<!--StartFragment-->

Lake information report

Name: Dam

Nearest Town: Aitkin Primary County: Aitkin

Survey Date: 07/16/2007 Inventory Number: 01009600

Public Access Information

http://www.mnlakeplace.com

steve vennemann for all your lake property needs in Minnesota & Wisconsin.

651-334-8312

Ownership	Type	Description
DNR	Concrete

Lake Characteristics

Lake Area (acres): 597.64 Littoral Area (acres): 256 Maximum Depth (ft): 48 Water Clarity (ft): 7.5

Dominant Bottom Substrate: N/A Abundance of Aquatic Plants: N/A Maximum Depth of Plant Growth (ft): N/A

Length of Selected Species (Trapnet, Gillnet) Sampled for the 2007 Survey Year

Species	Number of fish caught in each category (inches)
0-5	6-8	9-11	12-14	15-19	20-24	25-29	30+	Total
bigmouth buffalo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
black crappie	11	95	22	0	0	0	0	0	128
bluegill	152	74	0	0	0	0	0	0	226
bowfin (dogfish)	0	0	0	0	1	14	1	0	16
brown bullhead	0	0	2	6	0	0	0	0	8
hybrid sunfish	1	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	11
largemouth bass	14	22	6	6	2	0	0	0	50
northern pike	0	0	0	1	9	36	5	2	53
pumpkinseed	12	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	18
rock bass	4	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	9
tullibee (cisco)	0	0	0	4	1	0	0	0	5
walleye	0	4	4	24	7	12	3	0	54
white sucker	0	0	3	4	5	1	0	0	13
yellow bullhead	0	4	120	20	2	0	0	0	146
yellow perch	23	26	0	0	0	0	0	0	50

For the record, the largest Chinook Salmon (King) taken in Minnesota weighed 33 lbs., 4 oz. and was caught by: Who: Dave Anderson, Duluth, MN Where: Poplar River, Cook County When: 9/23/89 Statistics: 44.75" length, 25.75" girth and by Who: Jeffrey Gulbranson, Duluth, MN Where: Lake Superior, St. Louis County When: 10/12/89. Statistics: 42.25" length, 26.13" girth

Fish Stocked by Species for the Last Five Years

Year	Species	Age	Number
2006	Walleye	Adult	6
	Walleye	Fingerling	15,575
	Walleye	Yearling	88
2004	Walleye	Fingerling	23,166

Status of the Fishery (as of 07/16/2007)

Dam Lake is a moderately clear water lake located in central Aitkin County, with a public access on the southwest end of the lake. Historically, the lake has supported a quality fishery for several species.

Large bluegills were common in Dam, however, average size has been decreasing. Bluegill natural reproduction and recruitment occurs annually. Strong reproductive success, fishing pressure, slower growth rates and apparent insufficient predation suggest that the size of bluegill will remain relatively small. In 2002 and 2007, no bluegill over 8 inches were sampled in the trap net assessments.

Northern pike have decreased in abundance since 2002, from 8.5 to 3.4 per gill net lift, which is comparable to levels found in the 1980s. The population is maintaining a decent size structure. The average northern pike sampled in gill nets was 22.3 inches long and fish up to 30.5 inches were sampled. Anglers are encouraged to release larger pike.

Yellow perch decreased in abundance to the second lowest observed in 8 gill net assessments since 1960. Since the 1985 survey, few perch over 8 inches have been observed in the assessments. This decrease in the abundance of large perch, and the lack of their predation on young bluegill, may partially explain the increase in density and decrease in growth rates of small bluegill. If perch abundance continues to decline, northern pike growth rates would be expected to decrease, and bluegill abundance likely will increase, decreasing bluegill growth rates even further.

Black crappie have exhibited a stable population since the 1960's. Length frequency distributions from the various surveys have consistently shown a black crappie size structure that ranges from 5 inches up to 13 inches. The 2007, the trap net catch for crappie was 8.5 per net, which is as high as it has been since 1960 when it was 14.8 per net. The mean length for crappie was 7.3 inches, and fish to 11.8 inches were observed. Recruitment was consistent from 2003 through 2005.

Walleye gillnet abundance has increased from 2.7 per net in 2002 to 3.8 per net in 2007. The 2004 year class is currently the most abundant in the fishery and are 12 to 16 inches long. Fluctuations in walleye abundance have been observed over the years; however, overall the walleye population has not changed significantly since the first sampling in 1960. While there is evidence that some natural reproduction is taking place in Dam Lake, most of the walleyes sampled came from year classes that were stocked with fingerlings. Although it is too soon to be sure, there did not appear to be any appreciable increase in walleye numbers due to the increase in stocking rate in 2004. At age 3, the 2004 year class (N=20) while abundant, was not sampled in any greater numbers than the 1991 (N=18) and 1994 (N=40) year classes that were sampled at age the same age in 1994 and 1997. We will have more information after a special gill net assessment, which is planned for 2009.

Largemouth bass offer anglers another opportunity on Dam Lake. A spring electrofishing survey was conducted in 2007, and good numbers of fish between 14 and 16 inches were sampled, along with some up to 18 inches. ?

http://www.mnlakeplace.com

steve vennemann for all your lake property needs in Minnesota & Wisconsin.

