located eight miles northeast of Soudan. There is one public access on the west side of the lake which is a 136 rod portage from Bass Bay of Lake Vermilion. The portage crosses private land but is open to the public. Bass Lake has a maximum depth of 17 feet and is 97% littoral. The water color at the time of the survey was green and overall the lake is fairly productive. Bass Lake was stratified on June 30, 2014 with a surface temperature of 70 F and 61 F at the bottom. Oxygen levels were adequate to a depth of 16 feet. There is one prominent inlet in the southeast bay of the lake that drains a series of beaver ponds. Over the years, numerous dam failures have deposited a large amount of wood into the bay. The only outlet is in the northeast corner of the lake and drains to Rice Bay on Lake Vermilion. It has both beaver dams and a steep gradient that limits fish movement. Aquatic vegetation is sparse for the majority of the basin; however at the time of this survey, the northeast bay and west bay were heavily chocked with impenetrable flat-stem pondweed. The overall gillnet catch rate for all fish combined was 19.2 fish/net. Fish species sampled in gill nets were northern pike, black crappie, white sucker, yellow perch, bluegill, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, golden shiner, walleye, and hybrid sunfish. The overall trapnet catch rate for all fish combined was 40.3 fish/net. Fish species sampled in trap nets were bluegill, hybrid sunfish, white sucker, black crappie, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, northern pike, and green sunfish. The 2014 northern pike gillnet catch rate was 4.8 fish/net which is average when compared to other similar lakes throughout the state but higher than other surveys done on this lake. Lengths ranged from 22 to 40 inches with an average of 27 inches. This average length is near the historic range (27 to 29 inches) from previous surveys on the lake. The 40 inch pike is by far the largest fish sampled. The previous largest pike was 32 inches captured in 1987. Average weight was 4.3 pounds which is high compared to other similar lakes. The smallmouth bass gillnet catch rate was 1.8 fish/net. This is six times higher than previous surveys (0.3 fish/net). Lengths from gill nets ranged from 6 to 17 inches with an average of 14 inches. This is larger than the 11 inch average size for all surveys and includes the largest smallmouth ever sampled. Smallies averaged 1.4 pounds which is good compared to other similar lakes. Ages ranged from 2 to 18 years. Growth appears to be quite slow when compared to other smallmouth bass lakes in the Tower Fisheries Area. Three largemouth bass were also sampled in gill nets for a catch rate of 0.5 fish/net which is average compared to other similar lakes. The black crappie trapnet catch (1.0 fish/net) was low, but within the normal range of catches for similar lakes. Sizes were rather small ranging from 4 to 7 inches. Gillnet catches are normally not used to assess crappie populations but for Bass Lake the gillnet catch was much more impressive than the trapnet catch. Twenty-four crappie were sampled for a catch rate of 4.0/net which is above average compared to other similar lakes. Sizes were also better than the trapnetted fish ranging from 5 to 11 inches. The bluegill trapnet catch was 35.9 fish/net, which is well above average compared to other similar lakes and much higher than the previous catch rate of 1.3 fish/net in 2002. Lengths ranged from 4 to 8 inches with an average of 5 inches. The yellow perch gillnet catch was 2.3 fish/net which is well below average compared to other similar lakes throughout the state. Sizes were fairly small with an average of 7 inches. One surprise walleye was sampled in a gill net from Bass Lake. The 15 year old female was 26 inches long and weighed 5.9 pounds. This is the first walleye surveyed in the lake.

