Ge-be-on-e-quet Lake

Ge-be-on-e-quet Lake is a 660-acre lake in the La Croix district of the Boundary Waters, tucked into the Lac La Croix and Little Indian Sioux River country of far northern St. Louis County. It sits close to ten miles from the nearest entry points, far enough in that most paddlers who reach it have already put in some real travel, including a rough 120-rod portage on the south end into Green Lake that keeps casual traffic light.

The lake carries nearly 13 miles of shoreline around only 660 acres of water, so it doesn't paddle like a simple oval. The shore folds into bays and around points, and there's usually a sheltered pocket to duck into when wind picks up on the open stretches. It reaches 55 feet at its deepest, with a bottom of boulder and ledgerock mixed with sand, and the water runs brown with bog tannins rather than clear. Aquatic plants stay sparse across most of the lake, showing up mainly near its two small inlet streams.

The depth and cold water make this as much a whitefish and cisco lake as a walleye lake. Cisco run thick here and are the main forage for everything else swimming in it, and lake whitefish are unusually abundant too. Walleye are stocked every third year and grow well, with many running 20 to 28 inches. Smallmouth bass round out the fishery, and anglers working the rocky shoreline take good numbers of them too.

Six campsites sit around the lake, though one is closed, leaving five in use. With the shoreline broken into so many bays, they're spread out enough that finding one with some separation from other parties usually isn't a problem.

Ge-be-on-e-quet Lake suits paddlers looking for a deep, cold-water fishery, with cisco and whitefish backing up a strong walleye population and enough room among its bays to spread out.