Nigh

Nigh Lake is a 41 acre lake located 20 miles north of Tower. The access is via a 50 rod portage from Pauline Lake. The Lake has a maximum depth of 12 feet and brown bog-stained water. On July 8, 2021 Nigh Lake was thermally stratified with a surface temperature of 75 F and a bottom temperature of 57 F. Oxygen levels were adequate for gamefish to a depth of 6.5 feet where the temperature was 64 degrees. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline are mostly boulder and ledge rock with muck in some of the bays. The overall gillnet catch rate for all fish combined was 13.8 fish/net which was average for Nigh Lake. Yield was 14.6 lbs/net which was the lowest on record for the lake. Fish species sampled were yellow perch, walleye, northern pike, and white sucker. Sixteen walleye were sampled for a catch rate of 4.0 fish/net, which was just below average compared to other similar lakes but the highest on record for Nigh Lake. Lengths ranged from 11 to over 20 inches with an average of 15 inches. Ages ranged from 3 to 9 years. Of the 15 fish that were aged, all came from stocked years with three year classes represented. The northern pike gillnet catch was 2.3 fish/net which was low compared to other similar lakes and tied for the lowest on record for Nigh Lake. Lengths ranged from 19 to 24 inches with an average of just over 21 inches. Sizes were similar to past surveys. The yellow perch catch rate was 6.0 fish/net which was lower than average compared to other similar lakes but higher than average for Nigh Lake. Sizes ranged from 5 to nearly 12 inches with an average of just over 6 inches. Sizes were similar to past surveys.

Nigh is a 40-acre lake with a maximum depth of 12 feet located off the Echo Trail in Superior National Forest in northern St. Louis County. Access is by canoe portage from Pauline Lake (110 yards) or a 0.25 mile portage from Jeanette Lake on the Astrid Lake hiking trail. Nigh Lake, along with forty other northeastern Minnesota lakes, is categorized in lake class 17. These lakes are typically small in size, shallow, have soft water, and are regular in shape. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources manages the lake primarily for walleye. Even though the lake is stocked biennially, only three walleye were sampled. These walleye ranged in length from 17.5 inches to 20.6 inches were from the 2006 (age 4) and 2004 (age 6) year classes, both stocked years. In 2010, northern pike abundance was below what is typically found in this lake class. Pike sampled ranged in length from 18.0 inches to 26.1 inches with an average length of 21.5 inches. The 2010 mean length was the highest recorded. Pike growth was below normal when compared to other area lakes in the same lake class. There were five different year classes identified in the sampled pike. The only other fish sampled in 2010 were white sucker and yellow perch.

Nigh Lake is typical of lakes in Ecological Lake Class 17, which consists of 99 lakes in northeast Minnesota that are small, shallow, and have soft (unmineralized) and bog-stained water. Nigh Lake differs in that it is smaller (38 acres) than the lake class average of 96 acres.Nigh Lake was thermally stratified on 06/20/2000 and retained 2 ppm oxygen to a depth of 10 ft, where the water temperature was 58 F. Nigh Lake has no inlets. The outlet is small and has a beaver dam and a log jam which limit fish movement. Lake bottom substrates along the shoreline are sand (90%), boulder (9%), and muck and ledgerock (1%). Aquatic plants are sparse and grow to a depth of 4 ft; sedges, yellow water lily, and burreed are the most common plants.A lake survey ((1974) and fish population assessments (1986, 1992, 2000) were all conducted in late June and each consisted of four gillnet sets. No shoreline seines or trapnets have been used due to the difficult portage access.The total catch of fish (all species combined) in the gillnets in 2000 of 17 fish/net (24 lb/net) was near the first quartile for this lake class, and was similar to the median catch of 16 fish/net (23 lb/net) in all four investigations on this lake. Lake Class 17 is one of the more productive lake classes in northeast Minnesota, in terms of overall gillnet catches of fish.Northern pike numbers in 2000 (3.0/gillnet) were at the first quartile for this lake class and were lower than the median catch of 4.8/gillnet (range: 2.2-9.0/gillnet) in all investigations on this lake. Pike sizes in 2000 averaged 18.6" (1.3 lb), which was in the second quartile for this lake class and was similar to the average size of 18.4" in all investigations on this lake. The largest pike in 2000 was 20.2". All pike were ages 2-4. Pike growth appeared to be fast at age two, normal at age three, and slow at age four.Walleye fry were introduced to Nigh Lake in 1988 and have been stocked biennially since then. Walleye numbers in 2000 (2.8/gillnet) were in the second quartile for this lake class and were similar to the 1992 catch of 2.2/gillnet. Walleye sizes in 2000 averaged 13.8" (1.2 lb), which was near the median for this lake class. The largest walleye in 2000 was 20.8". Walleye growth appeared to be slow at age two, and normal thereafter. Nine of the 11 walleye captured in 2000 were from stocked year classes.White sucker numbers in 2000 (7.8/gillnet) were in the second quartile for this lake class and were similar to the median catch of 8.0/gillnet (range: 5.8-12.0/gillnet) in all investigations on this lake. Sucker sizes in 2000 averaged 17.2" (2.0 lb), which was in the third quartile for this lake class and was larger than the average size of 15.3" in all investigations on this lake. Yellow perch numbers in 2000 (4.0/gillnet) were in the second quartile for this lake class and were higher than the median catch of 2.5/gillnet (range: 1.0-6.5/gillnet) in all investigations on this lake. Perch sizes in 2000 averaged 6.7" (0.15 lb), which was in the second quartile for this lake class and was smaller than the average size of 8.0" in all investigations on this lake. Perch growth was near the median for this lake class.

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

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

Nigh has a maximum depth of 12 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Nigh is from 2021.

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