Bass Lake is in Ecological Lake Class 19, which consists of 66 lakes in northeast Minnesota that are small and shallow. Bass Lake is larger than most of the lakes in this lake class. Bass Lake ranks as mesotrophic according to Carlson's Trophic State Index (with Secchi water clarity of 2.1 m and chlorophyll-a of 4.7 ppb), and as mesotrophic-to-oligotrophic (with total phosphorus at or below the laboratory detection limit of 20 ppb).An inlet drains local swamps. The outlet to Lake Vermilion has beaver dams and steep gradients that limit fish movement. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline are mostly boulder and rubble, followed by ledgerock and sand. Aquatic plants are sparse and grow to a depth of 10 ft; the most common plants along the shoreline are sweetgale and sedges, and the most common submerged vegetation is flat-stem pondweed.About 70 percent of the shoreline is State of Minnesota tax forfeit land; the remainder is in private ownership. There are two cabins on the lake with road access from the Mud Creek Road. In 2002 the fisheries lake survey crew used this private access road with permission from one of the cabin owners. Public access is by a sometimes disputed portage across private shoreline from Bass Bay on Lake Vermilion. There are several boats stored on the Bass Lake end of this portage.Fish sampling in this investigation consisted of six gillnet sets, eight trapnet sets, and four small mesh (0.25" bar) trapnets. Two previous fisheries investigations, dating back to 1977, consisted of five gillnet sets. Trapnets were not used in previous investigations because the road did not exist and the portage access was difficult.The total catch of fish (all species combined) in the trapnets in 2002 was 23.2 fish/net (4.5 lb/net). The trapnet catch in 2002 was dominated by golden shiner, green sunfish, and yellow perch. The total catch of fish in the gillnets in 2002 of 57.5 fish/net (37.4 lb/net) was in the third quartile for this lake class and was higher than the median catch of 46.0 fish/net (30.2 lb/net) in all investigations on this lake. Lake Class 19 is the most productive lake class in northeast Minnesota, in terms of gillnet catches of fish. The gillnet catch in 2002 was dominated by yellow perch and white sucker, followed by northern pike.Yellow perch catches have increased over time, from 16.5/gillnet in 1977, to 31.2/gillnet in 1987, and to 40.0/gillnet in 2002 (which was in the fourth quartile for this lake class). However, the dates of assessment have changed over time, from September 3 in 1977, to July 21 in 1987, and to June 24 in 2002. Since gillnet catches of perch are higher early in the summer, we do not know if the increase in perch catches over time in Bass Lake are due to an increase in perch populations, or if they reflect increased catchability due to earlier netting dates. Perch sizes in 2002 averaged 8.6" (0.29 lb), which was in the fourth quartile for this lake class. The largest perch was 12.3". Perch scales in 2002 were difficult to read, but perch growth appeared to be faster than normal by area standards.White sucker catches have also increased over time, from 3.0/gillnet in 1977, to 5.4/gillnet in 1987, and to 12.3/gillnet in 2002 (which was in the fourth quartile for this lake class). Since sucker catches are usually lower early in the summer, this trend of increased sucker catches in Bass Lake does indicate a real increase in sucker populations despite progressively earlier sampling dates. Sucker sizes in 2002 averaged 13.8" (1.2 lb), which was in the second quartile for this lake class.Northern pike numbers in 2002 (1.8/gillnet) were in the first quartile for this lake class and were at the median catch for the three investigations on this lake. Pike sizes in 2002 averaged 28.0" (5.5 lb), which was in the fourth quartile for this lake class. The largest pike in 2002 was 30.9". Pike scales were moderately difficult to read and pike growth was somewhat erratic, but appeared to be faster than normal by area standards.Anglers in 2002 reported a decline in panfish populations in recent years, and 2002 trapnet catches of bluegill (1.2/trapnet) and black crappie (1.5/trapnet) were lower than normal for this lake class. Gillnets are not the primary gear for catching these species, but gillnet catches in Bass Lake showed a decline over time of bluegill (7.4/gillnet in 1977, 1.0/gillnet in 1987, and none in 2002) and black crappie (3.2/gillnet in 1977, 3.4/gillnet in 1987, and 0.2/gillnet in 2002).Anglers reported fair-to-good fishing for bass in 2002, and it is likely that the trapnet and gillnet catches are underestimating their abundance. Electrofishing for bass could not be done because of the lack of a boat ramp for an electrofishing boat.One 9" black bullhead was captured in 2002, the first appearance of this species in this lake. Black bullhead are not present in nearby lakes.Some of the gamefish examined in 2002 were infected with neascus. Some of the perch were also infected with yellow grub, and one of the smallmouth was infected with bass tapeworm larvae in the viscera. Neascus (black spot), yellow grub, and bass tapeworm are all common parasites that are native to the area. They cannot infect humans, are often removed by filleting, and are killed at temperatures used to cook fish.

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

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

Bass has a maximum depth of 17 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

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

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