651-334-8312

<!--EndFragment-->

<!--StartFragment-->

Lake information report

Name: Big Pine

Public Access Information

http://www.mnlakeplace.com

steve vennemann for all your lake property needs in Minnesota & Wisconsin.

651-334-8312

Lake Characteristics

Fish Stocked by Species for the Last Five Years

Fish Consumption Guidelines

These fish consumption guidelines help people make choices about which fish to eat and how often. Following the guidelines enables people to reduce their exposure to contaminants while still enjoying the many benefits from fish.

Pregnant Women, Women who may become pregnant and Children under age 15

General Population

DOWID - MN DNR, Divion of Waters' lake ID number.

Contaminants listed were measured at levels high enough to warrant a recommendation to limit consumption.

Listing of consumption guidelines do not imply the fish are legal to keep, MN DNR fishing regulations should be consulted.

Dioxin
Mercury
PCBS - Polychlorinated biphenyls
PFOS - Perfluorooctane sulfanate

Status of the Fishery (as of 08/27/2007)

Big Pine Lake is a moderately clear water lake located in southwestern Aitkin County and is part of the Mille Lacs watershed. An improved public access is found on the southwestern end of the lake. Big Pine Lake has a variety of habitats available to the angler from open, wind swept gravel and rock to areas of heavy vegetation. Shorelines vary from areas with gentle slopes and shallow depths to areas with sharp drop-offs and deep water. Mid-water areas consist primarily of deep water, but there are several gravel bars with steep sides that rise to within a few feet of the surface.

Gamefish species available to anglers include walleye, northern pike, black crappie, bluegill and both largemouth and smallmouth bass. With the possible exception of the smallmouth bass all of these species are native to the lake. Walleye have been stocked with varying success in Big Pine Lake since the early 1900's. Due to poor returns from stocked fry in the late 1990s and early 2000s, fingerling stocking resumed in 2004 and is scheduled for annual stocking under the current management plan. The 2007 catch rate for walleye was 2.8 per net, which falls within the normal range for this lake type. Fish from the 2004 year class were most abundant and were 14 to 18 inches in length. Walleye fingerling survival will continue to be evaluated in upcoming surveys. Yellow perch abundance appears relatively steady within the last 4 surveys (1991 to 2007) with catch rates ranging from 1 to 3 yellow perch per gill net.

The gillnet catch rate for northern pike was down in this survey to 2.3 fish per net compared with 5.4 in 2003. Although abundance is down slightly, the size distribution of pike in Big Pine Lake is healthy with the average northern pike weighing over 3 pounds. During the 2007 survey the mean length for pike was 25.3 inches and fish up to 34 inches were sampled.

The bluegill population has been decreasing in recent years as indicated by both trap net and gill net assessments. Along with this decrease, there has been a steady increase in the numbers of hybrid sunfish, which accounted for the majority of sunfish over 7 inches (up to 8.6 inches). The average bluegill sampled was 5.2 inches long and the largest bluegill caught was 7.3 inches. Although spawning habitat and escape cover is not limited, bluegill appear to be increasing the frequency with which they spawn with other species, which might partly explain the decrease in abundance. The decline appears to be independent to the walleye stocking regime since the decline continued during the period of fry stocking when walleye survival (and potential predation) was very low. If bluegill densities continue to decline, we may see an improvement in growth rates. Nice sized black crappies are present in the fishery, but their abundance is very low. ?

http://www.mnlakeplace.com

steve vennemann for all your lake property needs in Minnesota & Wisconsin.

651-334-8312

<!--EndFragment-->

Aitkin Glass Service in Northern Minnesota by Robert Swetz

Aitkin Glass Service is owned and operated by Greg Swetz in Northern Minnesota. Approximently 2 hours north of Minneapolis/ St Paul north to Hwy 169 & Hwy 210 you will find Aitkin Glass.

My brother Greg specializes in Auto glass, Commercial Buildings, Mirrored walls, plate glass, etc.

Here are some photos of the shop and some of the glass that Aitkin Glass carries. If you have a type of glass that the shop does not stock, it can be ordered.

The photograph below is my brother Greg and he owns Aitkin Glass Service. If you need any type of glass for just about anything, give Greg a call and ask mention (Vegas Bob) sent me and he will give you a great discount. The phone number is below and ask for Greg or Tim.

photographs above taken by: Robert Swetz and duplicating in any form is in violation of copyright infringement and subject to fines.

Please look at my new web site on photography www.SearchMyPics.com

Real Estate www.VegasBuildingsForSale.com

April 25th, Friday, from 7-10 P.M. at the Aitkin, Minnesota V.F.W. will be a night of classic rock music. This is a free event sponsored by the Kinship of Aitkin County youth leaders.

These young people are taking a stand against drugs and are bringing community awareness to the dangerous effects of drugs and alcohol.

The feature band for this community event will be Halvorson McNabb, a local band from the Crosby area. Root beer and snacks will be served.

Please show your support for these youth leaders and their program; encourage attendance at this event.

photo by Dan Zen